Top Forty

Mission Initiative team examines innovative church growth models

by Jerry L. Van Marter

HOUSTON — Demonstrating remarkable adaptability as it seeks to raise $40 million for new churches and new missionaries in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts & Hands (MIJHH) Steering Committee has embraced an innovative proposal to foster church growth.

      The proposal — outlined for the committee at its recent meeting here by the Rev. Chuck Denison, associate for new church development in the Evangelism and Church Development (ECD) program area of the National Ministries Division — envisions a far more collaborative relationship between ECD and seminaries and presbyteries. The emphasis is on developing clergy and lay leaders specifically for new church development (NCD) and congregational “transformation” (redevelopment).

      It includes:

      Expanding the “Company of New Pastors,” a vocational formation program that integrates candidates and new pastors into the churchwide “Company of Pastors” that engages participants in spiritual and practical disciplines that will sustain them in ministry. Currently only half of the church’s seminaries participate in the program.

      Expanding the Transformational Leadership Intern Program, which provides training and mentoring to seminary students who are committed to redeveloping existing congregations. The program has been plagued by insufficient funding during its 10 years.

      Providing matching grants for trained consultants to work with presbyteries starting NCDs and providing coaches to train and mentor NCD pastors.

      Providing scholarships for prospective NCD pastors to attend the National New Church Development Conference and grants to presbyteries to help assess potential NCD pastors and then train them.

      Expanding the 3,000-strong Churchwide Redevelopment Training Network by offering advanced training to redevelopment pastors and lay leaders beyond what is offered at the annual Churchwide Redevelopment Conference and regional events.

      Developing new resources such as training videos, materials in five languages, supplemental curricula for cultural specific ministries, and workbooks and leader guides for congregational and presbytery staff and committees.

      “What’s at stake is the future of the denomination and this is an opportunity to vision into that future,” Denison told the committee. “For us that means going local — that’s where the resources are and where the involvement is. People in California aren’t going to give $1 million to start a church in Illinois — those days are gone forever, and good riddance.”

      MIJHH campaign co-chair Bill Saul of Long Beach, CA, heartily concurred. “What we run into over and over again when we talk to prospective donors and presbyteries,” he said, “is that the protocols and models in Louisville are so rigid that presbyteries are giving up on their partnership with Louisville.”

      Campaign director Jan Opdyke agreed. “When (prospective donors) ask us about our track record with new church developments, we can’t give them a very good success rate — currently 50 percent fail,” she said. “This proposal represents some new ways of growing the church.”

      The committee asked Denison to “sharpen” the proposal into specific projects that can be funded by donors, reflecting a continuing trend in American philanthropy toward designated giving.

      “This whole campaign so far has been a learning experience,” said General Assembly Council (GAC) Executive Director John Detterick. “We can’t do a campaign like this without giving up control to donors, to structure it so they decide where they want to spend their money.”

      The Rev. Tim Hart-Anderson of Minneapolis concurred. “Put this model in terms of numbers,” he said. “150 new churches, 600 new Company of New Pastors participants, 250 new lay pastors commissioned for new church development — we can sell this if we can tell people, ‘This is what you’re getting for your money.’”

      “And we need to make sure that this is presented as integral to our new church growth strategy,” added the Rev. John Huffman of Newport Beach, CA, “and not some add-on wish list to get more money for these things.”

Presbyteries on board

      While the campaign was initially envisioned as a major-donor effort, the MIJHH continues to attract considerable support from presbyteries.

      “We’re still focused on major donors,” Saul said. “But frankly, the response from presbyteries has been overwhelming.” Two presbyteries — Los Ranchos and Santa Fe — have launched multi-million dollar campaigns. Two others — Mid-Kentucky and Peace River — have approved MIJHH-related campaigns and are currently conducting feasibility studies to determine the amounts they intend to raise.

      The Peace River effort is most heartening, Saul said. “We’d been talking, and then they wound up right in the path of the devastating hurricanes last summer and we thought we’d have to put that campaign on hold,” he said. “But they called us and said they have to proceed and they’re convinced they can raise a huge amount of money.”

      Other presbyteries with which the MIJHH has had conversations about campaigns, Saul said, include Grand Canyon, Pittsburgh, New Covenant, San Diego, San Fernando, San Gabriel, Tampa Bay, seven presbyteries in New Jersey, Santa Barbara, New York City, Greater Atlanta and Middle Tennessee. “Every one of those presbyteries came to us,” Saul noted.

Budget pressures

      As with the PC(USA) mission budget, the propensity toward designated giving is putting early pressure on MIJHH finances. As of Nov. 19 of this year, more than $8.4 million in cash and pledges have been received — $4.4 million for church growth (new church development and the redevelopment of existing congregations), $600,000 for mission personnel, and $3.4 million unrestricted.

      However, only $392,000 in unrestricted cash has been received and by the end of October campaign expenses totaled $1.7 million. While the GAC mission budget has funded the campaign’s expenses since the MIJHH was launched in 2002, in 2005 the campaign must pick up half of its expenses (roughly $900,000) and beginning in 2006 all expenses must be borne by the campaign.

      “We could generate a lot of cash in the next five to eight years and still not have enough money to pay our bills,” Huffman said.

      Acknowledging that “the pressure is there and it’s real,” MIJHH director Jan Opdyke said, “When we sit down with presbyteries, part of the planning is negotiating a payout that ensures equitable cash flow.” She concurred with Saul’s prediction that “by early summer (2005), we’re going to see major cash start flowing in.”

Ten for ten: a case study

      The committee examined a new model for church growth launched recently by Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston (which hosted its meeting). The church’s goal is to grow 10 percent per year for the next 10 years by planting satellite congregations around Houston.

      “About a year ago we assessed our ministry as we prepare to celebrate our 50^th anniversary,” said the Rev. David Peterson, the church’s pastor and an MIJHH Steering Committee member. “We discovered that, despite being an evangelical congregation, our weakest area was evangelism, so we made an intentional decision to grow.”

      Because the existing Memorial Drive campus is fully developed and no more land is available, the church’s session decided to “push out rather than draw in,” Peterson said.

      Robert Westheimer, a 30-year member of the church who lost his job and retirement savings when the Arthur Andersen accounting firm collapsed as part of the Enron scandal, now heads a “Barnabas Team” that is spearheading Memorial Drive’s effort.

      “This ministry actually began about two years ago out of a Presbyterian Cursillo group at the church,” Westheimer told the committee. “We started out trying to help strengthen existing churches, but after four or five months concluded that, while we were helping some, it was not going to be enough.

      “So we decided to start at the beginning and plant new churches.”

      The laity-led Barnabas Team includes 25 Memorial Drive members who have made a two-year commitment. “We’ve been called and we’re answering the call,” Westheimer said matter-of-factly.

      The group has completed a 26-week training regimen and is now writing a set of 25 manuals on various aspects of church planting. “Not one of us was an expert and all of our initial assumptions were wrong,” Westheimer concedes, “but we feel like the Spirit is moving us forward and we’ve gotten so much confirmation that we’re sure we’re on the right track.”

      The first church plant will be in an inner-city Houston neighborhood amid public housing projects. No church building is being contemplated — the congregation will use the common rooms of the housing project. A search committee is currently seeking an organizing pastor, who will initially be an associate pastor at Memorial Drive.

      The key to the Barnabas Team’s success, Westheimer said, “is to keep it spiritual. Eventually you’ll need the nuts and bolts, but you have to lead with the spirit.”

      Westheimer said about a third of the Barnabas Team’s time is spent in prayer “and we’ve had meetings where all we did was pray.” The first event held at the initial site was a prayer service.

      “We recognize the significance of setting high goals for ourselves,” Peterson said. “But we’ve discovered that we have completely reoriented our life and ministry by setting concrete growth goals.  It’s hard work but it’s creating huge enthusiasm.”

      Denison called Memorial Drive’s Barnabas Team ministry “a very interesting and promising model that exemplifies the kind of local partnership model that is clearly a hope for the future in the PC(USA).”