Discipleship agency leads effort to ‘create new places for new people’

FORT WORTH, Texas/ February 6, 2008/GBOD/ --If its discipleship agency gets the green light, by 2012 the United Methodist denomination could see exponential growth in the number of new churches started in the U.S.

According to the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top executive for the General Board of Discipleship, the agency will oversee a collaborative effort of recruiting and training “1000 church leaders who will plant 650 new congregations over the next 4 years.”

Karen Greenwaldt outlines need for “new places for new people”

While responsibility for actually starting churches rests with annual (regional) conferences, GBOD is committed to training and equipping the new church planters.

“We can reach thousands and millions of new people for Jesus Christ, if we decide to do so. It’s not about church buildings; it’s about creating new places for new people and renewing existing congregations to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout their lifetime,” said Greenwaldt.

Greenwaldt addressed some 200 delegates and reporters attending the United Methodist Pre-General Conference Briefing in Fort Worth, Tex., Jan. 24-26.

Fort Worth is the site of the 2008 General Conference (Apr. 23-May 1) where nearly 1000 delegates will make decisions about the future of the denomination.

The number of churches in the U.S. is not keeping up with current population growth. In looking at the top 500 growing cities, church leaders found that too few United Methodist churches existed in most of these areas.

“Long-established congregations (alone) can’t keep up with population growth and reach the new generations of people moving into new areas. There are not enough planters available to start the number of churches needed. We will have to raise a whole generation of church planters,” Greenwaldt said.

The Rev. Thomas Butcher leads the denomination’s collaborative effort to train 1000 new church planters who will start 650 new churches by 2012. “This is an exciting time in United Methodism because the focus is on doing something substantial and new, which causes us to look toward the future with hope,” says Butcher.

The movement Butcher leads, the Path 1 Team, defines a new church as averaging 300 worshippers in attendance, being Wesleyan in its mission, willing to plant another church within a decade of starting, has an effective discipleship system and is deeply involved in community outreach. This effort, however, does not preclude the starting of smaller or larger new faith communities or mission centers.

The Path 1 Team is composed of leaders from the Council of Bishops; the Connectional Table; boards of Global Ministries, Communications, Higher Education and Ministry; the Network for Congregational Developers; the five racial ethnic national plans; and a network of church planters.

While current research shows that starting new churches is more effective in leading people to Christ, the denomination is also starting new initiatives to help renew existing congregations.