The Rev Jim Wallace says church planting has become a lost art.
The growth of regional and gathered churches, which see people travelling large distances to attend a specific service, has taken the focus off churches that serve a particular locality, he says.
“But there’s something distinctive about parish churches that exist to serve a community.”
Jim, who’s minister of Bethlehem Community Church in Tauranga, says church planting primarily means creating links and opportunities.
“The church has lost contact with the community. It’s about looking for ways in which we can rebuild that contact so it’s a positive experience.”
Bethlehem will receive $85,000 in Press Go funding to support and train someone in church planting.
The person selected will spend a year at Bethlehem learning from their experience as well as developing their own projects.
Jim says he will encourage the person to visit and spend time with people in the community – “not church people” – before taking any action.
“Church planting is about building relationships, not just about programmes.”
The position is fully funded, with the proviso that the church planter is subsequently bonded to the Presbyterian Church for five years.
“Maybe then a strong church will sponsor them into a situation; that’s why we need strong churches.”
The planter will also need to develop a team around them, rather than attempting to start a church single-handed, he says.
Jim came to Bethlehem in 2002, and the church has grown from 19 to 200 people during that time. In 2008, stage one of a purpose-built facility was opened, but numbers on Sundays are already stretching this capacity.
The new building has given the church a huge profile, Jim says. It’s highly visible, with modern, open architecture, and on a road with significant passing traffic,
“A lot of people just come in off the street.”
It’s the church’s responsibility to make that initial visit a positive one, Jim says.
“We try to make sure the service is welcoming and warm.”
After realising that many people were coming along for a few weeks then not returning, despite Bethlehem’s overall numbers continuing to increase, the church took another look at its approach to welcoming.
“We’ve got a big front door but also a big back door.”
A new ministry team has been formed, with its welcomers greeting people on Sundays but also taking responsibility for following up with them during the week and helping connect them with the church’s activities.
“We realised that we needed to establishing a connecting ministry.”
The most effective welcomers are newcomers, Jim says, “because they want to make friends”. Those who are part of the welcoming ministry need to be prepared to open their circle of friends to new people, “if there’s a connection there”.
Even though the congregation has outgrown its new space, it’s “not the right time for us to build our second stage,” Jim says. They are only two years into their building programme, which has cost $1.2 million so far. Stage two, which would create a hall with capacity for 350 people, will probably be built in 2011.
But the possibility of cooperation with a neighbouring Presbyterian church means progress could leap ahead to stage four this year. Omokoroa Community Church needs some space for an op shop, which would give Bethlehem the chance to construct a standalone building with space for youth ministry.
“It would be a win-win situation,” Jim says. “People from the congregation are already keen to get involved.”
Bethlehem employed a youth and children’s worker early last year, and has plans to focus on the intermediate age group in 2010. Jim says “life groups” for this age group will run on a Friday night before the older youth group session, rather than during the Sunday service. “This will give them chance to invite their friends.”
Bethlehem uses letter box drops to publicise its variety of programmes, and Jim says these need to be done at least four times a year to have any effect.
One success has been movie nights, held every third Sunday with about 25 people regularly attending to watch a film and discuss it afterwards. Jim says the films are usually secular, and people often bring their friends along.