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Transitional Times for Churches and Denominations
John V. Upton
Executive Director, Baptist General Association of Virginia

As I have opportunity to meet with pastors and church leaders, it is amazing to hear the intensity of the anxiety and frustration of many with whom I speak.  They are feeling the stress of knowing how to help their church more effectively reach the community around them and at the same time maintain the heritage of the congregational community itself.  That is no easy task, and frequently their efforts result in more decline and more anxiety. 

In 2006 the population of Virginia is 7.6 million people.  It is projected that our Commonwealth will increase in population to 8.1 million in five years.  That is significant growth.  According to recent surveys, there are 4,428,605 unreached persons in Virginia.  That number represents 60% of the population.  Twenty years ago Virginia was 60% reached and only 40% unreached.  Do you see the increased mission field around us?  Yet many churches continue to struggle to survive.

Let me share a few more numbers with you.  In 2005 Virginia Baptists baptized 8,000 individuals.  At that rate it would take 559 years for us to reach our state, if the population did not change.  We would need 786,994 new churches to reach our Commonwealth at a 5:1 ratio of churches to baptisms.

These numbers become even more interesting when we realize that increasingly the new population of Virginia is multi-cultural.  The 7.6 million people who live in Virginia come from many diverse backgrounds and speak a variety of languages.  It is also clear that there is a growing age gap.  Virginia is now the second or third most desired place to retire, behind Florida. 

I share all this information to say, we have some very serious and difficult decisions to make in order to make a Kingdom difference for God in our own backyard.  The median age of BGAV churches is 105 years.  That means that the last real swell of an evangelical movement in our midst occurred in 1901.  BGAV churches in 1901 launched themselves into that new century with courage and boldness, taking great risks and making all necessary sacrifices. 

We stand at the face of a new century in 2006.  It is now our turn to take our own risks and make our own sacrifices.  In order to do that, we need to be in dialogue with one another.  This site is intended to help us talk with one another, to share what is working and what isn’t, to direct each other to helpful resources, and to offer support when the going gets tough.  Right now, 37.7% of our churches are growing.  20.9% are plateaued.  33.5% are declining.  We have insufficient information on 7.8%.  With God’s help we can change all this, and together we can Advance the Redeemer’s Kingdom.