wfn.org | ELCA Congregations Become 'Alive in Christ'

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

Reply-To: ElcaNews <ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG>
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

December 3, 1998

ELCA CONGREGATIONS BECOME 'ALIVE IN CHRIST'
98-42-238-MR

     ORLANDO, Fla. (ELCA) -- Congregations of the Evangelical
Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) that want to continue growing and leading
effective ministries in the world need to change for the next
century.
More than 1,400 pastors and lay leaders of the ELCA gathered here
Nov. 20-22
for "Alive in Christ: Equipping Congregations for the 21st Century,"
an
event organized by the ELCA's Division for Congregational Ministries
(DCM).
     The Rev. M. Wyvetta Bullock and the Rev. Mark R.
Moller-Gunderson,
DCM executive directors, presented a summary of the best practices of
ELCA
congregations engaged in effective ministry and growth.  The
practices will
help define a "vision of excellence" for parish ministry in the next
century.
     "This is not a program but an identification of actual
experiences
drawn by congregations which are effective in their ministry," said
Moller-Gunderson.  "The practices are based on actual experiences of
ELCA
congregations."
     "Current research indicates that 42 percent of ELCA
congregations
significantly changed their worship style in the last two years.
Congregations that are open to new styles of worship are more likely
to
grow in worship attendance," said Moller-Gunderson.
     "Research also shows that half of new members become inactive
in
their first year," said Bullock.  "In effective ELCA congregations,
the
goal of making disciples is to equip members with a growing, active
faith
and to support all members in their faith life."
     "God is the driver of the mission of the congregations. God
gives the
power, and God gives the faith.  The mission is God's mission,"
Moller-Gunderson said.
     ELCA congregations know that Christ's mission is one of
invitation to
faith and not merely an invitation to membership in the congregation.

Bullock and Moller-Gunderson added that effective congregations focus
on
education, especially education for the young; plan effectively, and
include all members in the plan; share leadership and build strong
partnerships; and know their community and are known in the
community.
     "Effective congregations do not simply encourage giving, but
model a
giving spirit by affirming that all gifts come from God to be used
effectively and carefully," said Moller-Gunderson.
     "Transformation is in the heart of the Christian," said the
Rev.
Gladys G. Moore, assistant to the bishop for the ELCA's New Jersey
Synod.
"Be transformed by the renewing of the mind, which is a change that
happens
inside where no one can see, but where all can see the progress
outside,"
she said during her Bible study.
     "Transformation occurs in spiritual formation.  Christian
education
for youth and adults is needed in our church for the spiritual
formation
and transformation of lives," Moore said.  "Part of being alive in
Christ
is to present one's body.  The offering of our bodies, every day and
every
minute, is what true worship of God is all about."
     The event featured worship, seven seminars and 65 workshops,
keynote
presentations and music to "uplift and inspire" congregational
leaders.
     "Organized religion is not the pillar of society like it was in
the
1950s," said Diane Crispell, St. Luke Lutheran Church, Ithaca, N.Y.
Crispell, a keynote presenter,  discussed social trends emerging in
U.S.
culture with special emphasis on spirituality and religion and their
impact
on the traditional ministry of the church.  She is editor-at-large
for
Roper Starch Worldwide, a New York-based market research company.
     "In order to serve the spiritual needs of people in the 21st
century,
American churches must provide a holistic approach to ministry that
encompasses an understanding of everything in society.  Churches much
be
able to integrate people's multiple gifts, inspire and inhabit,"
said
Crispell.
     "We must simplify in order to become complex," said the Rev.
Michael
W. Foss,  Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minn.  "The
marks of
discipleship are those practices which equip individuals and families
with
a faith that works in their real lives."
     In his keynote presentation Foss discussed how the church's
ministry
can be focused on equipping people to find their faith's importance
in
family, community and work.
     "The church has been established for the sake of the gospel,"
Foss
said.  The ministry of Word and sacrament, the mission of
proclamation and
justice, in short our engagement with the world in spiritual truth,
must
continue."
     Congregations should have a vision and be motivated by a
mission.
The mission is the strategy for achieving the vision, Foss said.
     Two composers were commissioned to write liturgical music for
the
event: Ralph C. Sappington, director of music for American Lutheran
Church
in Billings, Mont.; and Ben Houge, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church,
Mercer
Island, Wash., a composer and sound designer for Sierra On-Line.
David
Cherwien, director for music ministries at Lutheran Church of the
Good
Shepherd, Minneapolis, was the conference organist.
     Participants received "Congregation Alive," a resource for
congregations contained entirely on CD-ROM.  The resource is designed
for
congregations to undergo a "self study" and contains tools for
moving
toward a new vision of congregational ministry, said the Rev. Michael
R.
Rothaar, ELCA director for congregational studies and planning.
"Congregation Alive" was funded in part by Aid Association for
Lutherans, a
fraternal benefits organization based in Appleton, Wis.
     "Congregation Alive" was funded in part by Aid Association fo
rLutherans, a fraternal benefits organization based in Appleton,
Wisc.

For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director 1-773-380-2955 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html