Mission impossible

Many evangelical churches are relatively small and face great problems. At EN we dreamed up the kind of difficult local church situation into which young ministers/pastors and their families are often sent.

We asked four men to comment on how they might, under God, seek to turn things round if they were confronted with such a church.

One, Oliver Crisp (OC), is a young pastor in training in the south of England. Another was Bev Savage (BS), a man with many years' experience in churches and General Secretary of the FIEC. Another was Evan Richards (ER), now working with a new church planting venture called Teamwork, based in the Midlands. Finally, we set the same scenario to Ken Moulder (KM), a Church of England vicar who has seen God build his congregation up from small beginnings at St. Oswald's, Walkergate, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

We have not room to print all that each man wrote, but have had to be selective.

THE SCENARIO

The building

It is a large old church building in the centre of a town. There are about 60 homes within walking distance of the building. All the church people live way from the centre and travel in by car. The church has no car park, so on Sundays the church folk have to park on the road outside. Though the building is old it is fairly well kept, no leaky roof. It has a large hall at the back, with a number of classrooms and quite a good kitchen.

The tradition

It is quite formal non-conformist. The hymn book is old-fashioned, though some more modern songs might be sung in the evening service. The organ is used mostly but there is also a piano. The church had a great deal of blessing in the 19th century. The church uses the New King James Bible. Children are kept in the service throughout, including the sermon. There is also Sunday afternoon Sunday School.

The congregation

The church people have little or no contact with the surrounding community. The congregation on a Sunday morning numbers around 30. There are basically four families, and the husbands of those families are the deacons of the church. A couple of disgruntled teenagers attend, unconverted youngsters from church families. There are five young children and a baby. There are quite a few elderly women and some single young women. There is one single mum. Generally the congregation, especially the women, are discouraged and look discouraged. People seem to know their Bibles quite well, but there seems little in terms of radical and practical Christian discipleship. There was a split in the church a few years ago ù cause unknown. The ethos is gently middle-class.

As it stands the church appears to be dying and is likely to cease existing within ten years.

QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES

You are invited by the church to become the pastor and feel a definite call from God to go there. You are a young man, with a young family, who has had some Bible training at an evangelical college.

* How would you approach the situation?

ER: This pastorate would present many challenges and perhaps much heartache and discouragement. Nevertheless, we are speaking of the Lord's people in this scenario. They may be unbiblical in some ways, they may be ineffective in their witness, but they still belong to Christ and have been purchased at a very high price. This is important for any under-shepherd to remember.

OC: I would approach this situation with much trepidation and a great deal of prayer. The call of God is crucial, since when things get hard, only the comfort of knowing that God has called you to this charge will keep you afloat.

BS: The attitude of the church members and leaders is pivotal. Any pastor going there should ensure that each leader and church member knows what it could mean to follow the Lord's guidance in setting a new course for the church. Principles may be involved, but also it comes down perhaps to things like using the hall rather than the main church, the piano not the organ, a new hymn book or Bible version, or even being willing to consider relocating. There is little point taking on this pastorate unless the issue of willingness to change is addressed and suitably resolved.

* What other information would you need to research to get an idea of the way forward?

OC: A number of key areas need investigating. One is the need to ascertain from the current leadership why there was a split a few years ago. If it were due to power struggles within the leadership that would affect how one proceeded with the current leaders. If possible it would be useful to speak to the most recent previous pastors and listen to their views on the church. It would be important to have a clear understanding of where the current leadership would like to see the church going.

ER: I would want to establish for myself the cause of the church split. This would be important to resolve because there may be issues that are unresolved and would be a hindrance to future growth. I would want to find out if biblical church discipline was used appropriately and if there is any need for church or individual repentance in connection with the split. It would be vital also to find out the spiritual condition of the church and discern why the people, especially the women, are discouraged.

BS: The pastor would do well to research the condition of other churches in the area, and to talk to pastors of the evangelical churches nearby. Their knowledge of this church and its history may be important to find the way forward. If there are strong churches nearby they may be able to provide help. A basic demographic study of the area is essential to establish if there is already an effective gospel witness there. Also the new man must find out what kind of community lives and works in the area, its racial mix and character and what resources are missing and might be welcomed by the area. In this regard it may be useful to talk to local teachers, doctors, police and social services.

* What would be your main prayer and how would you sustain your prayers?

OC: My main requests would be for unity of vision and purpose in the church, and the beginning of a process of healing any breaches that exist in the life of the church. In addition, I would be praying to clearly see God's vision for the church and the ability to communicate that to the leaders and members in a helpful way. I would also be praying to be able to 'outlast, out-joy, and out-love' (to quote John Piper) all those within the congregation whose input is less than helpful.

ER: I would seek to make everyone in the church clear about the central emphasis of my ministry, that is to prayerfully proclaim Christ to the glory of God.

* What is the most important need of the congregation?

ER: The most important need of the congregation would be to learn to apply biblical truth to their lives. It may be that people know their Bibles well, but it is essential that the church comes to terms with the person of Christ and his demands as they seek to obey his commands. If the church learns to be truly evangelical in practice and not just in name, then the whole of church life will be affected for the glory of God.

OC: Clear Bible ministry that is appropriate to the situation is the church's most important need. Next to this there needs to be some careful personal pastoral ministry, seeking especially to build up and encourage people to look forward to God's vision for the church.

* How would you handle the deacons? Do you foresee problems here?

OC: With care! Disgruntled deacons, or deacons with a power base and attitude, are going to be a most serious problem for a new pastor. Clearly the initial task is to win the existing deacons over. In the medium term, one should be looking to encourage the deacons to develop and bring on board new leadership in the church. Introducing new ideas to the existing leadership (let alone the church) may be a considerable task in the early stages of the work.

ER: I would want to ensure that the deacons were clear about their roles. It seems as if there are no elders (apart from the pastor) and therefore the roles of elder and deacon are probably blurred and confused. I would want to move towards a position of having elders and deacons.

* What would be your evangelistic strategy? What would you start with?

ER: The position of the church in the town can potentially open the door to a number of opportunities. The building is large and has a well-equipped kitchen. It might be good to start with a lunch-time meal and talk ministry. This could be an important bridge to the local community as well as involving the discouraged ladies of the church. The other evangelistic opportunity would be found with the disgruntled teenagers. They must have friends and there would be an opportunity to start a youth work for teenagers in the area.

OC: Youth work, and perhaps door-to-door, although with the present congregation, that might have been tried and appeared fruitless. Several other areas could be looked into. Starting a Mothers & Toddlers group can often draw in a lot of non-church people, especially if it is done well. It may be prudent to focus the limited resources on what is most appropriate to the most numerous age group in the church.

BS: If it is determined that the church should remain in the area of its present building then clearly there are few residents to evangelise. Perhaps, therefore, the strategy should be to reach those who come to work in town (i.e. lunchtime meetings, office workers meetings, etc.) This will necessarily concentrate on weekday activity, perhaps in a place other than the church building.

* How would you help your wife and children to cope with the situation?

BS: This is a potentially hazardous position for a young man to enter. He may suffer considerable loneliness and a sense of isolation. He is unlikely to be paid well and he and his wife could find this a desperately unhappy situation. He should take care to establish firm and regular links with prayer partners. In addition it would be good to make himself accountable to an experienced pastor of his choosing outside the situation. He should do this with care so as not to prejudice his relationship with his church officers. But it is important that he does not become locked into the cycle of discouragement that the other church members seem to have experienced.

OC: I would need to spend quality time with my family. I would make it clear to the church at the outset that we would have to have such time. It would not be good for the family to feel that I am always out at work. Also, if we could block out some definite holidays in the diary that would give the family something to look forward to.

ER: I would want to ensure that my wife was allowed to find her own role within the church and not forced into a particular ministry just because that was what the pastor's wife is expected to do.

* Which Christian organisations or individuals would you go to for advice?

OC: I would ask advice from respected church leaders who had time to give me. Organisations like FIEC and Essentially Evangelical would probably have some wise things to say too.

BS: If the church considered that it needed other churches to support it, it might consider asking someone from outside the situation to act as a kind of broker. FIEC sometimes calls church leaders in an area together to consider the needs of a church or an area of gospel ministry. This may result in setting up a support group, made up of leaders from different churches. The support group may even join the leadership of a church for a time until the church felt more fully established and able to stand on its own two feet. Outside churches that are represented in this way are more likely to give support, first, because they have some influence in the way resources are used, and, second, because there is an outside body to which they can refer if relationships become difficult.

ER: BEFORE I COME

I would endeavour to make my position clear before I took up my pastoral charge, that it would be essential that some changes and reformation must happen. I would therefore want to clearly communicate a vision and a biblical direction for the church to proceed in. I would seek to ensure the following ten principles were accepted and endorsed by the leadership and membership of the church before I accepted the call to this particular church.

1. The church is best served when Christ is faithfully preached.
2. The ministry of the church should be gift-led and focus on people not the building.
3. A church will be pleasing to the Lord when it is evangelical not only in name and confession, but also in practice.
4. An effective evangelical ministry will train and equip others for service.
5. The church is to be reformed, but always in need of further biblical reformation.
6. The church will be most effective when it is mission-minded not maintenance-minded.
7. It is essential that the leadership of the church pray and that the leaders are prayed for by the church.
8. All the ministries of the church are to be evaluated by the question "Is this ministry biblical, Christ-exalting and glorifying to God?"
9. Gospel ministry must be biblical, contemporary and radical and arise out of faithful application of biblical principles.
10. The church is always to remember that the mission field is always very close.

The acceptance of the above principles may be the foundation for the church to move forward.

KM: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE

What a scenario! It makes me shudder. As an Anglican evangelical who has no working experience of the authority structure in Free Churches, I can only suggest the following broad ideas.

Three principles to underpin the work

1. Don't lose your nerve on the gospel
Romans 1.16,17. It's heaven we are interested in, not primarily people on pews in our building, and it's the gospel which gets them there. The teaching of the gospel is key for unbelievers and professing Christians.
2. Teach the Bible whatever comes
2 Timothy 3.16 - 4.2. Keep the Bible teaching central and your commitment to the sufficiency of Scripture clear by what you say and do.
3. Don't lose the joy of Christian ministry
1 Corinthians 15.58. We are privileged to be engaged in a work of eternal value on behalf of the best of all possible masters and our 'labour is never in vain'.

Ten practical suggestions

1. Teach the deacons individually or corporately your vision for the gospel work, i.e. heaven is the objective.
2. If at all possible, make changes by addition, rather than subtraction. It is easier to begin new ventures than to remove old traditions.
3. Start something accessible to outsiders which is user-friendly. The church hall sounds ideally suited for a family service with a creche and young people's group.
4. Begin a home Bible study group. Perhaps begin with John's Gospel and invite Christians and non-Christians alike. John is so good on the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus.
5. Take a long-term view. Bible teaching ministry requires a good deal of patience.
6. Be concerned for God's approval, not the praise of men. This mindset will protect from being at the mercy of the expectations of others.
7. Seek cumulative (overlapping) contact with outsiders. What links are there already and how can we increase the contact with the same group of people?
8. Keep in close touch with like-minded friends regularly. This will help to prevent you from thinking you are the only one with gospel battles and strengthen your resolve when you are struggling to stick at it.
9. Don't be trapped by the 'call' language. I'm not convinced that it is appropriate or helpful to consider oneself called to a specific place in this way. If you express your relationship to the job in this way, how can you ever leave?! The option to leave seems to me to be a necessary part of keeping the family sane in a tough situation like this.
10. Don't lose heart. 2 Corinthians 4.1-6. A wonderful passage on gospel ministry.