Resolution On The Importance Of The Annual Church Profile

 RESOLUTION: ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ANNUAL CHURCH PROFILE

 WHEREAS, The example of Paul and Barnabas in bringing a report to the church in Antioch (Acts14:26-27) established a precedent for the value of giving testimony to the work of God through our efforts; and

WHEREAS, Our present work of teaching the Gospel and creating disciples through the church is equally important to the health and growth of the Kingdom and should be evaluated regularly by the local church and pastor, as well as by leaders in the local association, state convention and the Southern Baptist Convention; and

 WHEREAS, The Annual Church Profile system is an essential tool for gathering information to identify some of the visible results of the work of our churches, thereby helping us see trends and better understand the effectiveness of our methods and strategies; and

WHEREAS, Completing and submitting the ACP annual survey reflects support of the cooperative effort and contributes to the cooperative spirit that characterize our Great Commission fellowship; and

WHEREAS, This yearly administrative exercise offers a beneficial opportunity for self-evaluation to churches and pastors; and

WHEREAS, The ACP survey data is used to determine the representation of Louisiana Baptists on the SBC Executive Committee, the LBC Executive Committee, the trustee boards for NAMB, the IMB, as well as to set the number of messengers each church qualifies to send to the state and national conventions; and 

WHEREAS, Approximately 15 percent of Louisiana Baptist Churches do not return a completed ACP survey form; and

WHEREAS, Users and administrators across the denomination have collaborated to simplify the ACP survey, reducing the number of questions and making it easier to understand; and

WHEREAS, The ACP survey can be completed online as well as in paper form; and

WHEREAS, Associational and state leaders offer help with completing the ACP survey, now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the 174th session of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, meeting in Monroe, Louisiana, November 16, 2021, call on all pastors and churches to complete and submit the ACP survey each year; and be if further

RESOLVED, That we affirm the value of an accurate, yearly testimony to the work of Christ in Louisiana through local Baptist churches; and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we urge associational and state convention leaders to actively promote participation in the ACP process, by highlighting its importance at annual meetings and also using other forums and means to encourage pastors and churches to take part.

#TurnInTheACP

 

Greetings!

I'm Clark Palmer, 64, SBC pastor from Pineville, LA. I'm asking for your help in creating a widespread emphasis on returning the Annual Church Profile. 

When I became Moderator of our local association, I considered setting some goals for increased attendance and/or baptisms. I searched for data to create a baseline and discovered our numbers were off. There were no discernible trends. One year we were up, the next down.  Numbers from a decade ago showed the same issue. I realized part of the problem was the number of churches not reporting. In fact, one of the largest churches in our area had not turned in an ACP recently.  

Clearly this is a problem for determining such things as  representation on our state Executive Committee and messengers to annual meetings and tracking progress or the lack of it.  Then I began to wonder if this could also account for at least some of the reported overall declines for the SBC in terms of attendance and baptisms.  

So I'm on a campaign to ask our leaders at all levels to make some noise about the ACP this August.  I have created the hashtag, #TurnInTheACP. I've started a twitter account devoted to this @acp_2021.  My request to you folks is to give some visibility to the effort.  This is non-partisan. I just think we need good numbers.

Also there is value in church leaders seeing their numbers and making adjustments accordingly. I know I've had years where the numbers revealed a lack of attention to certain areas of our ministry. 

The person with Lifeway connected to the ACP is Scott Mconnell. He's aware of my interest but I'm strictly a one-man team. He would be a good resource for information.  

Thanks for reading and considering, 

Clark Palmer

Simple Ways To Show Love At A Funeral

1. Take the time to attend. Your presence will mean the world to them. (Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15) 

2.  A funeral is a time to give attention to things being said and done. Your engagement matters. Probably it would be best to turn off the cell phone and put it away. 

3. Prior to the service visit quietly and respectfully. Now’s not the time for hootin’, hollerin’, and carrying on, as much fun as those things are. 

4. During the sermon, eliminate the chit-chat. You may not realize it but your side conversations can be heard everywhere in a funeral setting. 

5. Do your best to not be a distraction in anyway, that means take care of any personal needs before or after the service. The restroom will be there. You can probably wait.

6. If there is a time during the service to share a memory or a comment, don’t hesitate to stand up. Your kind word might be what the family needs to hear. Also, keep it brief.

7. In your conversation with the family make it about them, not you. Show your love because love helps heal hurting hearts. You don’t have to have anything clever or insightful to say. “I’m sorry. I love you. I’m here for you.” That’s about enough. 

8. Have a conversation with your teenagers about this list. Don't let them walk into the first funeral they attend unprepared to love well with their behavior. 

9. As much as we love small children and as hard as it can be to find someone to care for them, a quiet and sometimes emotionally difficult funeral service might not be the place for them.