There’s plenty of data out there to document the decline of the church—decreased membership, lowered frequency of worship attendance, etc., etc. Some days it makes me want to stay in bed and pull the covers over my head. HOWEVER, truth be told—that’s not our experience here at First UMC. True, “regular attendance” now means once or twice a month, families are pulled every which way on weekends, young adults don’t tend to be joiners. But have you also noticed the numbers of babies and children in our midst? Have you talked with folks who are consciously deciding to choose church? How about a conversation with someone truly eager to go deeper in faith? If you need proof positive, be in worship through the month of May and into June. We’ll be baptizing babies on four of those Sundays. I guarantee you evidence that God is indeed doing a new thing. We just need to open our eyes and hearts to perceive it.