Small Virginia congregation breaks into growth
By D. Wayne Bogue, The Layman, March 29, 2011
Accounts of small congregations on the verge of closure are all too familiar in “mainline” denominations. Christ Presbyterian Church, tucked away in the Aragona neighborhood of Virginia Beach, Va., was, until recently, another sad example of a once-strong congregation in the throes of decline.
The Aragona neighborhood blossomed in the American post-World War II boom. Veterans came in droves, purchased modest, newly-constructed homes and raised their families. Children ran through the neighborhoods in large numbers. Christ Presbyterian Church was founded to minister to Aragona’s growing population – and for many years it did. The congregation thrived, enjoying the rising tide of national church growth.
Christ Presbyterian’s first Vacation Bible School received so many applicants they had to turn children away. They could not handle the overload. Worship grew, Christian Education grew, and life was good.
Years later, growth turned to maintenance, maintenance turned to decline and, like so many congregations, Christ Presbyterian diminished to a shadow of its former self. In its first year, Christ Presbyterian received 178 members. At the end of five years the congregation had blossomed to 492. Presbyterian Church (USA) statistical reports indicate that Christ Presbyterian Church dropped to fewer than 40 members in 2009. Ellen Campbell Gardner, stated supply pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church said, “Over time, the church lost its vision, and people stopped automatically coming to them. They dwindled to 32 members by 2010.”
Gardner began to preach occasionally at Christ Presbyterian while taking Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in Norfolk, Va. Gardner, a life-long Presbyterian, came from a family of missionaries. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and subsequently served as a pastor in Pittsburgh for 7 years.
Gardner came to love and trust the people of Christ Presbyterian. She believed she was called to serve them after completing CPE in late 2010, but she needed more than the 16 hours per week they had offered.
She had a choice: find a call that could afford to pay her a livable salary, or issue the congregation a challenge. Gardner did the latter. “I told them ‘This neighborhood needs you.’” She asked them to take a “leap of faith” and give her 30 hours per week. They did.
In November 2010, Gardner became the stated supply pastor and told the congregation that they had “an opportunity to see the hand of God.” The people believed her and the worldview of Christ Presbyterian began to shift. Church members realized they were on a path leading to closure. Something had to change. They could no longer sit back, persist in their usual practices and wait for people to come to them.
Four congregation members and Gardner – more than 10 percent of the congregation – began an intentional approach to personal and congregational transformation. For one month they woke up at 5:30 a.m., met at the church, prayed and read the Scriptures. “They took this as a serious call to prayer,” said Gardner. After that, transformation began.
Since November, Church members have gone door-to-door getting to know the neighbors. They have avoided any hint of “hard sell” evangelism. Instead, they told the neighbors that Christ Presbyterian was “there for them.” They set up an e-mail account so that neighbors could send in prayer requests. They let the neighbors know “they care.” Members hoped that by establishing relationships that were not based on mere “recruitment,” but rather on genuine care of persons in their immediate geographical area, that the love of Christ would have an opportunity to grow in the hearts of their neighbors.
Gardner stated, “[Church members] reaffirmed the ‘go’ of the Great Commission: Go into the world making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit …” And baptize them they have.
So far in 2011, Christ Presbyterian Church has conducted 19 baptisms, including 3 adult “believer” baptisms. They have 5 more baptisms scheduled for April. Adult membership has grown from 32 to 37, an increase of more than 15 percent. Gardner reported that one man came to Christ “right before my eyes” in a new members’ class, “his eyes filled with tears.”
However, with growth comes challenge. Gardner said, “Some members don’t understand the call to ’go,’ and a few have lost power now that so many people are energized and active. But we will either be the Church or die.”
Christ Presbyterian now operates with the understanding that “God our Savior will be glorified.” As Gardner said, “This Church is not for some, but for the neighborhood and the world. When God moves we’d better hold on. God does not force anyone, but when people are faithful, God moves.”
Every third Sunday, Christ Presbyterian hosts a potluck dinner open to the community. They reach out to the neighborhood with care and warm invitations to participate at whatever level their neighbors feel comfortable. They have 5 flea markets a year and “are always looking for additional ways to be missional.”
The growth at Christ Presbyterian, says Gardner, is a movement “from stagnation to spiritual excitement.” The heart of the congregation itself had to accept God’s leading before anything new could happen.
Gardner said it has been a spiritual challenge for her: “Our denomination did not do evangelism as a whole. I was used to the old ways – wait for them to come to us. It was a step of faith to walk out the church doors and go into the community.” Her vision is shaped by her call to “foster the image of Christ to others without expectations.” She regularly asks herself, “How is it that Christ grows in me? How is it that my faith needs to be challenged?”
Gardner appreciates the emphasis of the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia on helping congregations reach out. The presbytery has adopted a “Healthy, Growing Congregations” model, which, said Gardner, helps pastors and lay leaders keep a missional focus at the forefront of their minds and hearts. Every month, interested leaders read a different book on growth, leadership and Biblical ways to do the Great Commission.
Christ Presbyterian Church is located at 709 Aragona Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23455. The office e-mail is Christ_presbyterian@yahoo.com.