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Not every pastor is called or gifted to plant a new faith community.  Those who are able do so successfully tend to share certain inclinations and behaviors.  Among them:

 

Apostolic gifts – Successful church planters tend to have a strong focus on the “great commission” to make disciples, and behave more like a missionary than a pastor or shepherd.  They are more concerned with reaching people “out there” than caring for those already “in here.”

Exceptional ability to network and to meet new people – Planters are far more comfortable “hanging out” in restaurants, coffee shops, shopping malls, and even bars, where they are able to interact with those who have not yet developed a relationship with Jesus than they are sitting in an office.  Planters do not have to be extroverts; they just have to be committed to being with people.  As consultant Jim Griffith is fond of saying, “church planting is a contact sport.”

Motivation to take initiative – Successful planters don’t need external motivation, but tend to be self-starters who are driven to reach new people

Strong work ethic – With no supervisor or Staff Parish Relations Committee keeping track of their hours, church planters have to want to put in the long hours required.

Demonstrated entrepreneurial experience – past behavior is a strong indicator of future fruitfulness.  Successful church planters almost always have a track record of launching new things — new businesses, groups, classes, activities in their past.

Strong affinity with those in their mission field – Planters have to like and be able to relate well to the people they are trying to reach.  Not every planter can be successful in every mission field.

Self-confidence – it may take many months, or even years, before planters begin to see tangible results, so they must have confidence in their ability to produce fruit.

Good health – All ministry is hard work, but planting a church is especially demanding, calling for long hours with little or no visible reward or accomplishment. 

If married, a healthy marriage – even more than most ministries, the demands involved in church planting can strain the best of marriages.  The planter’s spouse must be equally committed to the endeavor.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Church enrolls homeless in health care

ANNAPOLIS – Homeless people came to Asbury UMC on a recent Saturday for a free lunch, but they got much more, the opportunity and guidance to enroll in health insurance plans. The church regularly serves lunch on Saturday and found it was the perfect time to also help uninsured people to sign up with qualified health plans and Medicaid.

Church leaders Yolanda Perry and Rhonda Green planned the enrollment event. “Our church’s mission is to serve the last, the least and the lost,” they said, so the Affordable Care Act enrollment event was a perfect collaboration for the church.

Asbury UMC again offered the opportunity March 22. The church worked with certified navigators from Chatman, a partner with Healthcare Access Maryland, charged with reaching the uninsured, educating them about what was available and all details, then enrolling some right on the spot.

One who was enrolled was Franklin Johnson, the church’s part-time custodial engineer. The church, like many small businesses couldn’t afford to provide insurance for part-time employees.

“It’s a great relief to me,” said the Rev. Carletta Allen, “now that (he) has quality health insurance.”

“I look forward to going to see a doctor,” Johnson said. “A big weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”

Historic golf tournament helps building fund

HAGERSTOWN –Otterbein UMC has held a unique golf tournament since 2001, when it was begun as a means to raise money for the Building Fund, writes the Rev. Wilson A. Shearer in a mini-history of Otterbein’s annual event.

That first tournament had 83 participants, both members and non-members, and after a fun-filled day and all expenses were paid, including prizes, the Building Fund was $6,900 richer.

A few years ago, the tournament moved to the Washington County course at Black Rock, where it has the reputation of being one of the best organized in the county. Registration for this year’s event opened
April 1, with an $85 fee paid in advance to guarantee a space. Since 2004, it has always been sold out.

Each player gets a door prize, a bag lunch, soft drinks and water, a chance to win a new car with a hole-in-one, and a sit-down meal at the end of the day, provided by Outback Steak House since 2005.

The church has stuck with its decision to turn over all receipts after expenses to the Building Fund. It has raised $189,000 so far, divided by the 13 tournaments to date shows an average raised each year of more than $14,500.

Church dedicates large new expansion

OLNEY – March 30 was a big day for Oakdale-Emory UMC. The congregation and community celebrated the opening of a large new expansion of the church.

District Superintendent, the Rev. JW Park, spoke at the dedication service of the building, which was the culmination of a planning process that began more than a decade ago. Construction has taken place over the past 15 months, according to Anne Jordan, communications director. The 13,000 square feet, two-story facility was built for $4 million.

When people attend functions at OEUMC, they will enter through a new way. The prominent new entrance is now on Georgia Ave. and includes a Welcome Center and social gathering place with coffee bar, using the proceeds for missions. The expansion also includes a new nursery, music room, expanded kitchen, restrooms and classrooms and has state-of-the-art audio-visual and music equipment.

Park challenged the congregation not to keep the new facility to themselves, but to have the doors open to the community seven days a week.

Church journalist wins award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Adelle Banks, a member of Asbury UMC, is receiving a Wilbur Award from the national Religion Communicators Council for her journalistic work on the March on Washington project. Banks is national correspondent for the Religion News Service where she has worked for many years.

The RCC announced 25 Wilbur Awards March 5, to honor excellence by individuals in communicating religious issues. Banks’ award was one of three RNS received. It was for a multimedia package on the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington.

The award is in the form of a handcrafted stained-glass trophy. To learn more, go to http://projects.religionnews.com/marchonwashington/.

COSROW presents ‘The Sandwich Generation’

FULTON – People from throughout the conference gathered at the Conference Mission Center for the spring event of the Commission on the Status & Role of Women March 29. The Rev. Terri Rae Chattin led worship on “The Sandwich Generation,” the theme for the event. Many attended to find out how to cope with being “caught in the middle” of caretaking for older parents and younger children, and living busy lives of their own. Chattin gave assurance that whatever caretaking they had to do, that each person present had received “a calling (to be) in this time and place.”

The Rev. Wayne DeHart, director of Church Relations for Asbury Communities, was the keynote speaker. He showed the trends in an aging population and, by a show of hands, ascertained that almost half of those in the room were Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, the generation most related to being the “Sandwich Generation.” 

He shared a wide scope of statistics, demographics and trends that made clear the church working to counteract its decline can do more than court young people and young adults, that with Boomers “turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day,” there is “an opportunity to shift our ministry toward older adults.”