A few weeks ago, I responded to a question that people often ask when they find out that I was a part of the New Church Leadership Institute. There are any number of people who may be asking the question for today – pastors considering starting a new church, people who may be a part of a new congregation, congregations close to a proposed site for a new church, people requested to give to a capital campaign with new church starts as a key component…
Here are some of my responses:
I believe that new congregations should be started to reach new people for Jesus Christ. There are people who may be reached by a new congregation who may not be reached by an existing congregation. Some people are drawn to start up ventures, some people may respond to a new style or way of presenting the good news of Jesus Christ, there may be an area into which people are moving in which there are not any existing faith communities. In all of these and other situations, new congregations have the potential to reach new people for Jesus Christ.
I believe that starting new churches are a sign of renewal and revitalization within an annual conference. A successful new church start is something for which all congregations in the annual conference should rejoice. In my context, it is a sign that God is active and alive among the people of the United Methodist Church in Kansas. I believe that there is a great thirst in both the Kansas East and Kansas West conferences for renewal and for the fresh water of God’s Spirit on parched lips. I believe that new congregations can be a refreshing drink for all who are a part of the connection.
As a pastor at Resurrection, I believe that starting new churches can be a part of our vision to renew the mainline church. I think that new congregations have the potential to be a sign of life not just to the annual conference of which they are a part, but to the entire denomination and to other denominations as well.
What do you think about new churches? What has been your experience with new congregations?
Rev. Andrew Conard 
3 replies on “Why start a new church?”
I agree that church planting will be a major component of our mainline renewal strategy. I posted about this last month:
http://appianway.blogspot.com/2007/09/mainline-renewal.html
Clif Guy – Thanks for sharing your post. And I think you are right…
Having spent over a year with COR’s “new church plant” over at Resurrection West, I can tell you that new churches are critical to the continuation of the denomination, and for Christianity in general. Even if a geographic area is “saturated” with churches, unless the existing churches can change with the times and remain relevant there will still be a need to create new churches even in these locations, let alone areas that do not have a good selection of churches.
My experience with new congregations has been limited to my time serving at Rez West. I don’t necessarily consider Rez West so much a new church as being a new location of COR, and the beginning of a multi-site ministry. At least that’s what I believe the initial intent was for starting Rez West. As over 75% of the attendees at Rez West are originally from the Central Campus, that adds a dynamic not often found in true church starts OR in multi-site churches either. There were (and still are) a lot of pre-existing expectations around what Rez West should (and should not) look like or offer. In that regard, it is more restrictive than a typical church start. Of course it also has a very successful model to fashion itself after, and a nice safety net available if things get difficult.
The challenge is (and will continue to be) the balancing act of this other campus creating its own identity while still being “attached” to, and consistent with, the Central Campus.
All-in-all, the surrounding area has a great need for a mainline church and I am hopeful that what Rez West is offering will be seen of value to the community it is in.