wfn.org | Presbytery-based Fund-raisers For New Church Development,

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13-September-1996 
 
 
 
96342     Presbytery-based Fund-raisers For New Church  
     Development,  Redevelopment Proposed by Initiative Team 
 
                      by Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--In an Aug. 15-17 meeting tinged with anxiety over the 
impending departure of two key staff, members of the New Church Development 
and Church Redevelopment Initiative Team proposed a dramatic new plan for 
raising funds for the Presbyterian Church's church development work. 
 
     The plan, which will go to the General Assembly Council (GAC) at its 
late-September meeting, calls for existing church loan funds to be used to 
deploy "funds developers" in the presbyteries to raise funds locally for 
new church development and redevelopment. 
 
     Calling the idea "a modest proposal," the Rev. Frank Beattie, 
associate director for evangelism and church development (ECD), estimated 
that the average purchase price of a vacant lot for a new church is 
currently about $300,000.  For the same amount of money, Beattie said, a 
funds developer could be hired for a presbytery for three years who could 
raise $5-10 million for church developments in the presbytery. 
 
     "By lending the money to the presbytery for a funds developer [instead 
of for a single site]," Beattie said, "the General Assembly gets the same 
return on its loan but the presbytery gets an exponentially larger return 
for multiple missions within its bounds." 
 
     Under the proposed plan, a presbytery would hire a funds developer 
from a pool of persons trained and certified by ECD.  The funds developer 
would be paid by a church loan from ECD to the presbytery and a covenant 
would be established between the presbytery and ECD. 
 
     To qualify for the loan, a presbytery would have to commit to use at 
least a third of the money raised for new church development or church 
redevelopment within its bounds, would have to have a 5-10 year plan for 
new church development and church redevelopment in place, and would agree 
to repay the loan. 
 
     The funds developers' responsibilities would include 
 
     *  exploring special and major gift opportunities in the presbytery 
     *  serving as "change agents" to enhance attitudes about giving for 
        evangelism and church development within the presbytery 
     *  training pastors and lay leaders to be more assertive about 
        stewardship and giving. 
 
     The initiative team envisions the funds developers working closely 
with the field representatives of the Presbyterian Foundation, staff of the 
Church Financial Campaign Service and the special gifts office of the 
General Assembly. 
 
     A start-up date of July 1997 is foreseen. 
 
     The bold new plan was developed as initiative team members faced an 
uncertain future, with the departure of Beattie, who is retiring, and the 
Rev. Thomas Dietrich, associate for church redevelopment, who is leaving 
national staff to pursue other career options.  Both will leave their posts 
this fall. 
 
     In the wake of 1996 General Assembly action declaring growth of the 
racial-ethnic membership in the Presbyterian Church as a high priority, 
team members sought to redefine their goals.  At the conclusion of its 
meeting the initiative team asked the GAC to 
 
      *  refine the focus of the New Church Development and Church 
         Redevelopment Initiative to emphasize racial-ethnic membership 
         growth "while maintaining the broad emphasis on evangelism" that 
         is one of the General Assembly's four priority goals 
      *  create an advisory committee to oversee the implementation of the 
         funds developers plan within the presbyteries 
      *  urge the National Ministries Division Committee to find ways to 
         increase the pool of funds available for Mission Program Grants, 
         the program that provides programmatic start-up funds to new 
         church developments and church redevelopment projects. 
 
     The Rev. David Hawbecker of Oakland, Calif., outlined plans for 
"Rebirthing Congregational Ministry in a Time of Transitions," a national 
conference to gather and train Presbyterian leaders for redevelopment 
ministry. 
 
     The conference is scheduled for Jan. 23-26, 1997, in San Antonio, 
Texas.  Keynote speakers will be Robert N. Bellah, religious sociologist 
who is professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley 
and co-author of "Habits of the Heart" and "The Good Society," and 
religious researcher Robert Lithicum. 
 
     "We see this conference as part of the evolution of a network of 
people who believe church redevelopment ministry is a source of hope for 
the Presbyterian Church," Hawbecker noted.  More than 200 people are 
expected to attend. 
 
     Initiative team members were encouraged by several hours spent with 
General Assembly moderator the Rev. John M. Buchanan, who said at his 
election in Albuquerque that he intends to focus on new church development 
and church redevelopment as a key emphasis of his moderatorial year. 
 
     Noting that he started his ministerial career as a new church 
development pastor, Buchanan told the team that "if anyone can figure out 
more imaginative models for doing new church development and church 
redevelopment ministry, the Presbyterian Church ought to be able to." 
 
     He said the Presbyterian Church will continue to decline "until we 
plan the reinvention of the church and aggressively begin again to plant 
new churches."  Reflecting on his experience as a pastor in the heart of 
Chicago, Buchanan said, "We have thousands of urban churches struggling 
mightily to scrape together pennies to pay the pastor and fix the roof -- 
let's be imaginative and think of new ways to be the church."  He said he 
would like to see cadres of  "urban specialists" -- highly trained pastors 
in urban ministry "who are on fire to share the news of Jesus Christ." 
 
     After hearing details about the work of the initiative team and the 
ECD program area in the National Ministries Division, a clearly enthused 
Buchanan told the team, "Tell me how I can put some moderatorial muscle 
behind what you're doing -- give me five things you want me to tell folk." 
 
     The team quickly complied.  It asked Buchanan to 
 
     *  serve as a catalyst to bring people together, presbytery by 
        presbytery, to strategize about new church development and church 
        redevelopment models in their areas 
     *  share enthusiasm and success stories about new church development 
        and church redevelopment around the church 
     *  encourage commitment to and networking of leadership for new church 
        development and church redevelopment ministry 
     *  encourage increased financial support for new church development 
        and church redevelopment projects 
     *  call together a conference of 30-50 people who are developing new 
        models for new church development and church redevelopment so 
        creative ideas can be more widely shared. 

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