Breaking the Mold: Churches for a New World

In July 2001, a new church known as The Rock opened its doors for the first time on a Sunday morning. Located in a Johnson City warehouse building, the church offers a worship hour to low-income families already being served by an after-school program in the same building

On Nov. 9, leaders of a new church named Soulworx will launch a Friday night worship service for 20-some-things in a former curio shop. Located next to pubs and biker bars in downtown Knoxville, the service will use a video wall, live band, and “hard-driving music” to spread the gospel.

Soon a rapidly growing Oak Ridge District church will break ground on a site two miles west of its current location. In the meantime, they’re sharing the building with the future owner: a funeral home.

In one of the conference’s most active years for church development, new and relocating churches are finding unique ways to serve a growing population in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.

This year, the Holston Conference is launching three new churches, investing more than $576,000 through 2004 to get them up and running. Meanwhile, seven Holston congregations are making plans to relocate, some receiving conference funding to position themselves for growth.

According to the Rev. John Ripley, it’s all part of the conference’s four-year priority to “by all means win some.”

“New and relocated churches continue to be the most effective means for reaching new people with the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Ripley, Holston’s director of new church development. “Sixty to 70 percent of members in new congregations are new Christians.”

According to church-development experts, unchurched people are more likely
to join new congregations rather than long-established ones. For existing churches, moving a short distance to a growing population center or to a site with room to grow could be an investment in a promising future.

U.S. Census Bureau findings indicate that Holston’s communities are flush with opportunity. Of 65 counties comprising the Holston Conference, 59 had population increases during the 1990s. Over all, people within conference boundaries increased from 1.7 million in 1990 to 2 million in 2000. At the same time, the percentage of United Methodists among this population dropped
from 5.2 percent to 4.6 percent.

Rapid urbanization is significant in the changing population landscape, Ripley said. Bledsoe County, near Chattanooga, grew by nearly 30 percent for an increase of 2,698 from 1990 to 2000. Knox County, Tenn., increased its population size by almost 14 percent for an increase of 46,283 people.

Consequently, it’s no accident that many of Holston’s new and relocating congregations are putting down roots in urban areas. They’re also thinking out of the box, adapting to their surroundings and situations, as the accompanying articles in this issue of The Call will show.

“We don’t have a mold that we try to get churches to fit,” Ripley said. “Every church’s setting — and who they are — affects their approach to ministry.”

Planting new churches and relocating existing churches might generate growth in some areas, but in other communities, conference leaders encourage smaller churches to consider mergers with other churches. Real estate acquisitions and building additions are further down on the conference’s priority list for grants and loans, but are important nonetheless. Grant requests from 17 churches, ranging in amounts from $25,000 to $200,000, are currently being reviewed or have been approved by the conference Committee on Church Extensions and Parish Development.

“The money is going where people have a vision to grow,” Ripley said. In most cases that means going where the population is going, and using the circumstances God provides to create ministries that reach people.

“Isaiah says that ‘God is doing a new thing,’” said Ripley. “If we don’t get involved with what God is doing, God is going to find someone else to do it.”

The Rev. John Ripley, Holston’s director of new church development, may be contacted at (865) 690-4080 or johnripley@Holston.org.


back to The Call home

Get Your Church's Webmaster Involved with the NEW United Methodist Web Ministries Guild

back to The Call home

Get Your Church's Webmaster Involved with the NEW United Methodist Web Ministries Guild