Congregations’ Outreach feeds “In-reach”
January 8, 2010
Outreach Feeds ‘In-Reach’:
Congregations Engrossed in Evangelism and Mission,
Growing in Graceful Community
Introduction
This research effort investigates congregations deeply immersed in evangelism and mission of different kinds, seeking to discern ways in which their “outreach” has changed their “in-reach.” It explores in qualitative fashion the theological, historical, and sociological nature of the work and worship of these congregations–how they read Scripture, how they phrase the “Gospel” in compelling ways, how they became so mission-oriented, and the nature of the particular work that now consumes their interests. Whether and in what ways have those congregations effectively engaged in meaningful mission become more adaptable in their own work and worship, apt to assimilate new members, develop new leadership, and govern their lives together constructively. It takes the hypothesis that congregations consumed in evangelism and mission are generally healthy congregations in providing the primary work of churches. They provide good places of worship and fellowship, building the spiritual and moral lives of members well, the natural core of congregational life.
The project will build on the findings of recent national studies of Christian congregations and the significant writings of Robert Wuthnow, Nancy Ammerman, Diana Butler Bass, Cynthia Woolever, Deborah Bruce, Brian McLaren, and others who interpret the findings and explore heuristic examples of healthy congregations at work. It will also draw upon recent research and publications by Robert Bacher, Darrell Guder, Andrew Walls, and others who treat the international “missional” challenges for congregations today. I understand a major volume will be published in 2009, Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches, drawing together the streams of research– local service, global mission, advocacy, and attractive examples of congregations at work.
The work will also address the changed nature of congregational life, a related subject seldom considered by others. As denominations and regional judicatories have provided fewer resources, as communication and transportation have become diffused and more readily global, and as members and leaders of congregations experience a more pluralistic world, the possibilities for international Christian partnerships have multiplied. Congregations in denominations today are no longer bound inextricably to the visions of national and regional “experts” in mission. Some are absorbed in attracting younger people or immigrant populations to join them in worship and work. Others dedicate themselves to global partnerships. Still others focus on community needs and advocacy on issues.
On the other hand, the study will not seek to build on the more exclusive claims of “missional” differentiations, over against “traditional” churches. The purpose will be to build up congregations of many sorts, not promulgate one particular recipe for vitality or for more flexible congregational governance.
Results from the research will comprise a casebook with heuristic examples, encouraging Christian congregations to expend time, energy, talents, and fiscal resources in service to others, in seeking to better the community and world, and in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If the narrative proves authentic, I hope it will encourage congregations to build upon their strengths and opportunities rather than mimic the programs of others.
The Problem
Analysts point to the persistence of mainline congregations in providing service and mission, despite the sometimes dispirited and enervating atmosphere in which much of mainline Protestantism wallows. So-called “Evangelical” congregations in these Protestant streams likewise frequently face considerable obstacles.
Denominations, from which mainline Christians used to receive considerable resources for congregational life, are considered by many as imploding. A majority of members, officers, and pastors say their national churches are headed in the “wrong direction.” They fail to see the efforts from denominational offices that provide resources and encouragement for evangelism and witness. Regional governing bodies have continued some traditional mission and service, but many have become more absorbed with simply surviving rather than with outreach. And the bad news of dysfunctional congregations has confused and paralyzed otherwise healthy groups of believers. Most mainline Protestants now say they would not support, much less participate in, efforts to evangelize in other countries than their own. Most have never asked anyone to visit and worship in their own congregation And the great majority of members give less than 2% of their annual income to the church and to religious efforts more broadly. More than 20% of members give no money to their church.
Even evangelical Protestant mission channels– Para-church organizations for local, regional, and national service and mission– have become more open to diverse support, especially from United Way and other secular non-governmental organizations—even from governmental “faith-based initiatives.” For mission and service internationally, traditionally evangelical mission enterprises, such as WorldVision and Christian Children’s Fund, have become less parochial and collaborate with people of other faiths today.
Moreover, the increasing costs of maintenance of edifices and the necessary increases in salary and benefits for pastors and other paid staff, means the great majority of mainline congregations have reduced giving to, therefore involvement in, mission of various types. Newer elements in the eco-system for service and evangelism—Habitat for Humanity and Heifer Project International, for example–have in many instances been ignored as part of congregational mission and service. Lack of money, lack of “professional” leadership, and rapidly changing modes of mission confront these Christians, already paralyzed in a culture of communal despair.
The lack of initiative in proclaiming the Gospel has been a longstanding problem for many in mainline churches. But with the trumpet’s “uncertain sound” today, as recounted above, evangelism languishes even more. Membership enlistment, crucial for congregations and sometimes involving testimony by believers as an early part of persuading the un-churched to “come and see,” has received little attention in many congregations.
Finally, governmental structures within and for congregational life frequently remain calcified in territorial patterns of leadership characteristic of previous decades, but scarcely analogous to the structures of contemporary family life and that of other institutions that thrive in today’s culture. Committees, boards, stultifying meetings of both, and proprietary turf mark the hierarchy and patrimony of many congregations.
For these systemic, ecological reasons, and related reasons of anomie among some personnel, the nature of the mission and outreach of congregations has been broadly perceived as diminished today, though the statistics marked by Ammerman, Wuthnow, Woolever and others conclude mission is continuing broadly among numbers of congregations. The retreat from service to mere survival in many places may be lamented, perpetuating what practical theologians call “problem-saturated narratives.” but members and particularly officers of mainline, and even those in many evangelical/conservative congregations need to recognize and embrace viable mission to empower their life together as well as to fulfill their natural Christian identity as communities of the faithful.
The Project
The study will focus upon congregations of many descriptions—some large, some small, some “liberal,” some “conservative”—which still recognize their responsibility for outreach. It is a significant part of their “religious core,” in the words of the Louisville Institute. Support will permit my visiting and studying congregations that “do” some kind of mission extremely well—whether service, evangelism, advocacy in the public arena, or a combination of these. Support will permit my interviewing pastors, members of pastoral staffs, and lay leaders to listen to them tell of their work, the consequent impact on congregational governance and stewardship, and other significant outcomes. I am confidant of finding at least fifteen congregations in which the mission and its internal consequences in congregational life are worth describing for others. Support will likewise undergird my reading even more deeply in the subjects pertinent to the task—congregational change, congregational mission, congregational identity, and strategic planning for mission.
Research questions will include:
- What measures, programs and partnerships are particularly effective in each congregational setting—Service? Mission? Advocacy? Evangelism? what combination? How did they come to be the way they are?
- What differences appear among the mission efforts of larger and small congregations? Of urban, suburban, exurban, and rural?
- What effects can be discerned on congregational work and worship, fellowship, moral and spiritual growth of members, stewardship, governance and leadership development?
- How has mission or evangelism changed over time, and how have those changes affected other parts of the common life of the congregation?
- What theological resources inform the ministry of the congregation?
As in several of my previous research efforts, I will depend on the wisdom of others as well as my own experience in selecting the congregations for study. I already am aware of numbers of churches that engage deeply in outreach of various kinds. I imagine pastors, Alban Institute consultants, scholars who have focused in this area of study, and seminary faculty members across the country can help me discern a number more worth exploration.
The recent scholarly studies of Christian practices, congregational life, interpretations of healthy mainline churches, and explorations of change also inform my project. In addition to the works already cited, those of Dorothy Bass and others in the Valparaiso Project, works by Gil Rendle, Lawrence Golemon, and other Alban Institute consultants, insights and examples from Diana Butler Bass and Tony Robinson will be brought to bear on congregational mission and its internal effects on congregational life.
The Product
I will write a casebook describing the mission and the inner life of “best practice” congregations. The work will recite wisdom and insights from many leaders in those congregations as well as narratives of the discerning and the building of projects and partnerships appropriate for each congregation. It will offer summary testimony concerning my own observations, and conclusions from others who have studied this subject over time. Might it also provide some inspiration? I dearly hope so. I trust my work will also invite conversation with congregational leaders who seek to become more faithful and mission-oriented, as well as with scholars who similarly seek to understand and help congregations.
As in others of my recent projects and publications concerning congregations, I will work from their use of scripture and from my discipline in church history in outlining the theological framework and the context of the effort in American life. I will listen carefully, and I will offer the subjects of the interviews and studies opportunity to correct and perfect my observations.
The Preparation
Already I have begun reading and thinking on the topic, and I can conceive of the product as a companion book for my recent project mentioned in the bibliography. My consulting for the Alban Institute also gives me opportunity to learn from others. With reception of the grant, I could immediately devote almost full time to the research and writing.
Thanks very much for your consideration of this project, and I promise that if you provide the support my research and the resulting book will be forthcoming promptly. I can devote full time and energy to the effort, sufficient imagination to present a helpful study for churches.
Louis B. Weeks
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