2×2 records banner statistics as 2012 draws to a close

2×2 will soon enter its third year of online ministry. Very few churches are experimenting with content evangelism. This is new territory.

We have been forced into online ministry by the confiscation of our property and the abandonment of traditional leadership. Online numbers are the only thing we can measure. We don’t have property or a pastor to pay. We have few expenses outside of unending law suits.

This was an interesting week statistically. For the last five weeks or so we’ve been inching up to 400 readers per week. We got as high as 397 without breaking 400. We fluctuated a bit, week by week, with our monthly totals steadily climbing for the last six months. Our daily readership also climbed steadily during the latter part of 2012.

This week we broke the 400 mark—and the 500 mark—and the 600 mark. 604 readers visited 2×2 last week.

Keep in mind that Redeemer’s ability to fulfill its mission was the lame excuse offered to justify the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s self-serving land grab. SEPA paraded false statistics before a Synod Assembly that was duped into taking foolish actions. Redeemer was allowed no say at the time (under questionable constitutionality)—by design.

Now we have independent statistics to prove our viability.

And a little church shall lead the way

2×2 is the focus of Redeemer’s mission. We pay daily attention to our blog’s statistics so we can do a better job. It’s not just a numbers game. We are forming real relationships with our readers all over the world. We are sharing freely what we are learning.

We look beyond the numbers to determine what the numbers represent. Online ministry is very measurable.

This week, an Ambassadors post early in the week attracted unusual attention, mostly on Monday but a little on Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, that interest had died. We expected the numbers to plummet to 20, 30 or 40 visits per day. They didn’t. By the end of the week, all the traffic was from the usual sources (people searching for ministry ideas), only at two or three times the previous week’s numbers.

Redeemer continues its dedication. We have numbers to back up our claims. Along with the statistics is evidence of Redeemer’s growing reach. We have readers all over the world. We may even lay claim to being one of the largest Lutheran churches within SEPA’s geographical area. But we are not limited by geography!

Imagine a different scenario than the one fostered by SEPA leadership

Imagine what we could be doing

• if we had a place to meet for worship.
• if we had a facility to hold workshops on the things we are learning.
• if the pastor who had given us a five-year commitment hadn’t been chased off.
• if our property were serving the community and earning income to satisfy existing debt and support even more outreach.
• if we were free to monetize our site without interference.
• if our members were not burdened or intimidated by lawsuits.
• if we had a pastor to work with us and care about us.

And there’s the rub! It’s in that last bulleted item. The lay people of Redeemer now have more experience at this type of ministry than almost all ELCA pastors.

And so we are condemned and excluded. Not because we lack “missional” focus but because professional leaders, steeped in 19th and 20th century ministry models, don’t know how to work with us.

Who knows how long SEPA will keep Redemer’s doors locked until they feel they can totally control a ministry they never understood?

They have looked the other way as Grace, Roxborough, failed and their building and parsonage were sold to benefit SEPA. They allowed Epiphany, Upper Roxborough, to break its covenant with Redeemer and vote to close—assets going to SEPA. Only landlocked Bethany remains to serve several Philadelphia neighborhoods—East Falls, Wissahickon, Roxborough, and Manayunk.

A resurgence of ministry there without new focus is unlikely, but SEPA would rather watch traditional ministries struggle with an arrogant “we told you so” hanging in the air than help them to experiment beyond the experience of available leadership.

SEPA congregations and clergy look on with approval, touting the wisdom of its leaders, and protecting their own endangered territories.

Meanwhile, little, unrecognized Redeemer just keeps growing. Without property, without money, without professional leaders, Redeemer grows!

God is doing something new in East Falls.

When will SEPA  and the ELCA perceive it?

Screen shot of Redeemer’s statistics toward the end of the December 2, 2012. We actually closed the day with 604 site visits — two more visited before the Cinderella hour.