Knox Presbyterian Church in Waitara has tried some lateral approaches to fitting in more people on a Sunday.
Session clerk Graham Armstrong says one idea was to make the chairs smaller.
“We took all the chairs apart and cut off a couple of inches,” meaning several more chairs could fit in each row.
People need to be “reasonably keen” to come on a Sunday morning, says minister the Rev Dennis Flett, because it can be hard to find a seat.
Dennis says when he came to Waitara in 2007, the building was already “quite full”.
The church, which was built in 1924, can seat 100 people. Attendance in 2009 has averaged 100 adults each week, up from just over 80 in 2008.
The idea of improving Knox’s facilities has been around for about 10 years, Graham says, particularly because its hugely successful children’s ministry struggles with the available space.
Having two Sunday services was trialled but wasn’t successful, he says, partly because each was too small but mainly because people missed being together.
The church has a strong sense of community, with many members involved in leadership roles for its children’s and families’ programmes. These draw in a significant proportion of Waitara’s population and are making a visible difference in a town that has its share of difficulties.
“Our people are absolutely passionate about Waitara,” Dennis says. “We’re not so much an entertainment church; we’re an involvement church.”
As well as a children’s programme on Sunday mornings, Dynamite Bay Xtreme clubs for boys and girls aged seven to 11 are run on Tuesday nights, and a teenage youth group meets on Wednesday nights.
About 35 boys are part of the DBX boys group, which is led by men from the church; 30 girls, along with their teenage leaders, are part of the girls group.
Graham is a leader and he says they soon realised that the many boys from Waitara’s solo-parent families needed adult male role models. At times there is a waiting list, and boys are sometimes referred from social service agencies.
The youth group is 60-strong, and is a significant influence at Waitara’s high school, which has 300 students.
Children and families worker Jennie McCullough says children with leadership potential are identified early on, given training to help develop their potential, and put in leadership roles. They often start coming along to church as well.
Dennis says Knox’s success comes “from years of sowing”. “I’m getting the benefit of years of what other people did.”
His predecessor the Rev Guy Pilkinton made the Sunday worship team teenager-only, which brought the young people into church on a Sunday.
Worship leader Daniel Chapman looks for and trains young people to be part of the team, says Dennis’ wife Jenny. “They’re not necessarily musicians to start with.”
Because young people leave town every year, there are always gaps for new members.
“It’s a huge discipleship role. Every year he’s spotting people to train into next year’s music team,” says Jenny.
She says it’s really encouraging seeing young people who have come through the church’s programmes go away for tertiary study, then come back to settle in Waitara. “One of the visions is to see that generation grow into a strong sense of ownership of the church as adults. We seem to have developed a huge sense of belonging.”
The church intentionally has a casual, spontaneous, no-criticism culture, Jenny says, and unanimously endorsed the plans to replace the building.
Dennis says people appear to have little emotional attachment to the existing building: “they said, ‘just bulldoze it’”.
But the fundraising has caused a few more concerns, he says, with church members aware of the size of the sum needed in relation to their community’s ability to give.
While Press Go has granted Knox $500,000 towards the project, Knox needs to raise another $1.8 million to meet projected costs.
Dennis says one way that Knox can thank any churches or people who donate is by sharing their ideas and resources, or hosting anyone keen to see their ministries in action.
Graham says the plans aren’t about creating some kind of impressive monument.
“We’re not into building for the sake of having grand buildings. We just want to reach more people.”
At the moment, new people can feel they’re not really needed because the church is already too full, he says. “They can feel a bit intimidated by everyone being so close together.”
The existing structure is an earthquake risk, with no reinforcing in the concrete. Any attempts to enlarge it would require expensive remedial work, which means this option isn’t viable, Graham says.
In 2008, a “development dream team” was set up to investigate possibilities, which were limited by the fact that much of Waitara is leasehold land. The best option was a new building on the existing site, using the properties recently bought by the church on either side.
The elders have set the ambitious goal of completing the building by 2011.
“By building, we would be making a huge statement,” Dennis says, “we’d be saying ‘we believe in Waitara’”.
But he also says it’s important to remember that the building is only a tool. “I don’t want to see building become our focus. It’s a servant not the master.”
The plans include a new auditorium that will seat 300, a large youth hall, other spaces for the children’s ministries, and a large lounge and foyer.
Other community groups would be able to use the multipurpose facility.
Graham says a new building would mean bigger groups and more effective ministry.
“The youth group likes physical games. We just can’t do that because of lack of space.”
Other programmes that Jennie runs include the “Rainbow play group” for under fives, which sees 50 children and their mums come along every week, nearly all of whom are otherwise unconnected with the church. Many of the children go on to attend the DBX programmes.
Elder Ian Finer says having a paid worker has made a huge difference to the children’s ministry. “We’ve always had a lot of work with children and young people, but that’s really stepped up a level in the past couple of years.”
Jenny says by the time that the young leaders start in high school, “they’re used to leading and taking ownership”.
“They see school as their mission field.”
About 20 people have been baptised, many of them young people, in the past two years, with baptism services held about four times a year.
The youth “own” their programmes, Dennis says. “Jennie gives the structures, but they make the decisions; they’re treated as adults.”
But Knox isn’t just about young people. Dennis’ “date with Den” sees him regularly gathering with the older members of the congregation for a plate of date scones and an opportunity to ask questions about
any topic.
The church is always looking for new ways to fulfil its mission to its community, he says. Every day Dennis emails out a couple of verses, along with an email news update once a week. “We want to develop that area of communication.”