wfn.org | [ENS] Lenten 'Groundwork' planned to assist congregational

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Monday, November 29, 2004

Lenten 'Groundwork' planned to assist congregational development

Study resources set for growth amid membership trends across mainline
denominations

ENS112904-1

[Episcopal News Service] New Lenten teaching resources for use in 2005 will
invite congregations to build hospitality, evangelism, organizational
transformation, and advertising to welcome new members to the Episcopal
Church.

Titled "Groundwork" and set for mailing to all congregations in early
January, the new resources are centered around lesson plans for use in
varied teaching settings. The effort continues a proactive strategy begun by
General Convention in 2000 to strengthen local congregations and to counter
membership declines experienced in recent years by all mainline
denominations.

According to denominational sources:

* the Presbyterian Church USA reports a loss of 46,658 members nationally in
2003 to a total of 2,405,311, down 1.9% from 2,451,969 in 2002;
* the Episcopal Church reports a loss of 35,988 active members in 2003 to
2,284,233, down 1.6 % from 2,320,221 in 2000;
* the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reports a loss of 53,141
baptized members in 2003 to a total of 4,984,925 down 1.1% from 5,038,006 in
2002;
* the United Methodist Church - which states that 2003 figures have not yet
been released - reported in 2002 a loss of 43,253 domestically to 8,255,207,
down 0.5 % from 8,298,460 in 2001.

Meanwhile, among other statistics, pledge-and-plate giving across the
Episcopal Church increased in 2003 by some $29.6 million to $1.23 billion,
up from $1.2 billion in 2003. Statistical "fast facts" for 2003 are posted
at www.episcopalchurch.org/23235_28079_ENG_HTM.htm. The figures have been
compiled and posted by Dr. Kirk Hadaway, the Episcopal Church's director of
research.

Aimed to achieve membership growth, the 2005 Lenten study resources
emphasize complete analysis of congregational systems at work in local
ministry, the Rev. Dr. James B. Lemler, director of mission for the
Episcopal Church, said in a recent interview.

" 'Groundwork' will be an educational offering for Lent 2005 that joins
together reflection on the study and proclamation of the Lenten Sunday
Scripture cycle and learning about evangelism, congregational invitation,
and mission in the present changing context," Lemler said.

  "It is part of the goal of personal and congregational transformation that
is at the heart of the Episcopal Church's mission and of the National
Advertising Collaborative that has been launched.

The 'Groundwork' learning resources are being developed to be used for study
on Sundays, in mid-week Lenten programs, and for leadership/vestry retreats.
Its frameworks will assist Episcopalians to consider their own faith
stories, how the local congregation invites people (especially young
adults), ways of learning about their own context, and the meaning of
baptismal identity," Lemler said.

"It is hoped that 'Groundwork' - and its components developed in English and
Spanish -- will be a foundational step for congregations in their mission of
invitation and evangelism and will provide links to resources for these
important ministries."

Lemler said the "Groundwork" resources will also provide a thematic
complement to the Episcopal Church's new on-line visitors' center,
http://www.comeandgrow.org/, and to additional related communication
initiatives.

Evangelism should be made more active

"We need a more active evangelism," says the Rev. Charles Fulton, who serves
the Episcopal Church as director of congregational development and as
president of the Episcopal Church Building Fund.

Priorities of advertising, mission funding, start-up of new congregations,
and taking a fresh look at worship styles are key to achieving positive
change, Fulton said in a November 24 interview in his office at the
Episcopal Church Center. Thorough transformation of a congregation is often
necessary for growth to occur, Fulton added, underscoring a point he makes
throughout training events titled "Start Up, Start Over."

Fulton cites the nation's birthrate as a prime indicator of Episcopal Church
membership. "Our growth or decline over decades has closely mirrored the
birth rate. What's a little different is we're not keeping our own kids in
church," he said, noting that in more evangelical churches, young adults
more often continue in the tradition in which they are raised.

The Episcopal Church needs to achieve both conversion and formation of
Christians, Fulton said. "Historically, we as mainline denominations have
been better at formation than conversion. Conversion is the active stuff,
the work emphasized by evangelicals and Pentecostals. We have to do both
conversion and formation, and the truth is, we can be agents of conversion,
but how do we get Episcopalians to be about conversion?"

The telling of faith stories is a first step, Fulton said, noting a point he
emphasizes frequently in consultations with congregations across the
country. "Telling your own story brings authentic words to doing the work of
conversion. It's a way of saying 'I'm God's child, and I have known God to
be like this,' or 'this is how God works in my life.'"

Also essential, says Fulton, is effective advertising, such as the national
television campaign the Episcopal Church has scheduled for late summer 2005
to reach Generation X persons who are unaffiliated with any church. When
asked how the church is building a more active evangelism, the ad campaign
is one answer, Fulton said.

  "We also need to reach new population groups. We need to reach diverse
ethnic groups, and to reach younger generational groups," Fulton said.
"Demographics tell us that new members are not going to come significantly
from the Anglo population. The Gospel calls us to widen the call to all
people."

He added: "The best way to reach a new population is often to start a new
congregation," and this is why new funding for mission is vital, especially
because it is often "harder for an existing congregation to reach new
populations."

Fulton also sees a "larger issue": "I think we're increasingly out of touch
with our culture. We're presenting the gospel the same way we were 200 years
ago. It's not the gospel that needs to change; we need to present it
differently to be effective in today's culture."

Speed, as well as "beat and sound," are considerations for evaluating church
ministries, especially worship, Fulton said. Video "presents an image per
second" while the church often through a typical Sunday sermon - presents
"an image per hour." Given the "rapidity of change, whether we like it or
note, it takes more happening to keep our attention."

Fulton added that authenticity is essential, particularly for young people
"who demand passion and integrity. Young people quickly detect what is not
genuine, and are suspicious of being manipulated. We've got to discover
passion of our faith and speak about it with integrity."

Further information about congregational development in the Episcopal Church
may be obtained online at www.episcopalchurch.org/congdev. Additional
context and analysis of statistics is posted in a Q&A interview on the
Episcopal News Service website.