Church Development Office

We are part of the new millennium! What an opportune moment to be in ministry as pastor! Pastors are in a position of leadership to help the church respond to Christ's lead in setting the course for the United Methodist Church for years to come. And what will that course involve? Among other things, it includes a passion for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with persons in every community within the bounds of the conference. This is a formidable task!

Virginia's population is projected to grow by 10 percent this decade alone. If this growth were to be spread evenly across each community where we already have a United Methodist congregation, then the church could respond by focusing its whole energy on training new leaders in our existing churches. We have congregations and facilities in most communities across Virginia; in fact, we have more than 1,225 churches across the conference valued at nearly $1 billion!

The reality, however, is that Virginia's growth is not occurring like a rising tide — evenly spread upon each beach along the shoreline. There continues to be a variety of growth/decline patterns across the communities of the conference. In some Virginia communities, the growth will be so overwhelming that it will be beyond the ability of the United Methodists residing there to respond effectively without significant "outside" help. And there are other areas of changing or declining population which will cause other challenges for the churches located within them.

The Discipline charges each district with the responsibility of providing ministries in all communities within its jurisdiction. The conference office of congregational development and evangelism will work with other conference and general boards and others to present both relevant demographic data and viable congregational development models to each of our 18 districts. A partial listing of church planting models include: the cell church, the regional church, the mother-daughter congregations, the multiple-location congregation, the multicultural congregation, the congregations with a shared facility, the cooperative parish, the storefront church, the blended church, the relocated church, and the ecumenical ministry.

The Virginia Conference is responding to the radical changes brought about when one "lives in the hinges of time." Not only are existing congregations being assisted through the training programs of the Leadership Development Institute, but the Office of Church Development and Evangelism will help the districts to establish new congregations when and where they are needed. A minimum of 22 new congregations will be started by 2007 with at least eight located in racial ethnic communities and communities of the poor. To assist in the starting of these churches, and to establish an endowment for the purpose of helping to start even more churches in the future, a capital fund-raising campaign with a goal of $8.5 million is being conducted through 2004.

For more information, contact Anna Workman, staff, Office of Church Development and Evangelism, P.O. Box 1719, Glen Allen, VA 23060; phone: (804) 521-1100, 1-800-768-6040, ext. 156; FAX: (804) 521-1179; E-mail: annaworkman@vaumc.org.