tangible goals to increase member- ship and attendance. But they must also be ready to accept other possi- bilities, Harrison said. “Most of the time when congre- gations think about renewal, they think about transforming their own congregation, but sometimes we learn that they really don’t have the missional energy or critical mass to undergo transformation,” he said. “In these cases the congrega- tion might be better off merging or consolidating.” In 2011, 163 congregations received $2.5 million in Congrega- tional Renewal Partnership Support grants. Harrison noted, however, that a church doesn’t need a grant to pursue renewal. In fact, he said, “all congregations have to be in renewal all the time. Communities of faith that are not on a journey to be a renewed, evangelizing congregation are on a path to decline and potential closure.” A major component of renewal that all congregations can and should pursue is to develop their identity, Eaton said. “We’ve told people [in the Northeastern Ohio Synod] that it’s not going to work to be ‘Generic Lutheran Church’ anymore. Every congregation is going to have to pray about and discern what its particular gift is,” she said.


Synod leaders arranged all 183 congregations into 27 geographic clusters to encourage them to talk to one another about their unique strengths and weaknesses. The goal is for congregations to create niche ministries within their communities. “We’re trying to get churches to


engage in communities, to listen to people in the community and see what they need,” Eaton said. “We’re coming to them and saying, ‘Tell us what your hopes and fears are and we’re going to shut up and listen.’ ” Sometimes we just need to start


listening in our congregations. When Chimezie Ukaonu came to serve Zion Lutheran Church, Kulm, N.D., in November 2011, he was surprised that in a town of 351 people, so many folks kept to themselves. The pastor began visiting members in their homes and workplaces, try- ing to reconnect them with God and each other.


Ukaonu recalled one experience:


“While riding with a farmer in a combine, I said to him, ‘It’s amaz- ing—Christ said to go out and feed the hungry, and you’re actually doing it.’ He was surprised because he’d never actually connected his work to ministry.”


Thanks in part to Ukaonu’s pasto-


ral care, in one year Zion’s average worship attendance increased from the 40s to the 60s, and it continues to grow. “It’s about building caring, trusting relationships without an agenda,” he said.


Small, but sturdy A church can’t always be deemed “too small” based on its membership and attendance, said Julian Gordy, bishop of the Southeastern Synod. “I’ve seen parishes with very few people thriving, who have figured out how to care for one another and get the resources needed to do ministry,” he said. William Gafkjen, bishop of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, agrees: “Congregations can be viable and vital with 20 to 30 people in wor- ship on Sunday if they are willing to do some type of shared mission or ministry with another ELCA congregation.”


One example of such an arrange- ment is Pittsburgh Lutheran United Ministries (PLUM), a cooperative of seven churches. The organization formed in 2004 when pastors John Gropp and Beth Siefert saw that two congregations were unable to support


full-time ministers.


“Instead of these congregations closing and trying to merge with other churches, where they would lose entire worshiping communi- ties, we decided to take them under our wing,” Gropp said. “It allows an individual congregation to maintain its presence in the community and to maintain its own identity.” Today four pastors serve the PLUM congregations throughout the week and preside over worship services on Sundays, alternating loca- tions. Each congregation maintains its own building and coordinates mission and ministries, with assistance from the pastors when necessary.


Gropp points out that often small, struggling churches are


A major component of renewal that all congregations can and should pursue is to develop their identity.


assigned interim pastors. “From what we’ve heard, interim pastors aren’t usually up for the fight of encourag- ing people to try new things, which can cause congregations to go into a lull. We’re out there supporting and stabilizing ministry so congrega- tions can go out and do some creative things, enabling witness of Christ in the community.”


Shiloh Lutheran Church in Wal- ton, Ind., and Christ Lutheran in Kokomo, Ind., recently formed a cooperative ministry. Shiloh is a small, aging congregation in a rural community. On a good day, 35 people attend worship. Christ is slightly larger, located 17 miles away. Two years ago, both churches were strug- gling to support a full-time pastor. Sharon Walker, who participated in the ELCA’s Theological Education for Emerging Ministries program, which places candidates in emerging ministries or those without pastoral


January 2013 25


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