General discussion:

• I was a PK, part of the church and yet not.  You do know what’s going on and yet you don’t, and people aren’t even themselves around you.
• Filer Mennonite is a small church:  everyone is family, so newcomers feel like outsiders, and don’t know where to fit into the picture.
• If you’re not born into the church, it’s hard to break in.
• This is a completely different world from the east, where you can go to a different church every Sunday in Lancaster and not use them all up in a year!  Out here we’re definitely in the minority, and more lonely.  (The closest fellow member of the church conference is 120 miles away.)

• It’s hard to know whether to hold on to traditions while not totally setting ourselves apart so that other people feel alienated.  It’s hard to know which traditions are important, and which aren’t.
• The term Mennonite is slippery to me.  After 13 years [in this church], I’m not looking for Anabaptist distinctiveness anymore.
• Should we call ourselves Anabaptists?  (When we actually haven’t been re-baptized?)
• I expected to see a more intentional community in the Mennonite church, than what I was I was actually met with [here in Filer].  Pacifism isn’t nearly as strong as I expected.  We have people with family in the military.
• It’s easier to agree to disagree (about pacifism), than to discuss it.
• It’s not WWII, there is no draft; so it doesn’t come up.  We don’t have those kinds of experiences to define who we are.  For cryin’ out loud this is Idaho, not exactly a war-protesting state

• We feel very disconnected in Filer; we hear about things [in the larger Mennonite community] 2-3 weeks after they happen.  We feel separated from the Mennonite community, not to mention that there are fewer and fewer Mennonite churches in Idaho, too.
• Conferences are exciting:  more Mennonites who believe the same as I do!  I’m not alone in the world!!
• Our church [in Filer] is slowly dying, everyone’s moving on elsewhere.
• What would it take to grow?  Compromise?  Doing something different?
• If everyone who was born and raised here stayed, there’d be 200 members!  That in of itself says we’re losing the battle.  A lot of them have moved.  It’s not a new problem, people have been leaving the church for many generations.
• Some have moved out of state, or go to churches in different cities nearby.
• It is a hard place to know what to do.  Two ways to grow:  retain what you’ve already got, and get new [members]!
• How do we bring in the new ones??  For people my age, there’s no one to connect with!  No reason to stay!
• Is it just the numbers?  How else can you improve things for your church?
• I think it’d be more worshipful for me if we wouldn’t worry so much about how to include other people, to the point where it almost feels awkward.  Knowing there was a certain cohesiveness in that we all came to worship God, would be worshipful for me.  I don’t think the service should feel like a performance, like we’re getting ratings.
• I’ve heard it said that we’re so welcoming that we jump on new people the moment they walk in the door.
• We’re so excited to see a new face that we do anything to get them to stay.
• A healthy church is one that’s not worried about growth, but grows because that’s who they are.
• There’s a difference between desperation and compassion for the lost.  Desperation comes out of a fear that the church is dwindling.
• Why don’t you all get married, have eight kids, and move up to Filer?
• (This is a risky question but I’m going to ask it anyway.)  Why is it so important to bring people to church?  What is it about church that you want people to connect to/get out of?
• Ours is not a community-based culture anymore, you relate more to your tv and Ipod than a real human.  I want people to see that there is a God who loves them so much, that He can pass that love on to them through us.  I want to show the world there’s a different way to live, through love, than by just isolating yourself in that way.
• Is the church for you a community of love?
• Not as much as it should be.  That’s why I said it’s idealistic.
• Is it somewhat of a risk to bring people into a community that you feel isn’t as it should be?
• Even if we’re not community-based anymore, people still long for that.

• How would you respond to the observation that a lot more people are coming to church these days for only that reason:  community?  Is that ok?
• No, you should go to church for Christ!  It’s not natural for humans to love each other, so in loving each other we would show Christ.  And hopefully that would get through to people.
• Church, Christianity, is about reaching people on a one-to-one basis in our daily lives.  If we don’t do it there, we’ll never get their bodies into a building.  Do we make extra effort to [evangelize]?  That’s how to make a difference.
• These relationships are fostered…for what?
• Your ultimate goal is for people to build a relationship with Christ!
• If you have nothing to hope in, there’s no point in living!  We need to give people hope, that they’re not alone.
• The church should be a place of grace!  But people have been hurt by the church a lot.  Other people don’t feel like leaving their sports tv Sunday mornings—it’s laziness!  …Or more a difference in priorities, I mean.
• There isn’t a great answer to “Why bring people to an institution?”  It’s a theological question.  I’m in church for supernatural reasons:  because God has changed my life.  I believe the Holy Spirit will win out over sports.  If someone is really following Jesus, the Holy Spirit is dominant in their life, and will eventually win out.
• How are people’s lives changed?
• Holy Spirit, discipleship, walking in the Word, being with other Christians in community… Again, that’s a theological question.
• Can one actually choose this?
• It’s a matter of both obedience and participation.  We’re active participants in God’s story with us:  He’s speaking and I’m responding. Also, I become a better Christian in fellowship with other people.
• I just don’t see any passion for the outside church!
• It’s because of disinterest from being disconnected.