ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 18, 1996 TAG: 9604180074
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
Churches in the Roanoke Valley have had to market their product to the people they wish to serve. Church leaders are turning to population studies and marketing techniques familiar to the business world.
"The Once and Future Church" issued by the Alban Institute, a church think tank in Washington, has had considerable influence on mainstream American Protestant denominations. Written by Episcopal clergyman Loren Mead, it is one of dozens of publications issued in the past quarter-century to help churches compete in the spiritual marketplace.
Mead asserts that to be relevant to people born after 1950, the church must revert to many practices mentioned in the New Testament and discard some hallowed traditions of Christendom.
He favors small spiritual-growth groups, putting emphasis on helping people outside the church, allowing worship to be informal and flexible and providing programs to strengthen families.
Mead also implies that denominational loyalty no longer matters to a lot of people.
The church, says Mead, is meant to serve the people, not to maintain the status quo. Over the centuries when the church has grown too comfortable in the culture, it has ceased to be a factor in creating a more just and loving society. Then, in a little different way each time, it renews itself.
Roanoke Valley churches established in the past 25 years mirror national trends. Those that have grown fastest follow an informal style of worship, pay little attention to denominational beliefs, rely on small groups that meet in homes for teaching and fellowship, and offer facilities and short-term programs to promote warm human relationships.
Especially popular are congregations that base their teachings strictly on the Bible.
A few congregations use extensive advertising - newspaper, TV or billboard - to promote their message.
Newer Roanoke Valley churches fall into two categories: independents with little or no affiliation to a national denomination, or those that are part of groups established for several generations in Western Virginia.
Talks with pastors reveal that both types are using some or all of the Mead strategies.
First United Methodist in downtown Salem is trying new ideas for church growth and spiritual depth. About 1,000 active members recently worked with a professional consultant and found 11 issues needing attention. The Rev. Tom Joyce, pastor, said long-range planning, likely to incorporate some of the findings, is expected to bring in more young adults.
The simple, modular structure of Peace Presbyterian Church at 4365 Cloverdale Road represents a way for a suburban congregation to meet without investing limited church dollars in a structure that may be unsuitable in a few years.
In two buildings joined by a foyer that members of the congregation built last summer, about 80 active members are educated in contemporary Christianity and worship in two Sunday morning services.
Nineteen years ago, Elder John Washington began a Pentecostal congregation, Faith and Hope, to stress family values. The represents the Church of God in Christ. Although the church appeals to many young adult blacks, Washington said a number of white worshipers like what the church represents and are among the active members.
A jail ministry and visits to the sick also have helped the congregation grow, he said.
About 10 years ago, a group of Episcopalians saw evangelism as primary in their denomination and formed the Church of the Holy Spirit from a Bible class. The church has grown to about 500 at two Sunday services and will soon move into a $2.2 million structure in Southwest Roanoke County.
The Rev. Quigg Lawrence, pastor, said leaders strive to be friendly to newcomers and not "too cerebral, like some Episcopal churches." He estimates that as many as 30 visitors are at services each Sunday.
A distinction of the church, which describes itself as "evangelical Episcopal," is the spiritual-growth cell groups meeting weekly in homes.
Grace Covenant Church, 1857 Grandin Road S.W., also use cell group meetings.
The basic principles of operation haven't changed since the church started in 1978 as the Church of the Living Way, said the Rev. John Ault, who became pastor in 1990. Their Sunday worship is informal, and members carry on missionary work, offer "compassion" - though not acceptance of lifestyle - to homosexuals and support the Crisis Pregnancy Center as an alternative to abortion., Ault said.
The Rev. Eddie Crabtree is the third pastor that Valley Word Church at 1928 Loch Haven Road has had since it was started as an independent Pentecostal fellowship in 1983. It is distinctive for its racial mix, with about 50 percent white and black.
Valley Word, with an annual budget of about $500,000, attracts about 400 each Sunday, Crabtree said.
Valley Word has many older members, some of whom left more traditional churches because they like the exuberant worship and the cross-cultural mix, the pastor said.
Valley Christian Center, in a new building at 4265 Cloverdale Road, has monthly "miracle services" for healing body and spirit.
The 150 people who attend the church have dispensed with Sunday morning education in favor of an all-age Pentecostal service, and use Wednesday nights for teaching.
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: The 80-member congregation of Peace Presbyterian Churchby CNBon Cloverdale Road worships in two modular buildings connected by a
foyer built by church members last summer.