FERTILIZE OR PLANT?

In our local newspaper here in south central Georgia, there has been a minor war of words in the letters to the editor and the "rants and rave" section concerning a new church planter who just came into town to start a new church.

Some pastors have written in critical of this church planter and suggested that if they really wanted to do something for the body of Christ, they should support the churches that already exist. Others, both pastors and laity, have responded that anyone critical of new churches is being selfish and prideful and that we should not stop any effort to expand Christ's kingdom.

Evidently, this issue of whether to create/plant new congregations is a major issue, not only at our local south Georgia level, but also nation-wide. I have struggled with this question myself for years. My Methodist Annual Conference and District evidently contemplated planting a new congregation in the tiny community (500 people) where one of my churches is located. This congregation is barely holding on with a membership of 15, comprised primarily of middle-aged to older adults. But, they have consistently maintained this membership level for over 17 years, with worship attendance being typically greater than membership (average worship attendance of about 21 with a membership of 15).

When I heard about the proposal to build a new church and staff it with a full-time pastor, I have to admit, I was somewhat miffed. If the conference and district wanted to promote a Methodist church in this community, then why not support the church that was already there? Instead of building a new santuary, why not recruit people from other, larger congregations to serve as church growth missionaries in our congregation? Missionaries who were committed to reach out to the community in ways that our congregation of 15 couldn't do. Perhaps a community-wide evangelistic effort, perhaps a van ministry to bring kids to school, perhaps bringing in a youth minister and starting a youth ministry. All the things we'd like to do but just didn't have the bodies or money or time to accomplish.

But, perhaps the biggest reason I got a little miffed (which I did ask God to forgive) was that this little church had been pouring out its heart to reach others for years without response from the community. They have given out over 500 Bibles to homes in the community, paid 100% of their apportionments annually for over 17 years, started community-wide celebrations, prepared brochures for distribution to every home in the community, and hosted gospel sings and invited people door-to-door to attend. What could a new congregation do that this church hadn't tried? What could this church do with support from the conference and the district? In my opinion, what was needed in the community was not a planting, but a fertilizing of the existing church communities.

So, what's the answer to the declining membership in the Methodist Church? Is it planting new congregations or is it fertilizing old ones through revival and renewal? Or, is it a combination of the two?

Rev. Fife has a good article at his blog on this issue, pointing out that a denomination cannot maintain itself unless it plants congregations at a rate of 1% of the existing congregations annually. With 350,000 Methodist churches, that means the Methodist Church must plant 350 new congregations annually just to maintain current membership levels. Currently, we are planting less than 75 new churches annually.

But, of more concern to me, is the fact that the majority of churches have significantly fewer people in worship than on their membership rolls. Rick Warren suggests that your true membership is comprised of your worship attendance rather than your membership list. If that is the case, then the Methodist Church is in an alarming place.

In my opinion, planting new congregations builds excitement in a community and draws people into the church, but after several years, the worship attendance begins to decline. Basically, you have an artificial inflation of membership numbers not borne out over the long haul through worship attendance.

I think we need new congregations, but the way to start new congregations needs to be as a mission outgrowth of an existing congregation, not a program at the district or conference level. I believe that if we spent more time building up and supporting our existing churches, then these revitalized congregations will naturally produce daughter churches over time. I have seen this in action in the Vineyard-related churches in our community. One such church has spawned two daughter churches in the community, with NO drop in worship attendance.

Plant, Fertilize, or Both? That is the question. And the fate of the United Methodist Church rests on the answer.