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3-December-1998 
98403 
 
    Church Growth Strategy Team Says 
    U.S. must Be Viewed as a Mission Field 
 
    by Raymond F. Kersting 
 
SANTA FE, N.M. -After a near marathon six-day session in Albuquerque and 
Santa Fe in mid- November, the  General Assembly Council's (GAC) Church 
Growth Strategy Team is almost ready to make its report to the February 
council meeting. 
 
    Since its appointment in September 1997 to design a comprehensive 
strategy to reverse the gradual membership decline in the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.) over the last three decades, the team has met several times 
in various parts of the country.  It has visited a variety of churches to 
experience what is happening.  It has consulted with pastors, presbytery 
and synod leadership, 
Louisville staff people and a wide variety of consultants. 
 
    After an extended time of prayer and discernment, team members got down 
to the task of actually designing and writing their report in Albuquerque. 
With draft in hand, the team moved to Santa Fe to share with and get 
feedback  from about 40 executive presbyters who stayed over an extra day 
following their annual meeting there. 
 
    When the strategy team indicated it would keep its "work-in-progress" 
under wraps until presented to the GAC, executive presbyters protested. 
Being allowed only to hear about it, but not to see and read it wasn't good 
enough.  After a quick huddle, team members agreed to distribute the draft 
with the understanding it would not be shared beyond the room. 
 
    The draft report is admittedly not a strategy for church growth. 
Rather, it is an effort to commit Presbyterians to viewing the United 
States as a "mission field" -- as previous generations have viewed the 
nations of the world as mission fields.  As team member, the Rev. David 
Bleivik of Anchorage, Alaska, expressed it, "The church needs to declare 
the United States a mission field and go out as we have into other parts of 
the world." 
 
    Questioning the lack of a true "strategy" design, Margaret Haney, Miami 
Presbytery executive, remarked, "You've woven a dream, but we need wheels 
to put under it." 
 
    Explaining the committee's decision not to design a strategy, Sandra 
Hawley of  Bloomington, Minn., former chair of the GAC's National 
Ministries Division Committee and a continuing co-opted member of the 
strategy team, countered, "The task force struggled with  the notion of a 
nation-wide strategy because of the differences within presbyteries.  "The 
best we can do is suggest goals." 
 
    It will be up to presbyteries to devise their own strategies. 
 
    The brief (three-page) report is upbeat and in its draft form and 
"reader friendly."  It calls attention to "our changing world" and what 
that means to the church.  It reminds all of "our grounding in Christ" and 
it spotlights the "United States as a mission field" with local 
congregations as mission outposts. 
 
    Executive presbyters by and large responded enthusiastically to the 
report, finding it refreshing and energizing - and a fulfillment of one of 
the teams's mission,  to "Rediscover the excitement of evangelism as a way 
of life." 
 
    In response to this favorable reception, Hawley said that the team 
"felt touched by the spirit" as it did its writing, "and your response 
proves it."  She noted that the team went to Albuquerque without one word 
on paper and that they felt "spirit-led" as they set about the task of 
actually getting something on paper. 
 
    Executives suggested a number of changes to improve the report which 
the team promised to take into consideration as it fine-tunes the document. 
 
    While the report suggests the good news of Jesus Christ is communicated 
in more ways than pure verbal proclamation (such as feeding the hungry and 
freeing the captive), Herb Valentine, Baltimore Presbytery executive, noted 
the lack of any reference to involvement in political action as gospel 
proclamation. 
 
    The Rev. Lynn Longfield, Olympia Presbytery executive urged the team to 
"emphasize ecumenical cooperation."  The Rev. Arabella Meadows-Rogers, 
Northern Plains Presbytery executive, echoed this sentiment, especially 
"for sparsely populated areas."  She added that "we need not only to listen 
to the stories of others, but also to tell our own stories." 
 
    It was readily recognized by executive presbyters and confirmed by team 
members that the  report has a strong emphasis upon lay involvement.  After 
a process of discernment, lay persons will need to be  challenged, trained, 
and equipped to be "missionaries" in local communities. 
 
    Emphasizing her strong belief and confidence in the role of the laity, 
Hawley spoke against 
the common practice of encouraging strong lay leaders to go to seminary to 
become ordained, rather than serving as lay persons in the church. 
 
    As discussion developed it became clear that presbyteries would be 
called upon not only to  develop strategies, but also to be the source of 
support for pastors and congregation and to coordinate their efforts. 
 
    Team members emphasized that in the report, membership is not the goal, 
but calling and commissioning disciples is. 
 
    Strategy team chair, Jinny Miller of Mishawaka, Ind., indicated that 
the team had worked in partnership with Louisville staff people throughout 
the whole process.  To demonstrate her point, several staff people were on 
hand to share insights and research results which went into the mix as the 
team developed its report. 
 
    For instance, the Rev. John Haberlin, associate for church growth, 
pointed out that while many see new church developments as the magic pill 
to stop declining denominational membership (down from 4.1 million at the 
time of  the 1983 reunion to 2.6 million currently), the reality is that in 
the past 10 years nearly two-thirds of the new church developments have 
failed to grow to the point of having more than 125 in worship. "This makes 
it tough to build or add staff," he pointed out. 
 
    The Rev. Stephen Boots, associate for redevelopment evangelism and 
church development, pointed to research he has begun in 27 redeveloping 
congregations.  Key factors which seem to be present when the effort is 
successful include five dynamics: the creation of spiritual energy, 
congregational identity, a redevelopment ministry team, a re-engagement in 
the community, and a creative vision of ministry. 
 
    In addition, he said, there needs to be a creative financial plan.  In 
these congregations there 
has been an average membership gain of 12 per year over the past six years. 
 
    Other staff persons participating in presentations and discussions were 
the Rev. Rosalie Potter, associate director for evangelism and church 
development; the Rev. Doug Wilson, associate for Presbyterian evangelism; 
and the Rev. Camille Williams-Neal, associate for evangelism and racial 
ethnic concerns. 
 
    Staff and team members agreed that membership statistics are not as 
valuable as worship attendance.  On that basis it was mentioned by several 
that an average worship attendance gain of two per cent per year was a goal 
which even small churches could achieve.  And, it was pointed out, it would 
dramatically transform the denomination into a growing church. 
 
 .   What's next?   Beyond shepherding the report through GAC and the 
General Assembly, the strategy team would like to see itself continued for 
another two years so that it can track what happens and further "encourage 
thedream."  It would like to develop a "must have" study resource packet. 
Beyond the normal print materials, the team would hope to include a CD-Rom 
to convey in images important aspects of the report and its implications. 
The PCUSA web page would also be utilized. 
 
    Other members of the strategy team are the Rev. John Buchanan, 
Chicago;  Aurelio Garcia, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico; the Rev. Joseph Etua, 
Starkville, Miss.; the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, San Francisco; Eugenia 
Shannon, Bradenton, Fla.; Elisabeth Stephan, Auke Bay, Alaska; Diane 
Wheeler, Palmyra, N.Y.; and the Rev. Betty Meadows of Anchorage, Ky, the 
executive presbyter of Louisville Presbytery. 

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