I’d like to comment on church growth/decline, as someone who is very active in a Christian Science branch church with a small congregation. I think the signs of growth are everywhere, if we look in the right places. For a Science solely based on spiritual growth, we cannot look at a material record and judge our progress by it.
I like going to the Bible for historical perspective on our current situation. There are approximately 6,000 years of scriptural history leading up to Mrs. Eddy’s discovery of Christian Science (only a century and a half ago). We find ourselves in the very early stages of this movement. What do we learn from the Scriptures? Though the ancient texts are widely accepted in churches today, they were fiercely rejected by the majority in their times. The discoveries we find in the Bible were each understood and protected by a small number of followers, until a critical mass (usually through experience) was ready to accept them.
To put ourselves into perspective, a century and a half after Jesus’ teachings, his followers were being persecuted everywhere. They met in small groups, in basements, in private—working together to discern and put into practice what had been witnessed in Galilee. The bulk of the Jewish community was still more concerned with the re-establishment of a religious practice that would resemble the glorious days of Solomon, or what was considered the peak of that movement. They still measured their progress by the material signs of what had been; they could not understand what was happening, much less what it meant.
The Christian movement did not gain real material ground for another century and a half, and by then it was thanks to a political move, because the time was right to package and sell the message of the Christ in a humanly friendly form. We all know how popular that movement has become since, but we also know how Christianity changed from a core group of strong practitioners to a multitude of casual followers. In other words, while the material signs of the Christian movement showed progress, its actual practice and impact greatly diminished. That cannot be what we are after.
The revelation of Christian Science is equally as momentous and as “ahead of its time” as Jesus’ teachings were 2,000 years ago. In the nine years I’ve been a member of my branch church, I’ve seen the number of members decline significantly. But I have seen our congregation progress more rapidly than I had expected. Whereas once we were numerous in followers, we are now strong in practitioners of Christian Science—and the work shows. Whereas, once we attracted people who stayed at the church for the friendly atmosphere, now they walk in the door looking for healing. We don’t care if they stay and seek membership; we care that they walk away renewed—poised to heal themselves and others in the place of God’s appointing.
I cannot speak for the past—for previous generations or the “peak” of our movement. But I can speak for this generation and the congregation to which I belong. We are growing as a church. We are making progress; we are getting stronger. We are gaining ground in spiritual understanding. The signs are everywhere, and I am so excited to be a part of these very special times in our movement’s history.
This selection and others in support of the Church Alive focus of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, are posted online at christianscience.com/churchalive.
