Church Development in the Northeast
by Terry Shanahan, NE Regional Minister
Development n. 1. Act of developing or being developed.
Development of our existing churches is a necessary and ongoing process. It is very similar to our own sanctification process after experiencing conversion. Similar in that a church never arrives at a place of full or complete development any more than we arrive at a place of complete sanctification in this life.
The work of development is never a completed work, but ongoing for the life of the church. Whether a church is involved in a particular process such as the CCCC LifeFlow process, or involved in their own model of development, the goal is the same. In obedience to Christ, the church lives out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, and is committed to revitalizing their church by making healthy disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Northeast we have great testimonies of churches who were once unhealthy, but are now vibrant, healthy, disciple making churches. The East Franklin Union Church in East Franklin, VT sits in a community of less then thirteen hundred people. In recent memory they were a summer only church down to seven parishioners. They joined the CCCC two years ago as a year-round church with an average attendance of one hundred. This was not accomplished by busloads of people moving to East Franklin, Vermont and looking for a church. This was accomplished by the people of God turning their hearts to Him and reaching their community for Christ.
Free Christian Church in Andover, MA over forty years has grown from fifty or so parishioners to fifteen hundred folks worshiping at two campuses. They are in a continual process of developing their church. Every few years they have taken the Natural Church Development Survey to identify their strengths and weaknesses and work on areas of concern. Although a focus on development does not guarantee increased attendance, it is as important for the hundred member church as it is for the fifteen hundred member church.
One of our vibrant disciple making-churches in the Northeast is First Congregational Church in Barrington, NH. On a summer Sunday after doing pulpit supply at this obviously alive church, I asked a random parishioner at coffee hour if she could describe her church to me in just one sentence. She replied without hesitation, “We are a disciple-making church.” Oh, if all of our churches would say that!
Although testimonies exist in the Northeast of several revitalized churches, there are still many that are not engaged in an intentional process of development and disciple making. Whether or not churches are participating in LifeFlow or some other process, it is something that all churches need to be engaged in. It is not a question of knowing if your church is ready for development. It is a question of how do we begin and how do we continue to develop into the church that God has called us to be!
In His Joy, Terry
