LISA HELFERT
Ken Powell, vicar, visits with the children of Christ Lutheran, Catonsville, Md., a church undergoing redevelopment.
migrating to the U.S. in droves. Now, Lars and Gretchen have scattered and neighborhoods have become more ethnically diverse. Meanwhile, churches are still catering to their charter members.
Neil Harrison, director for Renewed Evangelizing Congrega- tions, said, “Too often not only are people out of relationship with each other, but especially congregations are out of relationship with their neighbors and community.”
A chance to change
Christ Lutheran in Catonsville, Md., had been struggling with decline for about 10 years when in 2011 the church decided it needed a new vision. It applied for and received a
24 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
grant from the ELCA churchwide organization and is now undergoing redevelopment, a path of renewal in which a new pastor is called to radi- cally change the congregation’s iden- tity and focus.
Congregational renewal is a process of spiritual self-discovery and transformation through which churches aim to become healthy, vital ministries. It’s an intense process of proactively confronting decline with the willingness to change. “For a congregation to pursue renewal, it needs to identify that things are not the way they want them to be and be willing to explore,” Har- rison said.
While ELCA grants support a three-year process, it often takes five
to seven years to turn around a con- gregation, he said. The work is chal- lenging, but it has led some churches to incredible growth.
At Christ Lutheran the biggest boost came from increasing com- munity involvement, developing Bible study groups and reaching out to youth with programming, said Ken Powell, a former Army major who was called as vicar to lead the redevelopment. In November 2012, 21 months into the process, Christ’s giving and attendance had doubled from what they were two years prior. “We have done some remarkable things here as a church. We really are believing in our ability to recover and renew,” said Cindy Redman, con- gregational council president and a charter member.
Many renewing congregations set
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