{"id":5445,"date":"2012-09-10T21:16:52","date_gmt":"2012-09-11T02:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stonescryout.org\/?p=5445"},"modified":"2012-09-10T21:16:52","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T02:16:52","slug":"dont-take-it-personal-its-just-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stonescryout.org\/?p=5445","title":{"rendered":"Don’t take it personal… it’s just business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you hear about that business in San Antonio that lost just about all it’s market share after it’s CEO left? Seems that under his lead he developed quite the brand following and, after he left, his successor couldn’t keep the company on par with the local competition.<\/p>\n

Oh, did I mention that the “business” was a former megachurch? From MySA<\/a>,<\/p>\n

It once was a megachurch. Now the sale of its far North Side property has wiped away longstanding debt and sparked new optimism for reversing its sizable membership decline.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

The congregation counted an estimated 3,000 members a decade ago but today reports that about 200 attend on Sundays. The church has a lease agreement with the new owner to worship there through 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love the building, and it’s a great location,\u201d said David Keith, lead elder. \u201cWe just didn’t have the overall congregation to support much of that building and its mortgage.\u201d<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Former senior pastor Peter Spencer, who founded the congregation in 1988, could not be reached for comment. Keith said membership losses coincided with his resignation in 2003.<\/p>\n

Spencer \u201chad quite a following,\u201d Keith said. \u201cBasically, once he left, it just wasn’t quite the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Cannon, former executive pastor, succeeded Spencer in 2003 and resigned last December, eventually taking a job as a commercial real estate agent.<\/p>\n

The church is located along a stretch of Loop 1604 informally called \u201cchurch row\u201d for the many congregations fronting it, drawing members from fast-growing suburbs. Nearly 200,000 people live within a five-mile radius of Harvest Fellowship, according to its property listing, but the competition played a role in membership losses, church leaders said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of these days, and I think it will be in the near future, churches in America won’t have to worry about competition from other churches.<\/p>\n

Also see: Christians Need to Stop Making Converts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you hear about that business in San Antonio that lost just about all it’s market share after it’s CEO left? Seems that under his lead he developed quite the brand following and, after he left, his successor couldn’t keep the company on par with the local competition. Oh, did I mention that the “business” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,14,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-culture","category-rusty"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t