The Makeup of a Typical Cohort

On Saturday of Retreat 1, the room is filled with wonderful people who want to see God do something in their church. Some of them have been waiting a long time.

• They might have cycled through half a dozen pastors with their half a dozen different visions.
• They might be in a place where they feel as though they have tried it all (when in reality they might not have tried that much.)

In 2018, more than 70% of AG USA churches were plateaued or in decline, while less than 30% meet the definition of a growing church. Much of the growth occurs at the top end among our largest churches.

In 2020, the number of plateaued and declining churches topped 80% for the first time ever. You'll find the expanded 2022 breakdown of AG USA growing-plateaued-declining churches available for download below.

Often, the growing churches are not those in the room on an Acts 2 Journey cohort Saturday session.

Those sitting in the room with their teams might view the facilitator with a mixture of skepticism and hope. Many times, the facilitator will have the advantage of an existing relationship with the pastors or teams that you lead. Other times, he or she might not have that advantage.

Regardless of a facilitator's previous interactions with these churches, it's important to keep in mind that while the facilitator's personal story will be an important part of how he or she presents, the goal is not to recreate it in other churches. Instead, the facilitator's goal is to help each church discover (or rediscover) their story with what new things God has for their church in their context.

Please upload your response to the following question before beginning the next lesson:

What experiences have you had in ministry that you could draw upon to assist leadership teams in discovering God's vision for their church?