Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 11, 1993                   TAG: 9309110109
SECTION: RELIGION                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BAPTIST LEADER URGES CHURCHES TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OR DIE

Addressing the Roanoke Valley unit of the National Association of Evangelicals recently, the Rev. Kirkland Lashley said the remedy is for church leaders to study their community, develop a vision of service to it, plan as carefully as a bank or restaurant, and not be afraid to discard old ways that worked 40 years ago.

Lashley, who is executive director of the Roanoke Valley Association of 71 Southern Baptist congregations, said large gaps exist in mainstream churches' reaching out to the valley's people.

There's a huge potential in single adults, which to his knowledge, no congregation is touching, Lashley said. He'd like to see at least one Southern Baptist group concentrate on adults of any age who have no family nearby.

A Sunday afternoon class for Southeast Asians recently begun at Virginia Heights Church is another example of what the valley's churches have neglected for years, Lashley noted.

In his talk to about 20 clergymen mainly from Protestant congregations of conservative doctrine, Lashley used 1990 census figures to make the point that valley churches must change to accommodate an older, less affluent and more ethnically diverse population.

But no blanket statement can be made for the valley as a whole, he emphasized. Even within a ZIP code designation the very poor may live close to the well-to-do. One factor is clear: more than 40 percent of Roanoke city folks now live in multifamily housing, an area, he charged, that parish leaders have woefully neglected.

Told by some in his audience that apartment dwellers move on fast and don't welcome settled church people, Lashley said congregational leaders in larger cities have tackled this problem by offering specific services to renters. Working with managers of complexes, many church people have established after-school programs for unsupervised children or set up specific events wanted by seniors or singles who live in the apartments.

The Baptist leader, drawing from many sources published in recent years on church growth, asserted that the time for revival meetings has long passed. And some churches have such poor facilities and unattractive upkeep that they cannot hope to retain visitors, he pointed out.

"You can't expect a young family that lives in a $150,000 house to bring their children to a dingy old nursery."

For the many small congregations that can't afford expensive alterations and an expanded staff, Lashley offered other suggestions:

Telephone invitations to specific services and events.

Developing small groups for spiritual depth, not necessarily on Sunday morning, which is no longer the drawing card for many that it was 40 years ago.

Being open to using the teaching materials of many denominations.

Getting people involved in action projects such as home repair, transportation of a specific group or child care in a neighborhood center.

Making the effort to get out of town for service such as disaster relief projects. Lashley said church people from Norfolk will come to Southeast Roanoke when valley residents prefer trips to impoverished rural or mountain areas.

Training people in one-to-one sharing of their faith in their neighborhoods, on the job or in anything but mass evangelistic meetings.

Realizing that "there really are no neighborhood churches these days. People will drive to a church that meets their needs regardless of their denominational background."

Getting out of the predictable "Protestant liturgy" pattern of morning worship.

Hailed as an expert on church growth, Lashley said Roanoke-area Southern Baptists are trying to face the fact that in 1960 more than 1,000 children and adults were baptized in a single year while last year the corresponding figure was 644. Sunday school attendance among his Baptist group has fallen from 15,000 to 11,000 in the corresponding period.

The Baptist administrator noted that there are 10,000 more names on the rolls of the valley's 71 congregations than there were 32 years ago and financial giving has soared since 1960, yet, especially in city churches, the gray heads far outnumber the young.

This points to an urgent need for even the most prosperous suburban congregations to look to their futures, he said.

"Every church is transitional."