Parking lot meetings. Wealthy members with outsized influence. Inconsistent practices. Confusion about purpose and vision. There are lots of ways for a congregation’s systems to be unhealthy, and I suspect you could add to this list. Whatever the problem or situation, all do one thing: They undermine a church’s vitality.
I’d been on the job for about three months when it came time for the joint planning meeting with the session and deacons. It was my first call to a small congregation in a medium-sized building. I was old enough to remember what church was like
back in the ’70s, when vacation Bible school was a community event and Christmas and Easter meant extra chairs around the perimeter of the sanctuary. The church to which I’d been called didn’t even fill up on the big holidays.
By the time Newark (N.J.) Presbytery was invited to participate in a two-year Vital Congregations Revitalization Initiative pilot program, it had already been placed under an administrative commission in the Synod of the Northeast.
Ministry candidates talk about them. Moderators share them with session members during meetings. Pastors do sermon series on them. “They” are the Great Ends of the Church — statements crafted in the early 20th century to guide the vision and mission of the Presbyterian Church. But who can recite all six Great Ends? (Be honest.) And what do these Great Ends look like when lived out? Presbyterians Today explores how congregations embrace these guiding principles in ways that show their communities the power of love in action.
If you overlook the name of a church, sometimes you miss a vital story in the life of their congregation. Such is the case for Valley United Presbyterian Church.
The church is in the Penn-York Valley, which is 4 miles in length, sandwiched between the Susquehanna and Chemung rivers. In 2014, after going through New Beginnings, three Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations in three towns — Sayre, Athens and Waverly — decided to merge.
When Kathryn Threadgill introduced the Vital Congregations Revitalization Initiative to Newark and Trinity presbyteries earlier this year, she felt both fear and exhilaration.
Hearing Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders say things like “We cannot fail at this initiative” or “This initiative might be a small part of the next Great Awakening we feel like we’re in” will do that to a person, she says.
As Kathryn Threadgill introduced the Vital Congregations Revitalization initiative to Newark and Trinity presbyteries this month, she felt both fear and exhilaration.
South Presbyterian Church of Rochester, N.Y., is full of energy and vitality, which has not always been the case. Under the faithful, intentional leadership of Pastor Deb Swift, the church made the painful decision to sell their building. Even though it is beautiful, the building had become a burden for this small, declining church. Through New Beginnings, attending our Evangelism conferences, and the church’s heart to be on mission, the leadership of the church made the decision to sell their building without knowing where they would worship.
