Earlier I introduced two concepts or models that can help us understand how healthy churches thrive. The Vitality Threshold is that level of support (programming, staffing, experiences etc.) in which parishioners experience a quality of spiritual nurture that makes a difference in their lives. The Sustainability Threshold is that level of support that allows the community to continue to exist at all.

My previous post explored The Vitality Threshold in greater depth. This post will tackle The Sustainability Threshold.

The Sustainability Threshold is that level of activity that maintains a parish at even a minimal level of functioning. It includes relational/spiritual qualities. It also includes material/financial qualities. These two "domains" interact together and determine the sustainability of a covenant community.

When the relational/spiritual aspects of a parish fall below a certain level, people no longer value their covenant community (their "church experience"). They stop supporting the community with financial contributions. A parish cannot pay its bills. This leads to the final closing and locking of the the doors of the church.

This material reality, the closing of the church, is normally preceded by a spiritual failure. The limitations that drag a church down are often spiritual. People stop praying. They no longer meet together for mutual support and care. They stop nurturing their faith through study of scripture. Worship loses its sparkle and its power to lift up the people and celebrate the power of God, because frankly, people are no longer experiencing the power of God in their midst.

This is a sad state of affairs for those who love the church. But this is not the only way a church can fall below the Sustainability Threshold.

Sometimes, however, an otherwise vital covenant community can find itself in a material condition that puts its spiritual life at risk. It is possible for a spiritually vital covenant community to be scattered as the result of a material limit.

This is where our parish is today. In the graph above the vertical axis represents our revenue. The horizontal axis represents the number of people in an average worship service on Sunday. The vertical financial axis begins at $200,000 because this is (roughly) the annual cost for the mortgage on our sanctuary. Once we drop below revenue of $200,000, the bank steps in and forecloses on the parish property.

We are discovering rich resources of spiritual vitality as Jesus moves in the midst of our friendships, our worship, and our ministry. But materially, we are below the Sustainability Threshold.

This presents us with two questions:

1. How long will our material resources last?

2. Is the vitality of our spiritual life sufficient to overcome our material limits?

The Vestry and Staff have developed a workshop they are calling Truth or Consequences that will help our parishioners come to a shared understanding of this challenge.

Our hope lies in the opportunity for our parishioners to come to a clear understanding of our challenge. Understanding the challenge is the first and necessary step to our ability to discern how the Holy Spirit is calling us to respond.