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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (125
notes).

Note 123 by UMNS on May 28, 1997 at 16:23 Eastern (5747 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency
of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn.,
New York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Bloom                        311(10-21-31-71B){123}
         New York (212) 870-3803                      May 28, 1997

For first time in decades,
new black churches being formed

by John Coleman Jr.*

     CHICAGO (UMNS) -- When Bernardine Daniels is ordained a
deacon in June, she will begin work on an unique assignment: to
build the first new United Methodist church in Detroit's inner
city in 30 years.
     Armed with demographic research, Daniels -- already an
experienced pastor and seminary graduate -- will search for a site
in the city's most densely populated African-American neighborhood
where no United Methodist church currently exists.
      The denomination's Detriot Annual (regional) Conference will
provide her with initial basic support, including salary, a church
musician, a community outreach assistant, and a parsonage. The
rest is up to her.
     "I can't wait to get started," said the energetic Detroit
native, already planning to start karate classes and other
children's programs. "We have a lot of young, single-parent
families in that area who aren't being reached by any church and
who would welcome the kind of responsive, community-based, spirit-
filled ministry we hope to develop."
     Daniels found much in common with some of the 60 pastors,
district superintendents, annual conference leaders and laypersons
who attended a mid-May training event here, sponsored by the New
York-based United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
     Like Detroit, at least three other annual conferences
represented -- North Georgia, Northern Illinois and Eastern
Pennsylvania -- also have cities with large African-American
populations, but are developing their first new, predominantly
African-American churches in decades.
     "It's hard to believe, but my conference hadn't started a new
black church in over 20 years until we opened," said the Rev.
Robert Randolph-Davis, pastor of the 120-member Abundant Life
Christian Center, in Willow Grove, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb. The
self-described "non-traditional" United Methodist church -- where
the average age is 35 -- moved into its new home, a former
catering business facility, in March, two years after it was
incorporated.
     The North Georgia Conference will begin planting what it
expects to become a predominantly African-American congregation in
Atlanta this summer, its first since Atlanta's Hosier Memorial
United Methodist Church emerged and took over a building closed by
a declining white congregation in 1982.
     The Chicago training event helped participants envision and
plan creative ministries to respond to the spiritual and social
needs of those whom they would attract to their churches.
     Workshop leaders and participants shared experiences and
presented successful models of strategic, community-based
approaches to ministry and evangelization. Those models used
demographic research and community surveys to assess local
concerns and resources; involved the community in shaping a vision
for ministry; cultivated diverse leadership and fostered dynamic
worship services and community economic development efforts.
     "Listen to the community. Hear what's resonating in the
rhythms of the people," advised the Rev. Joseph Connelly, who
helped start Jubilee United Methodist Church in Duncanville,
Texas, two years ago as a seminary intern. "Your mission must be
driven by the needs of the community, not by the annual conference
or by personal ego."
     In getting Jubilee started, Connelly used marketing
techniques from his business background. He examined demographics
-- including population trends, employment, education levels, and
other indicators -- conducted extensive, face-to-face community
surveys, and targeted programs and even selection of the church
site to address specific needs. He also acquired government funds
to help the church launch a community economic development
project.
     The Rev. Larry Martin, pastor of Hope United Methodist
Church, Monroe, La., told how he is using lively, come-as-you-are
worship services, a teen theater program and strong teaching,
evangelism and community outreach ministries to turn the once
floundering new church into a growing congregation.
     Participants heard about plans for two new African-American
churches in the Chicago area, the first to be built in Northern
Illinois in 30 years, according to the Rev. Eugene Blair, director
of new church development for the conference. One involves three
declining black churches in Harvey, Ill., that are preparing to
close and build a new church together in the next two years. The
other is a black congregation that will occupy a building vacated
by a former white congregation in North Chicago.
     Workshop leaders emphasized the importance of committing
adequate financing, recruiting experienced pastors, reaching
influential supporters within the conference and the local
community, and turning over to local organizers of a new church
the authority to set their own goals and make key decisions.
     Bishop Jonathan Keaton of North Canton, Ohio, spoke on a
churchwide initiative he chairs known as "Strengthening the Black
Church for the 21st Century."  
     "Pastors and laypersons must be able to share and express a
clear vision for ministry and growth," he said. "They must be
prepared to pray, sacrifice and work hard, and to get up when they
fail and try again."
# # #

     *Coleman is a freelance writer and communications consultant
for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries in New York.

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