Today a friend of mine who is engaged in interim ministry stopped by and we had a chance for a brief visit. He had just attended an interim ministry training conference. The leader at the conference said that of the 3600 Disciple churches in our country, only 23 (yes you read that right) churches had averaged a 5% growth rate over a 5 year period. I guess we can consider it a blessing that we may one of the 23. But it is a mixed blessing at best. It means that the status of how things are in the larger picture of things is pretty grim. We are living in an age where just "doing church" or trying to make it into the social center it once was isn't going to cut it. But growth won't come because we want more people. Growth will come because we fulfill the mission of Christ