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Open hearts, open minds, open doors ... for real

The original "Open hearts, open minds, open doors" commercial was based on a true story. It was a story from the life of the Rev. Dr. Roger K. Swanson (pictured below), co-author of The Faith-Sharing Congregation: Developing a Strategy for the Congregation as Evangelist and former team leader for evangelism for the General Board of Discipleship.

When Roger was a boy, he and his brother figured out how to break into a Methodist church with a pool table in its basement in their hometown. They broke into the church regularly to play pool after school.

One day they saw a shadow out of the corner of their eyes. It was the pastor. Their faces filled with fear.

The pastor spoke to the boys: "There's no one in this town trying harder to get into this church than you guys are." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a key, handed it to the boys, and said with a smile: "Come anytime you want."

Roger reports that as a result of this radical act of hospitality, his family became active in the church, his mother eventually became the church treasurer and his father a trustee. A multi-generational history of alcoholism was interrupted, he says. The congregation helped pay Roger's way through college. He became a pastor, and then a national program executive of the United Methodist Church.

This commercial was soon replaced by ads written by a professional advertising agency. But this original story is the true meaning of "Open hearts, open minds, open doors." Some have criticized the "Open hearts, open minds, open doors" slogan as too vague. But there is nothing vague or wimpy about it.

A pastor decided to give a key to his church to two boys who had been breaking and entering. He did not ask the boys to repent. He did not scold them. He did not require them to attend church or Sunday school. He just welcomed them.

He didn't get the trustee's  or district superintendent's permission. He didn't  ask the insurance company about liability issues or call the conference chancellor.   

As a result, a family script was rewritten. Lives were transformed. The course of history was touched.

Talking about the acceptance he experienced from that pastor years ago, Swanson says: "It is still, today, the best image of Christ that I have."

Wesleyan evangelism

George Hunter III has written the best book on evangelism I have ever read. It is entitled To Spread the Power: Church Growth in the Wesleyan Spirit.

Hunter, who is professor of world mission and evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary, published the book in 1987. I have bought a dozen copies of this book over the years because I keep giving copies away  to colleagues who are trying to figure out how to reach people and  grow churches. A few years ago when I tried to buy myself another copy of the book I discovered it was out of print. Then just the other day I saw a copy with a brand new cover design at our local Cokesbury store.  I grabbed it. I doubt I will be giving this copy away.

Hunter demonstrates how John Wesley used six "mega-strategies" to reach people.  They are the same strategies  identified by Donald McGavran, a pioneer of the church growth movement. Hunter demonstrates how Wesley used these same principles to grow the Methodist movement.

The six strategies are:

1. Churches grow as  they target and  reach receptive people. Wesley was always alert to where within the society sociologically and where within the nation geographically people were receptive at any particular time to the Gospel, and there is where he concentrated his effort and resources. Much of Wesley's genius was identifying groups of people "ripe for the harvest," as he like to say. These were usually people that the rest of the church thought had no interest in spiritual matters.

2. Churches grow as they use the social networks of  their current active membership, especially newer members, to  reach new people. Our most enthusiastic members will be most effective at inviting their friends, co-workers and relatives to church. Interestingly, this evangelism tends to be low key. People who win others tend to do so not by sharing hard-core affirmations of theological faith, but by saying things like: "When I was having difficulties in my life, I found going to church helpful. Would you like to join me Sunday?"  or  "Would you like to help out with our ministry to the poor? It has helped me feel like I am doing something really important."

3. Churches grow as they multiply units (congregations, choirs, classes, small groups, etc.) Wesley was a genius at this. Denominations that plant new churches grow. Churches that begin new services grow. Denominations that try to get people to support only what we are already doing don't grow. People are more receptive to outreach from new groups and classes than from long-established groups and classes.

4. Churches grow as they minister to the felt needs of people. Churches that try to get people to do what we think Christians ought to do tend not to grow. Churches that scratch where people are itching grow. Wesley intentionally addressed people's real needs -- material, emotional, and spiritual. 

5. Churches grow when they develop culturally relevant ministries for the people they are seeking to reach grow. According to Hunter, Wesley "developed indigenous field preaching, an indigenous hymnody, tracts and pamphlets in plain language ... and indigenous lay leadership." Hunter adds: "He even innovated in the area of indigenous church architecture."

6. Churches grow as a result of intentional planning for their future. Wesley was always trying to figure out why societies were growing or declining, and planning and adapting strategies to reach people.

We are living in a time when the "fields are ripe for the harvest," as Wesley said of his time. Here are four additional Hunter principles:

1. Populations in which any religion is growing indicate that people are searching and open.
2. Populations in which any religion has experienced decline indicates receptivity.
3. A people experiencing major cultural change tends to be very receptive. 
4. Population mobility leads to receptivity.

We live in a time when people are just waiting for us to find them or, at least, waiting for us to open our hearts, minds, and doors so thay can find us. 

Is our understanding of evangelism too narrow?

Several years ago I  heard a lecture about evangelism by Professor George Hunter III of Asbury Theological Seminary based on his book The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West...Again. He suggested that American Protestantism has tended to view evangelism in what he calls "the Roman way." The Roman way proceeds like this: 1) Preach the Christian message; 2) Invite people to decide for Christ; 3) Accept them into Christian fellowship.

Hunter was proposing an alternative possibility that he called "the Celtic way." In the Celtic way: 1) People are accepted into Christian community; 2)  They hear and experience the Christian message; 3) They decide for Christ.

In telling his own story, he was even more casual. He described his  experience of becoming a Christian this way: As a teenager he began participating in a local church youth group. After a while he decided he pretty much believed the same things they believed so he joined the youth group and the church.

It seems to me that there is even a third  form of evangelism which is exemplified by Ruth Graham, Billy's wife. When a reporter asked her when she was born again, she replied that it must have been when she was in the cradle because she has accepted Jesus as her Savior as long as she can remember. Perhaps this could be called "the cradle way."

Many American evangelicals seem to understand evangelism only in the Roman model, with a particular emphasis on a crisis paradigm of repentance. Yes, for some new Christians, there may be a dramatic sense of sin from which they repent suddenly when they decide to accept Jesus as their Savior. I grew up with an oft-repeated story  of the town drunk kneeling at the Communion railing during a revival and throwing his whiskey flask and cigarettes toward the altar. I am  not knocking such dramatic and sudden conversion experiences; I am simply arguing that they are not necessarily the norm.

Adolescent conversions can be particularly traumatic and dramatic especially  if they are fueled by guilt about behaviors having to do with sex or drugs. But this is not always the case.  Some adolescents become Christians by making a decision to do so through confirmation classes. Trauma and drama does not make a decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ more valid. This is just as true with adults.   

I suspect that there are many people who come to Christ in the way  George Hunter did, and others who come to Christ in the way  Ruth Graham did. These experiences are just as real and profound. To emphasize sudden repentance as more valid than evolving awareness and repentance may actually keep people away from the discipleship journey.

I am not arguing against repentance. I am arguing for repentance as a gradual as well as a sudden process. I am arguing against litmus tests for Christian experience. Anyone who decides to be a follower of Jesus should be welcomed without reservation or question.

Why is your conference growing? An e-interview with Chuck Jack of the Red Bird Missionary Conference

                                                                                                                            The Rev. Chuck Jack (pictured with his family above) is conference superintendent of the Red Bird Missionary Conference, one of only two U.S. United Methodist conferences reporting membership growth higher than one percent in 2004. The Red Bird Missionary Conference ended 2004 with 1,385 members, up 18 from 2003.

Rev. Jack, an elder in the West Ohio Conference, served in the Red Bird Missionary Conference from 1986-1994. He returned to Red Bird Conference in 2001 to become conference superintendent. A graduate of Harvard University and the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, he has received a National Program Division professional development grant for graduate work in linguistics and biblical studies. His wife Betsy is director of Early Childhood Development for Red Bird Mission. They have six children, including three still at home who attend Red Bird Mission School.

Untied Methodist asked Rev. Jack to reflect on why his conference grew last year, and also to educate us about the conference.

Your conference grew in membership more than most in 2004. What caused the growth?

I suppose prayer, pastors and churches that are deeply involved in their communities and share an evangelical faith, long tenured pastorates, mission-minded leaders who believe God has given us this ministry with small membership churches in rural Appalachia, cooperative shared ministries, and emphasis on reaching and making disciples of children and youth.

How many churches and missions does the Red Bird Missionary Conference have?

The Red Bird Missionary Conference (RBMC) is comprised of 23 United Methodist churches, four worshipping outreach centers, Camp O'Cumberlands, The Appalachian Local Pastors School (COS extension school of Candler School of Theology at Emory), Henderson Settlement, Red Bird Mission and Clinic, and The Bennett Center.

What is the mission of the Red Bird Missionary Conference?

Our vision is to see Appalachian people living in union with Jesus Christ and empowered to transform their communities. Our mission is to minister to the spiritual, physical, educational, and economic needs of people and to equip them to reach their God-given potential.

What is the size range of your churches?

In membership and attendance our 27 worship centers range from very small to moderately small. Our highest average local church worship attendance is in the 90s. Last Sunday, for example, our family worshiped at Beech Creek United Methodist Church in Clay County, Ky. There were about 60 persons in attendance. There were several young families with children and infants, youth, and persons of all ages. This church is thriving and making a difference in its community.

What are your churches like?

The mountains offer numerous small membership churches in the various communities and locations. Our 27 churches are located in nine counties of southeastern Kentucky. Though our congregations, by and large, fit the mountain church profile, our connections -- as United Methodists -- offer distinct strengths. Most of our churches send campers to our Camp O'Cumberlands in Harlan County. Many of our children and youth have good friends from three or four counties away because they met at conference events. Most of our churches send youth and leaders to conference youth programs.

Our churches share common areas for strategic ministry, such as response to the drug abuse epidemic and programs for education and improving awareness of self-worth. Many youth have responded wonderfully over the past few years to the simple sharing of the invitation of Jesus Christ, God's love, which accompanies caring relationships, youth witnessing to youth, and leaders who are model disciples. We can experience that God is doing great things in our midst. We are cooperating with God to be true and effective disciples. It makes a difference.    

Is being a pastor in the Red Bird Missionary Conference different from serving in other conferences?

There are some differences. Advancement is more of a spiritual matter. Most of our pastors, I believe, would not only claim to be called into pastoral ministry, but to be called or led by God into ministry in Appalachia through the Red Bird Missionary Conference. Salaries are equalized, by and large, and are at or below the minimum salary level of other United Methodist conferences. There is a difference of about $1,000 between local pastor and elder salary levels. There are small differences due to years of service.

Not everyone spends a career here, but many do. We have local persons and persons from other conferences appointed as pastors in our churches. We have no "plum" appointments, other than finding oneself in a ministry where God is blessing you to be. We are gratified by bearing fruit, meeting needs, changing lives ... and in that, I trust, we are like our brothers and sisters in Christ everywhere!

As in other rural areas our pastors and churches reach into the community to provide care, friendship, and assistance. A unique aspect of our work in the missionary conference is that we receive missionary support through Advance gifts from around the country (RBMC Church and Outreach Centers -- Advance Special #773978.) This helps pay the salaries of pastors for churches that cannot afford them. We have insufficient churches in our conference from which to draw equitable salary monies, so this is an imperative. None of our churches are wealthy, but most all of them are very good stewards.

Not only have we exhibited membership growth, we are a denominational leader in per capita mission giving! If conferences with wealthy churches committed themselves to supplementing the smaller rural churches within their borders, and provided longer pastorates by persons called to rural (or urban) ministry, they too would discover that church growth can happen in rural (or urban) areas.

Did growth in 2004 occur as a result of starting new churches or growth in older congregations?

Growth in 2004 happened in previously existing congregations. Our most recent new church was chartered in 1994. Previous to that, community ministry/Christian education outreach centers that subsequently developed into worshiping communities were established in Clay, Lee, and Harlan Counties in 1970, 1983, and 1990. These four congregations have contributed to our growth trend.

What causes churches to grow in your conference?

Factors like these:

1)  Mission-minded pastors committed to grow where they are planted. The effect of a long term witness in the community by a faithful capable pastor is powerful.

2) Support from the General Church for the type of work we do in our field of service.

3) Growth in the discipleship of the clergy and laity.

4) All pastors are equal colleagues.

5) Equipping and mentoring the laity.

6) Caring for the least and lost.

7) Cooperation and spiritual accountability among pastors.

8) Openly sharing the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ in various situations.

9) Being mission-minded.

10) Prayer.

What can other conferences learn from the Red Bird Missionary Conference?

Many things. Come visit us. (606) 598-5915.

Our thanks to Rev. Jack for this conversation, but more importantly for his ministry and the ministry of his family. Sounds like we ought to visit and learn.

Internet shoppers may also be interested in the Red Bird Mission Craft Store where you can find a variety  of crafts from a  grasshopper pull toy to a cornshuck angel.

On Growing a Church by Selling Spirituality

Spirituality has become a commodity for sale on the competitive capitalist free market.

I was struck by this reality when I read Jeff Sharlet's profile of Ted Haggard, pastor of a magachurch in Colorado Springs and president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), in the May issue of Harper's Magazine. Let me say quickly that I do not make reference, in this case, to Haggard's philosophy in order to criticize it (as I may have in the past and may again in the future) but to confess that, even though I would never have put it so crassly, he articulates the way I often find myself thinking when I am thinking about how to help my church grow.

In his Harper's article, Sharlet says about Haggard: "One of Pastor Ted's favorite books is Thomas Friedman's The Lexus and the Olive Tree, which is now required reading for the hundreds of pastors under Ted's spiritual authority across the country. From Friedman, Pastor Ted says he learned that everything, including spirituality, can be understood as a commodity. And unregulated trade, he concluded, was the key to achieving worldly freedom." [italics mine]

Haggard argues that just as corporations market toothpaste and consumers vote at the cash register, a church should market spiritual experiences as a way of organizing itself. "He [Haggard] believes it is time 'to harness the forces of free-market capitalism in our ministry.'" Sharlet writes. "Once a pastor does that, his flock can start organizing itself according to each member's abilities and tastes."

Honestly, this is the way I too think much of the time: What do people want? What will attract them to my church? What will keep them? What will they buy? What options can we offer that will fit everyone's tastes and preferences? What new program, experience, type of service, music, or opportunity might bring new people to my church? What can we sell them?

Richard King and Jeremy Carrette, the authors of a new book entitled Selling Spirituality: The Silent Takeover of Religion, are concerned that, when we think this way, we are abandoning the greatest contribution that the religions we have inherited have to make to society and to each of us individually.

King and Carrette argue that the very essence of religion is lost when spirituality becomes a commodity. They offer this analysis of religion in the last half-century: Spirituality began to be separated from religion in the 1960s. Spirituality was increasingly cut off from its roots --the historic bodies that had have for centuries passed on spiritual stories, values, and practices from one generation to another. Spirituality became individualized and focused on my fulfillment, my quality of life, my prosperity, my authenticity, and so on. Religion, meanwhile, came to be associated with oppressive dogma and rigidity. The historic faiths or, if you prefer, organized religion became increasing marginalized as personal self-fulfillment spiritualities were promoted, including by corporations using them as part of their branding strategies in the 1980 and 90s.

However, King and Carrette warn, doing away with organized religion in favor of individualistic spiritualities also does away with the values underpinning many social goods--such as a belief in social justice and respect for the earth's resources.

King and Carrette say the purpose of their book is to challenge "the colonization of our collective cultural heritage by individualist and capitalist forms of spirituality," in order to emphasize what they believe has been increasingly silenced within those traditions, "namely a concern with community, social justice and the extension of an ethical ideal of selfless love and compassion towards others."

In an interview in thesocialedge.com, a Catholic monthly electronic magazine about social justice and faith published in Canada, King --who begins teaching at Vanderbilt University this fall-- says that capitalism (I might say consumerism) has become the new world religion. In fact, King says capitalist ideology is "the new opium of the people" that keeps the masses exploited, isolated from one another, and passive. He believes humanities' best hope is the witness of the historic religions which include a social justice dimension.

King thinks many of the churches (as well as other religions) have been co-opted by the growing tendency to understand spirituality as a commodity for sale. Instead of coming to church asking, "What does the Lord require of us?" people are coming to church asking, "What can you do for me to make me more successful and happier?" What is wrong with this? "Individualism [or a focus on self] per se is not the problem. Because what's wrong with a bit of freedom and individual self-expression?" King says in thesocialedge.com interview. "The problem is the kind of atomized version of individualism that developed in modern capitalistic societies. It's pernicious because it creates a widespread sense of anomie and social isolation which causes fear, depression and loneliness for people who see themselves as individuals. On a societal level this undermines our ability to feel empathy, care and respect for others."

Haggard would seem to understand exactly what King is saying and to have made a unambiguous and transparent choice for capitalism --or consumerism-- over historic religion's emphasis on community, social justice and the ideal of selfless love and compassion towards others. "I want the church to help me live life well, not exhaust me with endless 'worthwhile' projects," Haggard writes in his book Dog Training, Fly Fishing, & Sharing Christ in the 21st Century. Sharlet explains: "By 'worthwhile projects' Ted means building funds and soup kitchens alike. It's not that he opposes these; it's just that he is sick of hearing about them and believes that other Christians are, too. He knows that for Christianity to prosper in the free market, it needs more than 'moral values' --it needs customer value."

All of this leaves those church leaders in contemporary America who are trying to be faithful to our historic faiths in something of a bind. We feel like we need to respond to people's desire to find a personal spirituality which is self-fulfilling, just as Haggard and other megachurch pastors do. At least I feel this way. We need to offer many options, popular music, high quality worship services, learning and sharing experiences that will meet personal desires, needs and convenience, and lots of options. At the same time, we also feel the need to help Americans discover a spirituality by which we truly come into the presence of God and into the true fulfillment that comes from selfless love, compassion for others, and self sacrifice. To find our lives is to lose them. (Matt. 16:25)

This is no easy task in a society where capitalist consumption and self-centeredness, maybe even selfishness, has become the doxa -- the uncritical assumption that governs everyday life and that sets the parameters of public discourse -- as King puts it, quoting the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. It is no easy task when many of the fastest growing churches --if Haggard is an indication-- have simply abandoned Jesus' invitation to take up our crosses and follow him for a gospel of self-satisfaction and enhancement.

I say this not as an excuse for when those of us in the historic churches are insensitive to people's wants and needs. I am not arguing that we should not be, what marketers call, customer friendly. I am not arguing for worship and programs that are not well planned or conducted. I think we need higher standards of excellence than we usually have. We need to be effective in telling our story in the marketplace. We need to offer an attractive and inviting alternative to the unchurched. We need to do this without taking on the values and spirit of the competitive and consumer-oriented marketplace.

This is the hard part. Is it the impossible part?

Why Is Your Conference Growing? An E-interview with Rachel Simeon

Rev. Rachel Lieder Simeon is conference superintendent of the Alaska Missionary Conference, one of the few U.S. United Methodist conferences reporting growth in both membership and attendance in 2004.

The Alaska Missionary Conference, which has 28 churches, ended 2004 with 4,045 members, up 1 from 2003. Average attendance during 2004 was 2,609, up 15 from 2003.

The Alaska Missionary Conference covers an area twice the size of Texas with a population of about 600,000. (If you overlaid Alaska on the lower 48 states, it would stretch from Maine to California.) Some of the conference's mission stations can only be reached by boat, plane, or --in one case-- dog sled. Temperatures can vary as much as 160 degrees in some areas.

The Alaska Missionary Conference has no clergy members; all clergy serving in the conference are members of other conferences. Rev. Simeon is a member of the Yellowstone Conference. She formerly served as part of a superintendency team and as pastor of the United Methodist Church of Chugiak. In 2004 she was appointed to serve as the Alaska Missionary Conference's sole superintendent full-time.

Untied Methodist asked her to reflect on why her conference grew last year and also to educate us about the Alaska Missionary Conference.

Your conference grew in both membership and attendance in 2004. What caused the growth?

Short answers: Growth in immigrant populations, committed clergy and un-stuck laity, longevity of episcopal leadership, appropriate accountability.

Long answers: The Alaska Missionary Conference (AMC) is experiencing a significant influx of Pacific Rim immigrants, and we are making a concerted effort to address their needs and offer a United Methodist presence. Currently we have congregations serving the Korean, Tongan, Samoan, Hmong, and Filipino communities. In fact, a predominantly Anglo, older congregation in Douglass, Ala., has requested a Filipino pastor to address the needs of that emerging population in the Douglass-Juneau area. We have appointed a Filipino clergywoman and expect her to arrive in the fall. We have excellent pastors from every jurisdiction, and soon, from a central conference.

Since we have no clergy membership, there are no guaranteed appointments in Alaska. Everyone who is serving here wants to be here. If someone is not effective for whatever reason, we are not required to reappointment them, and therefore are able to find folk who match Alaska well, and match our churches well. Especially in recent years, as I've recruited from across the country, the folks who want to come to the AMC are willing to be deployed where we believe they are needed.

Folks do not come here with one appointment in mind; they come to the whole and, then, are deployed to the places where their gifts are best matched. If the General Conference would ever allow it, we would be willing to be the guinea pig for equalized salaries to further encourage this kind of approach. The trend is for longer-term pastorates, and actually many of the clergy who serve here end up retiring up in Alaska. The laity are transitory. Though we have some long-time folk here, our population is young, and most of the folks that come to church also come because they want to, not because they grew in the church or their families have always attended, but because they choose to be here.

This allows for a kind of creative approach to ministry that enlivens both the clergy and laity. It is rare to hear: "We can't do it that way" or "We tried that before." We typically hear, "Well, let's give it a try!"

For the first time ever, we will have at least 12 years --and possibly 16 years-- under the same episcopal leadership. Bishop Edward Paup came to us with Oregon-Idaho Conference in 1996, and when his assignment changed to the Seattle area, the jurisdictional College of Bishops put Alaska with the Seattle area. He is a creative and relational bishop, and the folks--both clergy and lay--know and love him well. He has pushed us to always see the larger picture, to realize that being self-sufficient is not necessarily a goal for any Christian community, and to stop feeling as though we are "less than" because we are interdependent with the rest of the church. He has helped us understand that our status as a missionary conference gives us a new way to approach our ministry. The AMC was in the top per capita giver to the Children of Africa appeal, and just recently was number three within the general church in per capita advance giving. This is a direct response to Bishop Paup's invitation and vision, to the spirit of community within the conference, and the way in which this conference views mission and ministry.

Finally, there has been a spirit of support and accountability that has grown over the past few years. At our professional church-workers retreat we have worked hard to be in community together, and it is rare for anyone to miss the opportunity to gather together. In short we generally and genuinely like each other and try to support each other's ministry. Again, because we are so small, every one's participation within the life of the conference is needed, and that expectation, along with a sense of purpose in our gatherings, has helped us remember that we are in this together.

How old is the Alaska Missionary Conference?

We celebrated 100 years of ministry in Alaska last year (2004).

How old are its churches?

The oldest church is Ketchikan in the Southeast area (100 years), but we have a presence with the Jesse Lee Home in Unalaska that predates that. Our newest church is the First Samoan United Methodist Church of Anchorage, which we chartered last year (2004).

Could you give us some sense of its history?

Perhaps the answer above will have to suffice..... with the notable exception that Alaska was linked with the Oregon-Idaho Episcopal Area in 1960 when the conferences of Pacific Northwest and Oregon-Idaho differentiated. Just last year we were linked with the Pacific Northwest Conference, and will probably always share a bishop.

Which is your largest church and how large is it?

St. John UMC in Anchorage with 718 members.

Which is your smallest church and how small is it?

Moose Pass UMC on the Kenai Peninsula with 22 members.

Is being a pastor in the Alaska Missionary Conference different from serving in other conferences?

Yes ... and no. As stated above, we have no guaranteed appointment. I think that offers a kind of leverage for quality that is sometimes hard to come by. Many of us often serve in isolated areas, off the road system, on islands. At least half of our churches receive support from outside the conference through the Advance Special, which means pastors in Alaska itinerate and tell the story in the other conferences.

We may have a new appreciation of mission and connectionalism because of our isolation and interdependence. There is very little vying for perceived 'plum" appointments, born out of the limited number of appointments and no guarantee of an appointment, and the shared reality that when you come to the AMC you come to the whole conference. And there is the opportunity to work with clergy leadership from all of the jurisdictions. (An aside: I think we could be an interesting study for the general church in how we might find a way to all live together!)

Where we are just like being a pastor anywhere, is that, like anywhere else, our churches flourish under effective, competent leadership. The issues of our churches are very similar to other churches around the United Methodist Church --and the workload is similar with the possible exception of significantly fewer funerals. While I served the Chugiak church from 1993-2004, I had five funerals--only two of which were for members. Sometimes it takes a while, especially when you're serving an urban or suburban church, to recognize what is unique about ministry here, but those of us who have spent enough time here recognize it in due time!

How do you decide to start a new congregation?

In the past, this has been a superintendent-driven process. With one superintendent being the norm and a non-resident bishop, often the superintendent has become a kind of regional bishop, and as that person would travel around the state, he or she would identify places for new congregations. Though I clearly have significant input, we have just beefed up our New Ministry Committee so that the identification of new congregations is a more widely held responsibility. I'll let you know how it goes!

How do you go about planting a new church?

The biggest challenge for us is cost. In the past, we were heavily supported financially by the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). Though the board still support us in major ways, it does not have the resources to offer significant seed money for new churches. It is expensive to start churches here, and usually our growth occurs as a result of another local church offering hospitality to the people of an emerging congregation, and then slowly finding their relative autonomy. We would love to plant a church, for instance, in Kodiak, but the start-up costs are prohibitive at this time in our life. Another placement that is highly needed is in the villages, but that too requires significant monies for travel, housing, etc. In short, in this time of diminishing resources, it is especially difficult for a small conference (with a total budget of $600,000) to initiate new church growth.

Did your growth in 2004 occur as a result of starting new churches or growth in older congregations?

Fifteen of our churches increased membership from 2002-2003; one remained the same, 11 decreased. Our two largest churches grew, but so did our two smallest. In 2004 we added a congregation. What causes churches to grow in your conference? Effective pastoral leadership, good support and accountability from the execs in the conference; flexible laity; missional outreach.

What can other conferences learn from the Alaska Missionary Conference?

I think the answer to the first question may address this. What Alaska has going for it is the desire of folks to be here, the openness to new ideas, the cross-pollination from all the jurisdictions of the church, an ingrained sense of being in mission, appropriate support and accountability by its leaders, and a deep commitment to the power of community to transform.

What else can you tell us that we should know about your conference?

Clearly, I am not all that objective about ministry in this conference. It is not perfect, but it is exciting, flexible and creative. I am delighted to serve here, and would welcome the opportunity to talk with anyone about mission and ministry in this context! I come to the East coast frequently, as I am a director on the GBGM and would be more than willing to be in contact with you in anyway that would be appropriate.

Our thanks to Rev. Simeon for her thoughtful responses. It is obvious from her responses that the unique situation of a missionary conference is an important arena to learn and experiment. I am especially impressed by the commitment of the Alaska Missionary Conference to be deployed for the sake of the greater good. Her e-mail address is rlsimeon@aol.com.

Why Is Your Conference Growing? An E-interview with Paul Nixon

Dr. Paul Nixon serves as Conference Director of Congregational Development for the Alabama-West Florida Conference. His conference is one of the few United Methodist conferences reporting growth in both membership and attendance in 2004 ... and one of the very few that has been growing for more than two decades.

Dr. Nixon's ministry includes planning and coaching new church starts, identifying and mentoring potential new-start pastors, supporting the revitalization of congregations, developing cooperative parishes, and consulting on congregational development issues.

Untied Methodist asked him to reflect on why his conference is growing when so few conferences are.

Why is your conference growing when most aren't?

Dean, I wish I had a short answer to this question, but I do not. There are many factors that together contribute to 23 consecutive years of growth in the Alabama-West Florida Conference.

The first is a pastor by the name of John Ed Mathison. He was appointed to Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery 33 years ago when the church ran 150 in attendance, and he led Frazer to relocate to the growing edge of town. He and his leadership exegeted the Montgomery community brilliantly, and then innovated in the early Wesleyan spirit to meet the needs of the varied people in Montgomery's demographic.

Today Frazer is the largest black church in our conference, the largest Hispanic church, (I think) the largest Asian church, and by far the largest Anglo church. Together, they are some 5,000 strong on most Sundays! Frazier's influence has given cover to enable other United Methodist churches to similarly innovate in ministry and worship design, and has helped create a culture of long-tenure pastorates in our conference.

Since John Ed started at Frazer, two other churches have kept pastors for 28 years (Gulf Breeze United Methodist) and 26 years (Christ United Methodist Church Mobile). These two churches, along with Frazer, together account for about 10,000 people in Sunday worship, one sixth of our conference!

Creating a culture where such flagships can sail is a big reason for our conference's continued growth. Some would say that conservative theology is the engine that drives these churches. I feel it is more accurate to say that reaching the unchurched is the passion that drives these churches. A church can embrace such a passion regardless of where they are on the left-right theological spectrum. I personally served on the pastoral team at Gulf Breeze for nine years, and I have never been accused of being off to the right theologically. But Frazer gave us cover to innovate, innovate, innovate - even to the point of creating a second and third campus - something that would have been inconceivable before John Ed Mathison taught us we could color outside the lines for the sake of the mission. (Note: Exegete is normally a verb used to mean "reading the text of Scripture wisely". Fred Craddock of Candler School of Theology talked also about exegeting a congregation: reading the needs of people in the church. John Ed Mathison has done those things, but also learned how to read his community and then adapt ministry methods and forms to fit the cultural setting. This is profoundly Wesleyan.)

Another factor in the growth in our conference has been our planting of new churches, new faith communities, and new ministry sites. We did a study last year that showed us that one half of our attendance growth is attributable to our newest 10 churches. These 10 churches netted an increase of 3,500 in attendance, while the other 660 churches netted an increase of 3,500, over a period of eight years or so. Steve Compton's book Rekindling the Mainline (Alban Press, 2004) documents the fact that planting new congregations is the most effective thing a denomination can do in order to grow numerically. Conferences that plant churches are likely to grow; those who do not, or who plant only one every few years, are likely to age and decline.

In Dothan, Alabama, a town of 60,000 people, 10 years ago there were 1,600 in worship in United Methodist churches on a typical Sunday. Today the town has grown by 5 percent, but there are now 3,500 in worship in United Methodist churches. What happened? Well, we planted an incredibly successful new church (Harvest United Methodist Church) that grew to 1,000. But if you subtract 1,000 from 3500, you find that the remaining churches also grew from 1,600 to 2,500. One church, running 300 in attendance, and stuck at that number for several years, was located only two miles from the new church we planted. That neighboring church (Covenant United Methodist Church) is now also running nearly 1,000 in attendance. Why? Because Harvest raised the bar, and taught Covenant and others some things they needed to be doing to "stay in the game." My studies show that when we start a new United Methodist church in a community, the neighboring United Methodist churches will actually grow about 80 percent of the time.

Finally, at the conference level, two important things: (1) We have had bishops down here who have been content to let long-term pastorates proceed without re-assigning the pastors - so long as those churches were paying 100 percent of apportionments. (2) The current bishop created a new position, a cabinet-level director of congregational development - overseeing new church plants and revitalization initiatives in existing churches. You have a congregational development director in Baltimore-Washington as well. I may be prejudiced since I was the guy who got that job when it was created in our conference; but I think every conference needs such a position, even if they have to reduce the number of district superintendents (as we did) in order to fund it.

Some people suggest that our growth is because we are in the Bible Belt. However, there is as high a percentage of church affiliation in the Dakotas as in our region - and many of our neighboring annual conferences in the Southeast are not growing at all. So I don't put much stock in the Bible Belt theory. In fact, our growth has been stronger in those communities where the percentage of unchurched was higher.

Roughly how much money does your conference invest in new church starts, and how much of your growth do you think comes from starting new churches?

We do not invest nearly enough in new church starts, probably less than your annual conference. I think we are presently budgeted for $120,000 a year in subsidized support for pastoral salaries of new church starts, and another $100,000 for program grants to these churches (with only $50,000 of the latter funded last year due to apportionment shortfall). So that is $170,000 a year. This does not include the office of congregational development and the support services it provides to these new churches. It does not count our demographics contract, etc. It does not count the district investment in pastoral housing and property purchases. But we started six new projects last year and two more this year on this shoe-string budget.

One key has been utilizing persons other than elders as planters - they are often very gifted and far less expensive than elders. Another key has been inviting strong, healthy churches to directly plant other churches and to underwrite much of the cost locally. Finally, we have seen some new churches born and chartered without a dime of conference subsidy. Thankfully, our cabinet has been open to bless new churches that bubble up from the grass roots without it being the bishop's idea. Those churches cost the conference nothing. As I said above, we have determined that new churches drive about half our growth.

Please describe your process for starting new churches? What principles and processes do you follow?

We have no cookie-cutter process for new church development. Some conferences have a more standardized approach and it works well. We try to be flexible and responsive to the Spirit and the situation in each place. A few principles that guide us: (1) We assess pastors prior to appointing them as planters. (2) We require our planters to get training for their task and to participate in an on-going relationship with a planter coach during the first two years of their work. (3) We pull the plug on any project as soon as we feel that the chances of its succeeding have diminished; we have too little money to waste any on projects that aren't moving forward steadily. (4) We encourage new mission projects to develop small group ministries with at least 100 adults involved prior to launching public worship; typically this means a worship launch 15 months into the planter's appointment, in the September of the second appointment year. (5) The conference is no longer in the land purchase business. If the district wishes to assist, we encourage them to do so. Otherwise, we focus mainly on developing the church first, and then worry about land, when we have enough folks in the movement that they can help in the land purchase.

We started a project last year where we anticipate the church being permanently nomadic - never purchasing land. This can be maddening for the district board of buildings and location - since a land-less church is free to meet anywhere they like. We have just launched another "church within a church" this year, and we are hopeful that it will be a great model for revitalizing United Methodist ministry in urban areas where the original congregation has aged and fallen out-of-touch with the newest neighbors.

How much of your growth comes from existing churches reaching new people? How does this happen?

Existing churches grow when they decide they are willing to do whatever it takes to effectively serve and disciple the people God has placed around them. It's just that simple. Prayer is a big part of that process of a church choosing to let go and lose itself in ministry. I have found that anytime a church decides to love its community and to fling open its doors to its community, good things happen.

Our bishop, Larry Goodpaster, is tenacious in his belief that any church can add one new member by profession of faith in a given year IF they are in love with their community and seeking to reach the least, the last and the lost.

Over the years that I served Gulf Breeze Church in Pensacola, Fla., we reached 120 to 160 folks a year by profession of faith. Why? Because we designed ministry and deployed staff in order to reach the people who had never been in our doors yet. We decided that reaching the unreached took priority. Some churches think that making disciples can be accomplished within their current membership, simply nurturing the kids and taking the grown-ups deeper. That is an obscene notion, that turns the Christian Church into a club. Jesus sends us out into the bars and out among the people who are not yet a part of a faith community. So, at Gulf Breeze, we had services in bars, out on the beach, and in a community center in addition to worship in the sanctuary. Hundreds of the people who have helped drive those positive stats for the annual conference are, in fact, the precious people we found, loved and discipled outside the sanctuary in Gulf Breeze/Pensacola Beach.

Are you finding Natural Church Development to be making a difference in your churches?

Not yet, but we are still new into Natural Church Development. Ask me again in two years. We are introducing it in about 30 churches this year.

What can annual conferences do to prepare, motivate, and train pastors to help their churches grow?

Several annual conferences with vital congregational development departments now have pastors' academies of various designs, most lasting between one and two years with several off-site retreats where excellent ministry practitioners teach. I am most impressed with Arkansas Annual Conference's Connected in Christ program. It is likely to put Arkansas back in the growth column again in a few years. Investing in pastoral training beyond what they got in seminary is important, but it takes a while for this to make an impact on an annual conference. We completed our first Academy of Congregational Development with 28 pastors this past spring and will start another round in 2006. Church-to-church and pastor-to-pastor mentoring can also be effective, so long as we partner churches with churches that are the same size or slightly larger and in a similar community setting.

Do you have any thoughts about how conferences and/or congregations can reach non-European-American cultural and ethnic groups?

The only new work we have started on my watch (that has succeeded) has been in the Hispanic community. A couple thoughts:

(1) We have learned that we can start Spanish-language faith communities very quickly if we use leaders who are gifted and willing to work under the authority of an elder. We do not even have to send them to licensing school, and since they are not appointable, the movement grows without direct control from the bishop. I am not sure that all our Hispanic faith-community developers even have green cards. I am just happy that we are listening to the Spirit and partnering with such talented evangelists and leaders. They can be very sophisticated theologically. Sometimes I am absolutely amazed at the wisdom and nuance with which they can interpret Scripture. In many cases, they will never have the opportunity to attend seminary, but the Holy Spirit worked without seminaries for several centuries in the Christian movement.

(2) The "church within a church" model seems to work okay with the Hispanic community in our area where predominantly Anglo churches offer space and sponsor the new ministry. This takes the financial pressures off the new start in the early years of congregational development. First United Methodist Church of Clanton, Ala., has been our best model of how this can work. Eventually, San Juan, the church that meets in the Clanton facility, may choose to locate in another place, but they have been embraced so lovingly by the Clanton First people that I cannot imagine anyone wanting to change the current arrangement. Since the San Juan kids all speak English, they are sometimes mixing the two churches' youth and children's groups, so I cannot predict whether or not San Juan will ever choose to be separate from First Church. One of the leaders who came to Christ through San Juan is now planting a faith community in conjunction with the First United Methodist Church of Wetumpka, Ala., about 40 miles away. We hope to plant a third such community in Selma within a few months, and in Mobile within a year -- with pastoral leadership all coming out of San Juan.

What else can you share with us that might help those of us from conferences that are not growing begin to do so?

I would say the same thing to a declining conference that I would say to a declining church. I have long said that I refuse to pastor a dying church. (I just wrote an article in the leadership journal Net Results about this.) When I am appointed to a church that is declining, I concentrate on discerning the people who have bright eyes and who are ready to embrace God's future. I may find 20 or 30 of them. I take names. I keep that list in my desk drawer. That is my real membership, the people who are stake-holders in God's vision. I disciple those people. I work to double them and to triple them. They are the remnant that God will use to do God's New Thing in this generation.

The same thing is true in annual conferences. As a conference staffer, I look for the churches that are longing to reach people, and I help them to do that. I spend my time with the people who are tired of playing church and hungry to change the world. This means that I do not track church membership numbers as a primary indicator of God's movement. First, I am tracking disciples. I am tracking small group attendance, the numbers of ministry leaders, the numbers of professions of faith, and possibly the total worship attendance. Seek first the Reign of God and all the other things (including positive membership trends) shall be added unto you, in God's time.

Ken Callahan once told me (and I am paraphrasing to the best of my memory), "Paul, when you coach baseball, you waste your time if you only coach the best players - those who are going to thrive anyway - or the very poor players - those who are never going to thrive on a baseball field. You are wise to work with the average players who want to be good players, and the good players who want to be excellent." I think that was brilliant advice. Conferences need to invest in the churches who are good but ready to be great! Thanks for the opportunity to share a little of what God is doing in our part of the world!

Our thanks to Dr. Paul Nixon for this inspiring and sometimes provocative interview. Anyone reading this interview should be able to tell why he is helping his conference grow.

Church Growth Due to Biology, Not Theology?

In response to recent posts a friend sent me this note:

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Demographic research shows that the primary reason for the decline in membership in mainline churches and the growth of conservative churches has little to do with ideology and much to do with biology. Conservative church members have more children.

According to findings published in the American Journal of Sociology: “A combination of higher birth rates and earlier childbearing among conservative women …explains over three-fourths of the observed change in Protestants’ denominational affiliations for cohorts born between 1900 and 1970. Most of the rest of the observed change is caused by falling rates of switching from conservative to mainline denominations; differential apostasy plays a small but significant role.

Remarkably, because it has not increased over the past 50 years or so, switching from mainline to conservative denominations as the focus of the leading explanations explains none of the decline of mainline denominations.” (From Hout, M., Greely, A., & Wilde, M. J. (2001). The demographic imperative in religious change in the United States. American Journal of Sociology, 107(2),468-500.)

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As I understand it, this article claims that conservative church growth has been mostly due to conservatives having larger families. A much more secondary factor is that fewer conservatives switch to mainline churches than used to be the case. A third, but quite minor, factor is that a higher percentage of members of mainline churches disaffiliate from church than happens in conservative churches.

The article also claims that there has been no increase in the percentage of members of mainline churches switching to conservative church these past 50 years, so this cannot be a reason conservative churches seem to be growing faster than mainline churches.

Find an abstract of the article here or, if you have trouble with that link, go here and open volume 107, number 2.

Why Is Your Conference Growing? An E-interview with Nancy Rankin

Dr. Nancy Burgin Rankin serves as Director of Congregational Development for the Western North Carolina Conference. With half of U.S. conferences having announced their numbers for 2004, her conference is one of the few United Methodist conferences reporting growth in both church membership and average worship attendance.

Dr. Rankin served as a pastor and district superintendent prior to becoming Director of Congregational Development in 2004. While pursuing her doctorate of ministry at United Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, she studied with Michael Slaughter, the pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church. As Director of Congregational Development, she helps plant new congregations and resources congregations seeking to redevelop and grow.

Untied Methodist asked her to reflect on why her conference is growing when so few conferences are.

Why is your conference growing when most aren't?

The short answers: population growth; intentional evangelism; training; Disciple Bible Study; planting new churches; funding congregational development; using new worship styles; prayer ministries; annual conference strategic plan.

We have been blessed with a large population growth, at least in our urban counties. Our annual conference has been having a net increase in membership growth for over 15 years but, to put that in perspective, our conference secretary at this year's annual conference meeting reported to us that we have grown since the 1968 merger by 4 percent while the population has grown in our conference area by 68 percent. So, clearly, while we are growing we have not begun to capture what we could have of the new people among us.

But I can point to two things that turned us around from a 20-year decline. First, our annual conference made a determined effort to learn about the Church Growth movement, and to get our pastors and laity trained to intentionally do evangelism. Training in Faith Sharing by Eddie Fox and Danny Morris followed that. Then we made Disciple Bible Study a priority for our churches, expecting our pastors to teach it and then have their laity be able to teach Disciple. Training was also offered for churches wanting to reach new people through new worship styles, and most of our new churches use upbeat music, visuals, drama, and other innovative approaches that speak to contemporary people. We have put a much greater emphasis on prayer ministries. Terry Tekyl has done several conference events here, and we have churches that have implemented his Building a House of Prayer concepts, and they have seen their congregations transformed.

Secondly, we determined that we had to start planting new churches again. We had a boom of new church starts in the 1950s and 60s, and then we went dormant until the early 80s. It quickly became evident that our largest numbers of new adult converts to Christianity were coming from our newest churches. Much of our general growth has also come from those new churches and from the churches who were willing to be revitalized and willing to reach out to new people through a new worship style and/or mission outreach. In 2004, four of the 10 churches with the largest average worship attendance were churches started less than 20 years ago.

Our conference entered a capital funding campaign called the Vision Builders Society that had a goal of raising one million dollars for new churches. It did not reach its numerical goal, but it did raise the awareness of the effectiveness of planting new churches. We have just launched a new funding program called Vital Partners that replaces Vision Builders Society, and it has a broader focus. The Vital Partners funds will go for new churches and for remissioning existing churches that want to be vital churches making disciples of Jesus Christ.

I believe, too, that our new annual conference strategic plan will continue to help us grow. I served on the strategic planning team and we read Bishop Claude Payne's book Reclaiming the Great Commission which describes the turnaround of the Episcopal Diocese in Texas. Our mission statement now reads "Follow Jesus, Make Disciples, Transform the World." The first of seven points in the plan is that we will "intentionally relate unchurched persons to Jesus Christ." This, in effect, gives marching orders to the work of congregational development and justifies the need for planting new churches.

How much money does your conference invest in new church starts?

Our usual funding for a new church start was $120,000 over three years in declining sequence. Then we gave $200,000 for the purchase of land and another $100,000 for their first building. However, we have felt budget crunches like other areas of the church so we are re-evaluating how we plant new churches. We are now planting using a partnership model where there is a sponsoring or "mother" church helping in significant ways to "birth" the new church. We also have an example of a healthy church taking on a failing church, their debts and all, by merging, making the failing church now a multi-site campus for the "adoptive mother church." The same mother church is launching a second multi-site campus this summer. The church they merged with uses a combination of live worship with a video of the pastor's sermon from the mother church's Saturday night service. We are emphasizing for our new churches to concentrate more on building the people and postponing going to land and buildings, thereby avoiding premature debt loads that impede ministry growth. So we are looking more at sharing worship spaces with existing churches and leasing spaces.

Describe your process for starting new churches.

I have asked that each district have a committee on congregational development that will work with the district superintendent and the resources of my office to develop a master plan for their district to identify potential church plants as well to identify churches that need revitalization and/or remissioning for their context. Districts then propose to the bishop, cabinet, and to me, their commitment to start a new faith community. We have just started using an assessment process for potential new-church-start pastors. We give the names of those pastors whose assessments reveal that they are good candidates to start a church to the cabinet. We develop a financial plan that combines the resources of my office, those of the district, and the sponsoring church/es for the new plant. We have been budgeting for three new starts a year but with the new partnership model I predict we can start more. We should be planting 10 a year. A pastor is appointed and a launch team of laity will either emerge from among the existing congregation of the partnering church or from people in the district who are committed to helping start a new church. Once the new faith community is ready to go out from the partner church they meet with the district superintendent and me to set benchmarks for their church. These benchmarks would include a time-line of "taste and see" events; numbers of contacts that will be made by both pastor and laity; expectations for growth; development of a discipleship system and a stewardship ministry so that new Christians can be discipled and financial commitment is built into the DNA of the church from its inception. It will be understood that if those benchmarks are not met serious consideration will have to be given to discontinuing the plant. We expect our new church pastors to attend the national training or "boot camp" (held this year at Simpsonwood in the North Georgia Annual Conference) and that they enroll in the Fitzgerald Pastors Program provided by the General Board of Discipleship. In our conference they must also be an active participant in a Church Planters Network that meets every other month for support, resourcing, and fellowship. We are planning on providing each one with a trained coach. Our annual conference also uses a paid consultant who is a five-time church planter to advise me and to help me establish our planting process.

Do many of your new starts fail? How do you handle new church starts that seem not to be taking off?

Unfortunately, some do fail. What we have discovered is that many fail because they went to public worship too soon. I highly recommend Craig Kennet Miller's book NextChurch.Now where he describes an excellent rationale as to why churches should not go public until they have nurtured 12 groups of 12 people in small groups. This not only creates a foundation of discipled people; it provides a critical mass of people more ready to take on the debt of leased worship space and the extra costs of music staff, and who are equipped to nurture the new people that join their church. This number of people seems to also be easier for new people to feel comfortable among.

A critical factor in some failed starts is whether or not the pastor is truly "wired" to be a church planter. Church planters are a different breed. They have to be self-starters, visionary, entrepreneurial, teachable, fabulous networkers, and fearless social beings. A wonderful, caring shepherding pastor may love their people but fail to grow them in numbers that can be self-sustaining. Just this year we chose to go ahead and pull the funding of one of our new starts that really never gathered enough people. It was a hard decision but it was done in time for the pastor to be appointed to another church and for the district to re-evaluate that particular start and the model that was used to launch it.

How much of your growth comes from existing churches reaching new people? How does this happen?

We have good news here, too. One of our oldest and most traditional churches led the conference in adult professions of faith in 2004 with 107 adults joining as new Christians. The second highest was also one of our older churches that had 88. They are both healthy churches in an urban area, but we had good news in less likely places. One of the older but less impressive churches of the past decided to open its doors to 58 Montenyards; it was a huge decision for this Anglo church to be willing to become multi-cultural/racial.

We cannot dismiss the fact that pastoral leadership is critical to growing healthy churches that make disciples of Jesus Christ. Committed, energized, life-long learners serve these growing churches, and some of them are older pastors as well. A second factor in growing churches is committed lay leadership that has a heart for the lost. Churches that grow have to decide they want to grow and to grow for the right reasons -- not to pay their bills but to reach people for Christ and to share his love with them. This inevitably means being willing to change some things. Most of our churches that have added a new style of worship service have seen a positive influx of new people. A fe