Taking it to the Streets: Pastors combine efforts to reverse decline

10/20/2012
Rev. Paul Hillard

How do you turn around a declining church? That is the great challenge facing many congregations here in the North Alabama Conference. To turn a church around, the congregation must first be turned from "inward" on themselves to "outward" into the community. Call it out-of-the-box, unorthodox, unconventional, or simply "Rethink Church," but some believe we must stop going to church and start being the church.

On September 30, Haven Memorial and Saint Thomas United Methodist Churches, under the leadership of pastors Dr. Paul D. Hillard and Rev. Carolyn A. Hillard, took their worship services to the streets of Alexander City and Sylacauga, respectively.

What made this Sunday different from other Sundays was that members, casually dressed with comfortable shoes, were sent out from the sanctuary and into the local community during the worship hour. In other words, taking the Good News to the streets. Teams of two or three were given a package containing a map with a pre-chosen route, flyers, evangelistic cards, and a street report form. Their instructions were simple - go door-to-door, introduce yourself, let them know God loves them, ask for prayer and community concerns, give them information on the church, invite them to worship, and be observant. The goals were three-fold:

  1. To open the doors of the church to the community
  2. To connect with the disconnected
  3. To seek opportunities for outreach and ministry

Those who remained in the sanctuary had a prayer meeting, praying that those who went out would be received as they knocked on doors. When the teams returned, the excitement they brought back was astounding. Haven Memorial, which worships at 8:45 a.m., pre-emptied Sunday school at 8 a.m. so more could go out with time to return before the pastors left for Saint Thomas in Sylacauga. Lay Leader Jewell Russell of Haven Memorial expressed that her team was so joyously received that they didn’t want to stop and were late returning.

Jesse Cleveland, council chair of Saint Thomas, stated that "We were amazed at the opportunities to connect with so many people, especially children, in mere walking distance of the church door. The teams took numerous prayer requests and in many instances prayed on the spot."

"Why it has taken so long for us to realize that the mission is outside and right under our noses?" asked Dorothy Cook, PPR Chair of Saint Thomas.

Incredibly, while the street reports were being received at Saint Thomas, the church phone rang with a prayer request from a person visited by a team who wanted a team member to pray for them. Praise God!

The following Sunday, October 7, two of those visited attended worship and gave testimonies that the timeliness of the knock at their door was more than just a coincidence. Each felt like it was God speaking to them about their spiritual welfare. Can we say prevenient grace?

The vision cast by Pastor Hillard is to become a Vital, Vibrant and Victorious Congregation as shown by the flyers distributed that day. Both congregations plan to continue evangelistic outreach  - not always on Sunday - and develop strategies to create relevant ministries to address community needs.
 

Comments

1. Ron Howard wrote on 10/20/2012 6:39:26 PM
Praise God! Rev. Paul keep being the church!
2. Dewayne Guyton wrote on 10/22/2012 11:07:04 AM
Brother, you have hit the nail on the head!!! I've been pushing this exact thing for months now and trying to get across that if something isn't done, our churches will be emptied within 10 years! Most of the UMC churches in my area are mainly elderly. When the majority of your congregation is 75 years old, WORK needs to be done! It's not a matter of "if you build it they will come" it's a matter of putting foot to faith and going out and getting them! Love you my Brother in Christ! Blessings to you!
3. Mildred McKiinney wrote on 10/23/2012 9:41:40 AM
Well done,thou good and faithful servant. Keep up the good work. Well orchestrated!
4. Genora M. Hale wrote on 10/23/2012 10:49:42 AM
As a participant of St. Thomas UMC "Taking it to the Streets", it was truly a rewarding experience. It truly was living out the commitment of witnessing our faith.
5. Tim Kendrick wrote on 10/29/2012 11:39:33 AM
Anytime we can become more relevant to our community is a great thing. Keep taking the church on the road folks! Way to go!
6. Andretti Daniel wrote on 11/12/2012 7:51:25 AM
Exactly! We are a three-charge church (Ranburne, Lecta and Wise Chapel) and face the same struggles of declining attendance. Our Pastor, Dr. Kevin Thomas, has been working with us on the same thing. We have begun to take the church out of the building and to the community. Today, we are excited about loving on people in the name of Jesus Christ!