UMR Communications is offering the latest headlines in the RSS format.
Features
Growth Patterns: Some churches buck denomination’s overall trend of membership decline Mary Jacobs, Nov 6, 2009
COURTESY PHOTOS
The informal, welcoming atmosphere helps draw members to fast-growing Harvest Church, a United Methodist congregation in south Georgia.
By Mary Jacobs Staff Writer
It’s a Sunday morning at Harvest Church, a United Methodist congregation in Warner Robins, Ga. A group of teens with multiple piercings has just arrived for worship. One is wearing a T-shirt sporting the word “Jackass,” the title of a popular MTV show.
“This is the true test,” thought lead pastor the Rev. Jim Cowart, wondering how the elderly woman greeting that morning might react to the PG-13 apparel.
He had nothing to worry about.
“We’re so glad you’re here!” the lady told the teens.
“She never said a word about all those piercings,” Mr. Cowart said. “She didn’t even blink at the T-shirt.”
It’s that kind of welcome and acceptance, he believes, that puts Harvest Church on Outreach magazine’s list of Top 100 Fastest-Growing Churches in America. The United Methodist congregation ranked No. 8 in percentage growth (50 percent from 2007 to 2008) and No. 28 for its growth in numbers. Currently, Harvest averages 2,100 in worship each week.
Harvest was the only United Methodist church that made the list, which is dominated by non-denominational churches. While there are other UM churches growing as quickly—Outreach’s tally is based on self-reported data—Harvest is clearly bucking the denomination’s overall trend of declines in attendance and membership.
So what makes Harvest Church grow?
“We just love everybody as they are,” said Mr. Cowart. “And we’re very intentional about reaching new people for Christ.”
Interviews with several growing United Methodist churches revealed a few common denominators: a culture of hospitality, a nimble organization, and plenty of dedicated members with what Mr. Cowart calls a “holy desperation”—a heart for inviting others to church.
Radical hospitality
Carl Palmer, pastor of Elm Springs UMC in Springdale, Ark., remembers an experience at the first church he served as pastor, a tiny rural church in Ohio.
When some newcomers turned up one Sunday morning, one member stood up and said, “We’re so glad we’ve got some outsiders with us this morning.”
From that mortifying experience, Mr. Palmer took away a lesson: Create a culture where visitors are never seen as “outsiders.”
So it was no accident that an “open and friendly environment” greeted Meghan Hastings and her family when they visited Elm Springs three years ago. They decided to join and are now active members.
“Everything we do is geared toward the newcomer,” Mr. Palmer said. “What is evangelism except becoming a very inviting congregation?” Attendance at Elm Springs grew from 147 to 200 between 2007 and 2008.
“Creating places where people are loved and appreciated is enormously important,” according to the Rev. John Miles, pastor of First UMC in Jonesboro, Ark., which welcomed 129 new members in 2008, many of them by profession of faith. Attendance now averages more than 900 on Sunday mornings.
The church has a “Parking Pals” ministry, in which members and guests are greeted before they enter the building on Sunday mornings. Several recovery ministries welcome people facing divorce or struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction. “We’re serious about Christ, but we’re not judgmental,” is how Mr. Miles puts it.
Impact Church, a new United Methodist congregation in downtown Atlanta, attracts worshippers by advertising worship as “the best pregame show in Atlanta.” On days when the Atlanta Falcons play at home, folks are invited to attend 10 a.m. worship at Impact’s temporary space, located next to the Georgia Dome.
“They can park at the dome for free and then go next door to the game afterward,” said the Rev. Olu Brown, Impact’s pastor. The predominantly African-American congregation, now in its third year, averages over 900 in weekly attendance. Simple, but not easy
Many growing churches say they’ve grown by doing more with less.
“We don’t have a lot of programs,” said the Rev. David Walters, pastor of The Vine, a United Methodist church in Braselton, Ga. “Instead, we focus on three primary modes for connecting with people: Sunday morning worship, small groups and compassionate outreach.” The Vine started in 2007 and now averages over 400 in weekly attendance.
Mr. Walters describes the church’s outreach as “organic” and “indigenous.” In 2007, two church members expressed a desire to help the homeless for Christmas. Church members brought 500 coats and 300 lunch bags to a shelter on Christmas Day.
It’s not important to make that an annual tradition, according to Mr. Walters. “We didn’t create a ‘program,’” he said. “It’s a ministry led by people who are passionate and who rallied support to accomplish that.”
Other growing churches report a similar nimbleness in approach.
“We try to stay light on our feet,” said Elm Springs' Mr. Palmer. “We don’t have a lot of committees, and we try not to propagate things that are not working.”
That’s worked for Harvest Church, too. “We try not to wear people out with meetings and committees,” said Mr. Cowart. Expectations on church members are few but not easy: Attend worship regularly, establish a personal habit of quiet time, get into a small group and join a ministry team. “Traditional churches have been so program-driven,” said Mr. Cowart. “They try to cram one more thing in. People are busy enough. We tried to simplify and stay focused.”
Creating more with less has worked for Impact Church, too. The church has a worship space but no full-time facility. About 13 small groups meet throughout the area during the week at homes, libraries and coffeehouses. One meets in the community room of a local grocery store. “Our motto is ‘Doing Church Differently,’” said Mr. Brown. “We hold fast to the principles of the denomination, but we’re meeting people of diverse backgrounds and needs where they are.”
Focus is important, too. Elm Springs’ leadership set goals to grow by a specific time—and met those goals. The church also prioritized its programming. A few years ago at Elm Springs, Mr. Palmer said, his church’s vision team posed a question to the congregation: “If we want to be known for one thing, what would that be?” The answer: an excellent program for children and youth. The congregation turned that vision to a reality; many of the new members are young families who come for the children’s programs.
‘Holy desperation’
All of the growing churches interviewed offer at least one contemporary service, and many pastors cited the addition of a new contemporary worship service as an avenue for bringing in more attendees. Jonesboro’s “Elevation” service, started in early 2008, attracts about 200 people each week, most of them in their teens or early 20s.
“Having that option is important,” said Mr. Miles. “It’s not less serious and it’s not ‘Christianity lite,’ but it makes worship a little more accessible to many people.”
Above all, leaders of growing churches say that reaching others has become a defining part of their church’s culture.
“Our primary driver is to really reach those people who are not connected to God or the church,” said Mr. Walters of The Vine. “We filter everything we do through that lens.” Worship leaders are careful to explain, or avoid, “churchy” language that might seem unfamiliar to newcomers.
Kyle Smith, pastor of Life Springs, a new and growing United Methodist congregation in Zebulon, Ga., says he can’t point to any particular innovation to explain their growth; it’s more about basics.
“We’re just focusing on offering something for children and youth and relevant worship,” he said. “My sermon is geared to giving people at least one thing they can take and apply directly in their life and be more like Jesus.”
“We have a saying, ‘Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where he found some bread,’” said Mr. Cowart of Harvest. “It’s become part of who we are.”
Mega-churches aren’t the only UMCs that are growing these days. Among churches that added 100 or more in attendance between 2006 and 2007, the following U.S. churches showed the highest percentage gains:
1. St. Paul’s UMC in Hebron, Md.—441 weekly attendance, up 264 percent
2. Edisto Fork UMC in Orangesburg, S.C.—736 weekly attendance, up 215 percent
3. Ashville Village Chapel—437 weekly attendance, up 168 percent
4. First UMC, Santa Ana, Calif.—210 weekly attendance, up 156 percent
COURTESY PHOTOS
Radical hospitality 
‘Holy desperation’ 
