70 percent of historic church plants in the United Methodist tradition in his region have either failed or never reached membership of over 125 people. They were not accomplishing what they set out to do. Among those characteristics of these church plants is one unifying theme — the attempt by the planter and expectation of others that he or she could do it alone.
Ekkesia determined after its first year that it could pay the local matching portion to bring AmeriCorps tutors to Hawkins Elementary. Neighbors at Hawkins’ longstanding work bringing daily activity into the school from local volunteers combined with the work of AmeriCorps members has shown great and quantifiable results.
On The Verge offers hope and instruction for established churches to join in what God is doing to reach His people. This Seedbed Summary outlines the main points of the book. Find out if it On The Verge will be a useful one in your ministry.
Read about how a church in Southern California is reaching people through innovative ministry including taco distribution. See specifically how they are being touched, and touching others, by reaching out to the homeless in their community.
A church in Arkansas is helping people meet material needs, while rebuilding community through cross-generational relationships. Check out this growing and innovative ministry of cultivation.
Mosaic United Methodist Church is reaching and loving people like Jesus. They’re finding that when you love like Jesus sometimes you end up getting to know the people that Jesus loved. One such person started attending their church through an Easter egg hunt community outreach; she was pregnant and her boyfriend was in jail. Mosaic’s members found ways to serve her through offering transportation and arranging a baby shower. In the process she asked pastor Carolyn Moore if she would visit her boyfriend in jail. She did.
The first day I visited, I noticed that the guy had a lot of tattoos. I asked him about them and he showed me several crosses and some other symbols I didn’t quite get. Then he showed me the top of the tattoo on his chest. From the looks of it, it was a huge angel printed across his body. Not a little angel. […]
Do you wonder if your church could be doing more? See how Ekklesia church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi is giving themselves away through a local elementary school. They’ve found that they can operate their church on less than 30 percent of income and are changing the lives of hundreds of impoverished children.
As United Methodists prepare for their General Conference and seek to address rapid decline and low vitality, Dr. George Hunter offers his response and hope as he responds to the problem and specifically the denomination’s Call to Action proposals.
Read about how a new church planter found hope and promise in God’s present and active involvement in prevenient grace at The Community in Northern Kentucky.
Keith Wasserman and the family that has grown up alongside him believe that good, works. Their organization “Good Works, Inc.” may very well be “the oldest rural homeless shelter in Ohio.” They are differentiated mightily in their posture and goals from other facilities seeking to serve the same people. “The time we spend with a volunteer to help them grow and develop as a disciple is not less important than the time we spend with the homeless man or woman in helping them in their crisis of need,” said Wasserman. “These became equally weighted in what we do at Good Works.”
Also what sets them apart is their radical hospitality opening their doors and hosting people for months at a time. Though they embrace extended guests they work toward and embrace transformation in its quick and incremental forms and celebrate every success.
Terri walked to Athens from Cleveland; that’s a pretty long […]
Do it Alone.
Tommy Gray shared in an interview last year that 70 percent of historic church plants in the United Methodist tradition in his region have either failed or never reached membership of over 125 people. They were not accomplishing what they set out to do.
As they reflected on what wasn’t working Gray shared those things that have made them more successful recently. Among those characteristics I found one unifying theme that seemed to spell doom to new plants; that was the attempt by the planter and expectation of others that he or she could do it alone.
There is little that correlates with failure more than isolation of the planter. Note these ways it is possible to try to plant without healthy connection:
Without God: Jim Griffith shares that this is most often seen in pastors neglecting the Great Commandment in pursuit of the Great Commission.
Without a Confirmed Calling or Gifting: […]
Dinesh Kumar met Jesus on a train. At the age of 24 the lifelong Hindu met a man on his daily commute reading a Bible. “Do you read your Bible daily,” Kumar asked. The man responded, “Are you Christian… would you be interested in hearing the Gospel or hearing about Jesus Christ?”
