Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 21, 1990 TAG: 9004210416
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
No matter how historic the building, people in dress clothes won't wade across a muddy field to reach the front door. Nor will they come back if the walls are grimy or the narthex piled with discarded Sunday school books.
Most of all, prospective parishioners won't fight for a parking place, a fact still overlooked by some city congregations.
Three staff members of the state association of Southern Baptist congregations - the Baptist General Association of Virginia - outlined these basics for church growth at a recent seminar at Daleville Baptist Church.
Intended especially for leaders of congregations of 200 or less and the part-time pastors who often serve them, the program featured Rodney J. Hale, Steve Allsbrook and Robert Dale.
The three travel throughout the state and its more than 40 local associations of churches.
They discussed issues related to church sites, people in the neighborhood the church will serve, and programs for the those who choose small congregations.
About 25 pastors and laity came to the Daleville church from four counties to gain some new ideas.
Some described their churches as "the victims of transient pastors," "a miracle to be growing after six years" and "a big friendly family."
Some churches, said Hale, who was reared in Roanoke's Connelly Memorial Baptist Church 30 years ago, really don't want to grow. Long-time members recognize the threat to stability that newcomers present. This attitude is seen especially in suburban counties like Botetourt, Bedford and Franklin where small Baptist churches dot the landscape.
Yet some of these churches seem to do well with a long-time pastor who earns much of his living from a secular job, said Rev. Sam Crews, who has served Coopers Cove congregation for 20 years. Crews has been a Roanoke County employee for years. He said he and his wife have enjoyed being part of a whole generation of children growing up in the secluded valley on the line between Roanoke and Franklin counties.
Hale used Coopers Cove as an example of a country church that made itself more attractive by spending its money for parking space. It needed twice its 20 spaces, and when improvements were made - following a consultation with the Richmond church planners - people got the message that they are wanted.
Baptist churches have always achieved gains through their Sunday schools, Hale said. Children, even without their parents, are won to Christ that way, and many adults trace their commitment to the classes and fellowship they remember from an early age.
For that reason, he said, air conditioning has to be considered a priority in areas for children. To balance financial concerns, a parking lot might be graveled and bordered with timbers and flowers, rather than paved.
In planning for physical improvements and programs, church leaders should take advantage of census figures, Allsbrook said.
He distributed population studies to help with planning in Roanoke's suburban areas. Changes are coming fast to Botetourt and Bedford, Allsbrook's figures showed; the view from the ridge on which Daleville Baptist sits includes dozens of new split-level and ranch-style homes built in the past 15 years.
Church leaders must plan buildings and programs that may be unfamiliar to long-time members in order to win residents of these neighborhoods of young families and retirees, Allsbrook said.
Many Baptist churches count on the loyalty of bedrock families and the fellowship expressed through good meals, he added. Still, leaders need to realize that many members are better educated today and that they expect intellectual stimulation and personal help at least as sophisticated as what they find in their working worlds.
Dale pointed out the average Southern Baptist congregation is not huge, as popularly supposed, but has only about 200 members.
He added that for every advantage a church might offer, there is a potential disadvantage congregations should be aware of.
Some examples:
The comfortable sense of being a family can shut newcomers out. When children - and their families - remain in the parental parish, it's easy to neglect singles who lead a more contemporary non-traditional lifestyle.
When only about 40 are truly committed to a church, it's fairly easy to get support for an event such as a revival or supper. When more are active, differences surface.
Small churches are run by a few people who become lulled into believing they offer everything a spiritual seeker needs. It's hard to break the pattern of self-satisfaction and control long-timers project.
Small churches rarely have enough money. This survival mentality, though challenging, limits the planning of outreach projects essential for a congregation not to become selfish and ingrown.
Planning is often difficult for small rural churches. They live in the past, or the present at best, rather than the future.
Dale noted that it is easier to narrow the focus to the immediate community, ignore other denominations that may be complementary and change ministers too often for goals to be accomplished.
But by using the tools of marketing and education, small churches can keep up with their communities, Dale emphasized.
by CNB