The conference push for revitalization: Will it really work?

By Annette Spence

As a former football coach, the Rev. Lurone Jennings says he can relate to the "minimum factor" concept of Natural Church Development, because it's a lot like a coach's approach to building a team.

"What you look at is the weaknesses and try to strengthen that. And not only that, you look at the opponent's weaknesses," says the pastor of Bethlehem-Wiley United Methodist Church in Chattanooga District.

"I see Satan exploiting the weaknesses of our churches. A lot of churches think they're doing OK, but they're not. Natural Church Development exposes where you're not doing OK, and helps you work on that."

Almost a month after 400 members participated in an introductory session - and 36 coaches participated in more advanced training - many remain enthusiastic about the potential for NCD to revitalize Holston churches. They're also aware of pitfalls that could keep Holston from realizing the success experienced in other conferences and denominations.

Like Jennings, the Rev. Ginger Isom is one of 36 coaches selected by the Cabinet. She is encouraged that small churches can benefit from NCD, because the emphasis is not on numerical growth, but on church health.

"We have that mindset, you know, that what's good for a big church is not good for a small church. But NCD could be good for our conference because we do have so many small churches."

Isom is pastor at George Street UMC, with 50 in average worship attendance, and Grant's Chapel UMC, with 80. She took note when NCD research with 45,000 churches showed that worship style is not important for church health. Inspiring worship is. "For small churches that don't have a lot of resources, NCD could give them confidence that they could grow," the Morristown District pastor said.

Waiting too long to get NCD off the ground and into the churches of Holston Conference, she added, could dampen the program's chance for success.

"We don't need to drag it through 50 million committees," she said. "We've heard about the successes. We know there's a need for it. The excitement is there. Now give it to us."

For the Rev. David Brannock, the NCD appeal lies in surveys used to help churches identify their weaknesses among the "eight quality characteristics." The characteristics include gift-based ministry, need-oriented evangelism, holistic small groups, and loving relationships, among others.

"These are God's principles. If we follow his principles from the Bible, we can't help but be better churches," says Brannock, pastor at First Richlands UMC in Tazewell District.

After the survey identifies a church's strength and weaknesses, "this is something you can latch on to," said Brannock. "This is not just another program. This is information you can use to shape what you do, indefinitely."

However, NCD is "not a quick fix," but requires years of work before optimum results are evident, cautions Brannock, who is also training to be a coach. "We've got to be patient and allow it enough time to work."

When the results are in, it's also important to remember that "not all growth is measured in a numerical way," he added.

"You might be experiencing growth in the quality of what you do, without ever increasing your worship attendance," Brannock said. "Don't say, 'We'll do this to get more people in the door.' Don't get caught up in the numbers. If you continue to [use the NCD program], you will see improvement."

The Rev. Sharon Wiley attended the introductory session on Oct. 8, along with her senior pastor, the Rev. Reed Shell, and six lay members from State Street UMC.

"We saw it as an opportunity to learn about a program that is important to Holston Conference, so we could decide whether to participate or not," said the associate pastor from Abingdon District.

Like others, Wiley was most intrigued by the minimum factor. "I had never considered that if you focus on your weakest link, it will energize the rest of your ministry." But she is concerned that NCD will, in fact, become "just another program."

"You have to remember that a lot of churches have already had consultants come in from the outside to tell them, 'You need to do this and that to grow,'" she said. "I don't know that a lot of people got the grasp that NCD is anything different than what we've already heard before."

In the 1980s, the Rev. Will Shewey worked to develop new congregations in Florida for the Church of God. He now serves Hiltons Memorial UMC in Big Stone Gap District. When the Cabinet selected him to be an NCD coach, he was at first "overwhelmed" by the training but impressed by the NCD research.

"This is going to be a learning process for me," said Shewey, noting that the selected coaches are required to read 12 books by the end of the year. "But for many years it's been my desire to start new churches. I feel honored to be able to do this. And I was impressed by the real life experiences where churches seemed hopeless, but after NCD, made a complete turnaround.

"No place is unreachable by the Gospel," Shewey added. "Anywhere there are people, there are real possibilities."

The Office of Congregational Development, led by the Rev. Richard Edwards, is developing a plan to implement NCD in Holston Conference. For weekly updates, visit www.holston.org.

Visit www.holston.org for a new online feature, "NCD Now".

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