Reaching out in Foley

Members of the First Presbyterian Church of Foley, Minnesota. Photo by the Rev. Allen C. Jergenson

First Presbyterian Church of Foley, Minnesota, is a church experiencing spiritual renewal and growth because it claimed its missional niche. First Church has been served by its pastor, the Rev. Allen C. Jergenson, for 17 years in a big aging building in downtown Foley, a community of about 5,000 residents. Its church home was inaccessible to its members with physical disabilities. This smaller membership congregation explored a variety of options such as merging or yoking with another church to stay near its downtown location since it was “dying at its current location.”

Five years ago, the church decided rather than renovating its building, it would build a new handicap-accessible building about one and a half miles away from their original site. This site was next door to a new family housing development. In choosing its new location, the First Church thought its mission would primarily be focused on reaching out with new families living next door, but it ended up refocusing its mission back to serving older adults living in downtown Foley. The population of Foley was slowly growing because retirees from other communities were moving in.

First Church decided to see how it could serve older adults living in downtown Foley. The church worked with the Foley Area Ecumenical Ministerial Group and developed a partnership with the CROSS Center (Christians Reaching Out in Social Service) to help meet the needs of older adults, such as transportation, housing, food and clothes. Through its OASIS ministry (Older Adults Interested In Socializing), First Church provided fellowship and support for older adults. With their renewed missional spirit, the Rev. Jergenson and members of First Church began to reach out with its downtown neighbors by starting a Bible study in a local restaurant and getting out and meeting people at lunch.

Since its move to its new church home, the congregation of First Church is growing spiritually and numerically, serving both its downtown and next-door neighbors. Its church home provides support and a home for local community groups such as 4-H, Benton County Extension Service and Foley Women of Today. First Church is also involved in mission internationally through the Guatemala “Living Waters” Project. The transformation and growth of First Church’s congregation happened not by moving nor by building a new building but by reaching out and serving with its neighbors.