wfn.org | UMNS# 04472-Strong leaders make churches grow, survey shows

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Strong leaders make churches grow, survey shows 

Oct. 12, 2004	 News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470* 
Nashville {04472}

NOTE: A related report, UMNS story #471, is available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMC.org Feature
By Marta W. Aldrich*

In a survey of United Methodist congregational development leaders, Anna
Workman expected poor funding to be cited as the No. 1 cause of failed new
churches.

To her surprise, money wasn't even mentioned. Instead, she consistently heard
grumbling, lamentations and outright horror stories about poor leadership -
from inexperienced or poorly trained pastors to mismatched assignments to an
inadequate system of expectations and accountability.

"We always talk about not having enough money," says Workman, director of
congregational development for the United Methodist Church's Virginia Annual
(regional) Conference. "It was an awakening for all of us to see that every
one of our fantastic failures had to do with leadership."

Historically, the denomination often has dispatched inexperienced or
untrained pastors straight out of seminary or divinity school to new
churches. Denomination leaders have learned the hard way to change that
approach. Today, the church increasingly is loading up and equipping pastors
on the front end before they're ever considered for an appointment.

"Annual conferences realize they must train their leaders and give them the
necessary tools to succeed," says the Rev. Craig Miller, director of new
congregational development for the denomination's Board of Discipleship. "The
conferences that really focus on developing a leadership pool for new and
existing churches are the ones effectively turning their conferences around."

The North Alabama Conference is a good example. In 1995, the conference held
its first "academy for congregational development," a seven-day retreat
stretching over nine months, to improve pastoral and lay leadership for new
and existing churches. The event trains 30 people annually - now with a
waiting list - using regional and national presenters, the latest technical
resources and the most effective training materials for building leaders in
congregational development.

Nine years later, most of its 270 graduates are engaged in planting new
congregations, revitalizing existing ones and developing new paradigm worship
experiences throughout the conference. In that same time period, the
conference has started 31 new churches in settings ranging from rural to
inner city to ethnic to foreign language and multicultural. None has failed. 

"Our academy targets worship resourcing, discipleship development and
outreach ministry," says Dick Freeman, director of congregational development
for North Alabama. "We're not developing middle management for a corporation.
We work real hard on the spiritual depth part. (As a leader of a new church),
you can't give people something you don't have."

Some 15 of the denomination's 63 U.S. annual conferences now hold similar
leadership academies.

Another leadership tool is the Fitzgerald Pastors Program, providing training
and support for United Methodist pastors throughout the denomination in the
first year of their appointment to a new church start. A ministry of the
Center for Evangelism within the Board of Discipleship, it assists 20 new
pastors annually in areas including time management, demographics, developing
personal spiritual disciplines, building a core group and developing the
worship life of a new congregation. 

To reach an even broader audience, the School of Congregational Development
is held annually to train pastors and laity about church growth strategies.
Co-sponsored by the Board of Discipleship and Board of Global Ministries, the
2005 gathering is scheduled for Aug. 3-8 in Dallas.

For Workman, who conducted her informal survey in congregational development
in 2003 and 2004, such investments in leadership training are critical to
helping newly planted churches "bear fruit." The training enables the church
to appoint the right people to launch new ministries in new settings.

"A pastor of a new church must understand on the front end what's involved in
church planting because it's very hard work and very lonely work," she says.
"But if they have the assurance this is truly where God wants them to be,
they're more likely to succeed."

*Aldrich is a freelance journalist based in Franklin, Tenn.

News media contact: Matt Carlisle, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5153 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org