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Comparative Denominational Survey A report generated for the Presidential Task Force
Portland, Oregon, September 19-‐21, 2012
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Table of Contents
Author’s Observations 3 Executive Summary: Mission, Vision, and Value Statements 4 Executive Summary: Denominational Funding 11 Executive Summary: Property Ownership 14 Individual Denominational Reports:
The Assemblies of God 16 Christian and Missionary Alliance 20 Churches of God, Anderson, Indiana 23 Church of God, Findlay, Ohio 26 The Evangelical Church 30 The Missionary Church, USA 32 The United Methodist Church 35 Vision 360 40 Statistical Snapshot 43 Denominational Survey, Literature Review 44
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Summary, Research of Other Denominations Presidential Task Force, September 19, 2012
1. There is a vast variety of funding models within denominations. No one funding model stood out as clearly “right”, “perfect”, or “ideal”. Denominations require churches to give as little as 0% of their yearly budget to as high as 20%. 2. Many respondents to the surveys, as well as a growing deal of literature, points towards further de-‐centralization of denominational structure. Denominations are either stripping themselves intentionally or being stripped by financial challenges. 3. Foursquare ownership of all local church properties is a minority position. More common is local church ownership with a reversionary clause in effect. A denominations reversionary clause says something to the effect that churches remain owned by a local congregations until crisis, failure, or financial catastrophe hit, at that time, the property falls into trust with the denomination. 4. There seems to be an emerging trend that newer movements are placing less importance on centralized offices and instead focusing heavily on regional leadership. In fact, one movement calls it’s regional directors, “Regional Catalysts” to emphasize their need to develop and spark life rather than supervise what already exists. 5. District/Regional offices that are financed directly from the field seem to thrive with more vibrancy. Districts/Regions that are financed by the national office seem more inhibited, and subdued. 6. In comparison, Foursquare funds their Districts less than the average denomination in this study. Although it is difficult to compare directly due to differing sources of revenue, expense line items, etc, it appears that the average denomination funds its districts with 49.964% of its income while Foursquare funds its Districts somewhere between 18% and 34.7% depending on budget categories included. 7. There is a growing tension and disparity within several denominations concerning the dramatic differences between large and small churches. Several denominations mentioned that their large churches continue to get larger and many small churches are in slow decline. Leadership challenges abound for denominations where this disparity is evident. 8. A modified Episcopalian or a traditional Episcopalian form of government seems to work well for denominations with many small churches or uniformity in church size. However, tension seems to arise as this form of government is enacted over large churches. Leaders of large churches seem to chafe at this form of governance. 9. Compliance in giving to the denomination varies widely from 30% to 90%. 10. Few denominations (if any) have made recent, significant change to their polity, structure or governance. 11. The four tenants of the Foursquare Gospel (Jesus Christ as Savior, Healer, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit and Soon Coming King), are not unique to Foursquare.
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Executive Summary: Mission, Vision, and Value Statements
Because Mission, Vision, and Value statements provide the template by which an organization defines what is most important to them, we have compiled a list of eight denominations and their stated commitments to Mission, Vision, and Value. They are arranged in alphabetical order. Denomination: The Assemblies of God Mission: The Assemblies of God is committed to fulfilling a four-‐fold mission. Our primary reason for being is to: 1. Evangelize the lost 2. Worship God 3. Disciple believers 4. Show compassion Vision: We commit ourselves to Him in worship, in discipleship, in evangelism, in all we do. Core Values: 1. Passionately Proclaim—at home and abroad, by word and deed Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and soon-‐coming King. 2. Strategically Invest—in the next generation. 3. Vigorously Plant—new churches and revitalize old ones. 4. Fervently Pray—for God’s favor and help as we serve Him with pure hearts and noble purpose. Denomination: Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) Mission: We desire to know Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King and to complete His Great Commission. The Alliance will fulfill His Commission through: -‐Evangelizing and discipling persons throughout the United States. -‐Incorporating them into Christ-‐centered, community-‐focused congregations, and -‐Mobilizing them for active involvement in a global effort designed to plant Great Commission churches among unreached and responsive peoples worldwide. Core Values:
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-‐Lost people matter to God. He wants them found. -‐Prayer is the primary work of the people of God. -‐Everything we have belongs to God. We are his stewards. -‐Knowing and obeying God’s word is fundamental to all true success. -‐Completing the Great Commission will require the mobilization of every fully devoted disciple. -‐Without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish nothing. -‐Achieving God’s purposes means taking faith-‐filled risks. This always involves change. Denomination: Church of God, Anderson, Indiana Vision and Mission: Transform culture by being the body of Christ. Core Values: 1. Ignite—Revitalize the Great Commission 2. Permeate—Engaging every individual, church, and agency in the Great Commandments 3. Free—Committing to stewardship principles 4. Cultivate—Nurturing spiritual gifts 5. Refresh—Renewing our efforts toward relational connectivity and identity Denomination: Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee Mission and Vision: 1. Prayer—We commit ourselves to making prayer the highest priority of the church demonstrated by: -‐Every local church becoming a house of prayer for all nations. -‐Emphasizing communication with God as the highest privilege and greatest responsibility of every member. -‐Modeling by all church leadership of an active and effective prayer life. -‐Uniting with other believers in corporate and intercessory prayer. 2. Pentecostal Worship—We commit ourselves to gather regularly as the local expression of the Body of Christ to participate in Pentecostal worship that exalts God, engages the heart, mind and soul, and challenges to deeper commitment and discipleship. This commitment will be demonstrated by: -‐Assisting local churches in planning and preparing for meaningful, anointed worship. -‐Equipping pastors and other worship leaders to lead authentically expressed, spiritually alive worship.
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-‐Modeling varying styles and forms of worship that glorify God and encouraging outreach and service. -‐Emphasizing the importance of Biblical stewardship and the centrality of God’s Word as elements of worship. 3. World Evangelization—We commit ourselves to intentionally reaching the unconverted, baptizing them in water, and leading them to unite with the church. This commitment will be demonstrated by: -‐Viewing all of the nations of the world as our mission field. -‐Encouraging our local churches to adopt and intercede for an unreached people group. Resource materials will be provided by the World Missions Department. -‐Asking all national churches of the Church of God International to adopt and implement measurable steps to evangelize and disciple unreached people groups inside and outside of their own regions. -‐Encouraging every local church to increase a minimum of 10% per year through conversion growth. -‐Cultivating a genuine passion for the lost that will compel members to personally communicate the gospel of Jesus and demonstrate His love to those outside the faith. -‐Discipling new believers and passing on our faith to the next generation. -‐Practicing life-‐style evangelism. 4. Church Planting—We commit ourselves to identifying, training, and resourcing God-‐called church planters and to intentionally planting new life-‐giving churches. This commitment will be demonstrated by: -‐Focusing designated resources of the local church state/regional offices, and the international offices for planting new churches. -‐Starting the number of church plants equal to a minimum of 3% of the total number of churches in a state/region/nation annually. -‐Developing a certified training program in our Evangelism and Home Missions Department and educational institutions for church planters and home missions. -‐Emphasizing the health and viability of new church plants as well as the number of churches planted. -‐Affirming the different models of church planting for different situations. -‐Recognizing church planting as an apostolic ministry for our day. 5. Leadership Development—We commit ourselves to identifying and developing individuals whom God has called and given leadership gifts and challenging them to become servant-‐leaders. We will demonstrate this commitment by: -‐Creating an environment in which men and women with ministry gifts are developed to serve as servant-‐leaders. -‐Equipping, empowering, and releasing lay leaders to serve as ministry partners both inside and outside the local church. -‐Providing relevant resources and training opportunities for both clergy and laity. -‐Encouraging pastors to lead through vision, to communicate the vision to the congregation and to organize the body and each of its ministry groups so the vision can be realized.
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6. Care—We commit ourselves to the challenge of being a church that genuinely cares for one another and for those who are lost, hurting, and needy. We will demonstrate our commitment by: -‐Building loving, caring relationships within the families, between members, and within the communities we serve. -‐Obeying the Care Commission of Christ in Matthew 25. -‐Cultivating compassion and showing mercy to the unloved, the undesirable, and the unreached of our society. -‐Establishing in each local church some type of outreach ministry that demonstrates our genuine love and concern for the disadvantaged or oppressed. 7. Interdependence—We commit ourselves to the principle of interdependence, acknowledging our interconnectedness and dependence on all the members of the Body of Christ. We will demonstrate our commitment by: -‐Reaching out to others in the Body of Christ for collaboration, resource sharing and learning opportunities. -‐Encouraging local churches to build relationships with like-‐minded and like-‐hearted churches in their communities to work together to reach the lost. -‐Involving clergy in the processes of mentoring, coaching, and consulting on the local, state, and regional levels to increase the level of trust and support among ministers. -‐Engaging in a dialogue and partnership with local, national, and international organizations who seek to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ. Denomination: Church of God General Conference, Findlay, Ohio Mission and Vision: To make more and better disciples by establishing more and better communities of faith all over the world in His name. Core Values: We value… 1. Obedience to Jesus Christ. 2. Each individual as one who matters to God. 3. Dependence and confidence in God. 4. Christ-‐honoring, culturally relevant worship. 5. Evangelistic outreach. 6. Each believer growing in Christ-‐likeness and serving in ministry based on their spiritual gifts. 7. Vital reproducing congregations. 8. Trained, committed, and competent leaders. 9. Christian unity within a diverse body of faith. 10. Accountability among believers and congregations
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Denomination: The Evangelical Church Mission:
Our mission is a God-‐birthed passion: to bring people into a vital saving relationship with Jesus. to provide the unchurched with a healthy church family. to disciple believers into heart holiness and the Spirit-‐filled life. to build a network of healthy life-‐giving multiplying churches.
The evangelical church exists for the purpose of:
proclaiming assurance of personal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. witnessing to the personal cleansing and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Vision: Our vision is: to engage the harvest both in the United States and overseas. to transform our cultures as we grow in Christ-‐likeness (holiness). We will accomplish our mission by: • praying. • living a Spirit-‐filled life. • evangelizing. • discipling and building healthy life-‐giving multiplying churches by intentionally
developing a system of assessing and coaching. Simply put, we are "harvest-‐focused, holiness-‐fueled" Core Values:
• We value people becoming followers of Jesus Christ. • We value God’s revelation to us through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Bible,
prayer, and church. • The resources God gives us in leadership and money.
Denomination: Missionary Church Inc., Ft. Wayne, Indiana Mission: The Missionary Church, in obedience to Jesus Christ her Lord, is committed to being holy people of God in the world and to building His church by worldwide evangelism, discipleship and multiplication of growing churches.
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Core Values: In Biblical Authority… 1. Encourage inspired relevant teaching of the Word. 2. Obey and live the Word. 3. Provide a learning environment in the local churches. 4. Develop ministries that flow from a biblical base. 5. Facilitate biblically-‐trained leadership. In Spiritual Passion—We will passionately love God and recognizing the Lordship of Jesus Christ, be sensitive to and independent upon the leading of the Holy Spirit. In order to accomplish this, we will… 1. Pray intensely 2. Worship expectantly 3. Preach biblically and relevantly 4. Study diligently and thoroughly In Great Commission Commitment—We will reach the lost and disciple the saints in any context. In order to accomplish this, we will… 1. Plant churches 2. Send missionaries 3. Evangelize 4. Establish growing, healthy churches 5. Train and equip In Empowering People—We will build healthy local churches by equipping people for ministry. In order to accomplish this, we will… 1. Provide leadership training and assessment 2. Cultivate an environment for pastoral excellence 3. Practice servant leadership In Kingdom Perspective—We will focus on building God’s kingdom as we fulfill our mission and calling. In order to accomplish this, we will… 1. Develop strategic partnerships 2. Network with like-‐minded ministries 3. Place God’s agenda first 4. Focus on building His kingdom and let Him build the church Denomination: United Methodist Church Mission: Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
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Four Areas of Focus (Core Values): 1. Combating the diseases of poverty by improving health globally. 2. Engaging in ministry to the poor. 3. Creating new places for new people and revitalizing existing congregations. 4. Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world. *Open hearts, open minds, open doors. Denomination: Vision 360 Vision: To collaborate to accelerate the global movement of Jesus. Mission: To release followers of Jesus into all domains of society, to make disciples, and multiply communities of faith. Values: 1. Kingdom minded 2. Disciple driven 3. City engaged 4. Globally connected 5. Church multiplying
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Executive Summary: Denominational Funding The Assemblies of God District Funding: -‐Licensed ministers give 10% of their pastoral income to the district office. -‐Churches are asked to give 2% of their income to the district. National Office Funding: -‐A 240.00 annual licensing fee for every ordained pastor (a licensed pastor pays 180.00). -‐Revenue generated from their publishing company, Gospel Publishing House (they have been in the red for the past several years, however). -‐Assemblies of God Financial Solutions. This is the financial arm of AG, started in 1998, available to all church workers. Over 60,000 people have taken part in this, with over 2.2 billion dollars in assets. They manage retirement funds, offer financial planning, and provide loans within the denomination. Christian and Missionary Alliance District Funding: -‐Each of the 35 districts meet annually to determine a set percentage amount needed from their churches in order to operate. Depending on the size of the district (smaller districts requiring a greater percentage), this figure runs from 3-‐10% of a church’s net giving (after rent/mortgage and the Great Commission fund giving is taken out). -‐This giving is not considered optional, and the majority of churches do fully comply. -‐District superintendents receive approximately 75% of their salary from the national office, but all other staff positions are paid for out of the district budget. National Office Funding: -‐Every year, each C&MA church holds a missions conference. At this conference, something known as a Great Commission offering is taken, either by a total church pledge or through individual donors, with this money being used to fund both the national office operations, and missionary work (both overseas and, more recently, cross-‐cultural work within the U.S.) For the past several years, this number has hovered around $38,000,000. Approximately 68% goes overseas and 32% is used to fund the national office and missionary support staff. -‐This pledge is entirely voluntary, but is very much a part of the culture of C&MA. *Missionaries are fully funded. *Camps are self-‐funding. Church of God-‐Anderson, Indiana District Funding: -‐Churches are expected to give 5% of their revenue to the district office and 5% to the national office. The full compliance rate, however, is less than 30%.
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National Office Funding: -‐Donations from both churches and individuals (the 5% suggested gift). -‐ Earnings from their publishing company (Warner Press), church and youth conventions, and other fundraisers (10-‐15% of national office revenue). -‐Estate Planning—a subsidiary of Church of God, World Ministries Advance team, operates this arm. They have received some very large gifts as a result of this, but it is sporadic and impossible to predict for budgeting purposes. Church of God-‐Findlay, Ohio District Funding: -‐The churches tithe to the local conference – Fair Share and that tithe gets split 53% to Central Office and 47% to the regional conference.
National Office Funding:
-‐Various ministries are placed on a designated list and churches and individuals pay toward that. -‐Half of funding comes in through the Fair Share or the tithe and about half comes in from Designated giving.
The Evangelical Church
District Funding: -‐A 10% tithe to the regional office (excluding income for missions, capital improvements and benevolence). National Office Funding: -‐The district then gives a 10% tithe to the national office. The Missionary Church District and National Office Funding: -‐United States operations and ministry via a 2% assessment of local church income which goes directly to the national office and is then distributed to the various districts. -‐World Partners/missions is funded through shares raised mostly by missionaries.
-‐There is a 90% compliance rate
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United Methodist Church District and National Office Funding: -‐Churches are expected to give what is known as an apportionment to the national offices of the UMC, which works out to just over 10% of income. This money is then distributed to the districts. -‐Endowments make up a large part of the operating budget. This is how they have managed to stay afloat after 43 years of decline. -‐12-‐20% of the 13 seminaries’ budget comes from apportionment. Vision 360 -‐Some very large donations helped to get Vision360 off of the ground (Al Weiss of Disney). -‐Vision360 requests that 5% of the tithes of a church plant goes back into a fund for church planting. with this money remaining in the same city. -‐Very de-‐centralized structure with little in the way of a national office.
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Executive Summary: Ownership of Property
The Assemblies of God -‐Property is owned by the local church, with a reversionary clause in place. There are no other options at this time. Christian and Missionary Alliance -‐Churches own their own buildings with a reversionary clause in place. -‐They have what is known as an affiliate option for churches coming into C&MA, where the church adopts the denominational statement of faith, and typically the pastor becomes C&MA licensed, but the reversionary clause is waived. About 5% of C&MA churches are affiliated. They have had this option in place for 40+ years. Examples were given of several Lutheran churches in Minnesota who have come into C&MA recently over issues of homosexual clergy. They own their buildings, but are afraid that if C&MA adopts this same liberal stance, they could lose them to the reversionary clause. -‐The district office helps with obtaining property loans, streamlining the process, etc., but serves primarily in an advisory role. Church of God, Anderson, Indiana -‐The local church owns the property, with a reversionary clause put in place. They used to not enforce this too much, but they have had some serious legal issues/lawsuits with congregations who have left and taken the building. They view it as a way for a particular congregation to protect itself from a maverick leader. -‐Most of the larger churches have conditional deeding in place. -‐The reversionary clause was added to the bylaws about ten years ago. Church of God, Findlay, Ohio -‐ The local church has the deed to the property and it is held in trust for the regional conference of the denomination where the church is located. There is a reversion clause that basically says if the local church ceases to be everything goes to the regional conference of the denomination.
-‐ There are no options for ownership of property, but not all churches do have their property deeded to the denomination. Some of the long time churches have never done this and some existing congregations who have affiliated with the denomination do not have their property deeded to the denomination. All of them have to have a reversion clause to be considered under our denomination 501C3.
-‐ The denomination has recently put together a withdrawal policy to give churches the ability to withdraw if they want to end the relationship with the denomination. This has been in existence for five years and only two churches have withdrawn. If the church goes through the policy, they are permitted to take their property along.
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The Evangelical Church -‐The local church owns the property. There isn’t a reversionary clause per se; if a church dissolves, and there is a building, what typically happens is the local church will sell off the proceeds, giving 1/3 to the denomination, 1/3 to missions, and 1/3 to other non-‐profit groups. The Missionary Church -‐Predominately the local church. In one district there is a pre-‐merger carryover where the district still holds the title to several properties but even those churches can request the title. United Methodist Church -‐The local church has its name on the deed and legally "owns" the property, and the local church trustees are responsible for that property. This is known in Methodism as “The Trust Clause”. However, the ownership is in held in a UMC trust, and would revert back to that if the church ceases to function or wishes to leave. In the case of the Evangelical Church (which branched off of the UMC in 1968), they were eventually allowed to keep the majority of their church deeds. Vision 360 Network -‐By intention, Vision360 does not own any property.
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The Assemblies of God Historical Overview The Assemblies of God has its roots in the Pentecostal revival of the early 20th century. The Pentecostal aspects of the revival were not generally welcomed by established churches, and participants in the movement soon found themselves forced outside existing religious bodies. These people sought out their own places of worship and founded hundreds of distinctly Pentecostal congregations. Concerned Pentecostal leaders felt the desire to protect and preserve the results of the revival by uniting through cooperative fellowship.
In April 1914, about 300 preachers and laymen were invited from 20 states and several foreign countries for a general council in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to discuss and take action on these and other pressing needs. A fellowship emerged from the meeting and was incorporated under the name General Council of the Assemblies of God in the United States of America.
Size, Structure, and Theology
Size and Population Trends
The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination. The World Assemblies of God Fellowship, founded in 1988, is structured as a loose alliance of independent national and regional Pentecostal denominations.
With over 300,000 ministers and outstations in over 212 countries and territories serving approximately 57 to 60 million adherents world wide, it is the sixth largest international Christian group of denominations.
2011 Statistics: -‐U.S. adherents: 3,041,957, up .4% from 2010 -‐Major worship attendance: down .8% -‐Sunday p.m. worship: down 7.9% -‐Giving: up .4% *Licensed AG minister’s median age: 47 (this is up from 37 in 1979). * Steady and consistent U.S. growth for fifty years, but slowing over the past decade. Big growth spurt occurred from 1969-‐1980. Structure Assemblies of God government is a combination of congregational and Presbyterian principles. Each church is sovereign in the choice of pastor, owning and holding property, maintaining membership rolls, management of all local business or activities, and voluntary participation in denominational programs.
To assist local churches, 61 district councils (most following state boundaries) have been formed in
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the United States. Each district conducts an annual business meeting called a district council, and elects a district superintendent and other officers. District councils have oversight of churches and ministers in their areas.
There are 14 language districts in the United States, organized similar to but overlapping geographic districts.
The General Presbytery is the second highest policy-‐making body for the church and serves as an advisory board for the Assemblies of God. It meets annually.
Conventions are held once every two years.
Between these annual sessions, the church’s interests are cared for by a 20-‐member board of directors known as the Executive Presbytery. This board includes the church’s top elected officials together with regional representatives and language and ethnic representatives.
-‐Call themselves a ‘cooperative fellowship’, not a denomination. The role of AG National Headquarters: 1. To provide educational curriculum 2. Organize missions programs 3. Credentialing of ministers 4. Overseeing colleges/seminary 5. Providing leadership for national programs Two Church Classifications: 1. General Council Affiliated -‐ Full autonomy, self-‐governing, self-‐supporting. 2. District level – A lesser level of affiliation. Theology The theology of Assemblies of God is virtually indistinguishable from Foursquare: conservative, Arminian, and evangelical in nature, believing in the Pentecostal distinctive of baptism in the Holy spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Mission, Vision, and Values Statements Mission Statement: The Assemblies of God is committed to fulfilling a four-‐fold mission. Our primary reason for being is to: 1. Evangelize the lost 2. Worship God 3. Disciple believers 4. Show compassion
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Vision: We commit ourselves to Him in worship, in discipleship, in evangelism, in all we do. Values: 1. Passionately Proclaim—at home and abroad, by word and deed Jesus as Savior, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and soon-‐coming King. 2. Strategically Invest—in the next generation. 3. Vigorously Plant—new churches and revitalize old ones. 4. Fervently Pray—for God’s favor and help as we serve Him with pure hearts and noble purpose. Interview Interviews with Alan Warneke, Superintendent, Montana District Paul Goodman, Retired Superintendent, Montana District Missions, Vision, and Value What is your denomination’s mission? -‐The Assemblies of God is committed to fulfilling a four-‐fold mission. Our primary reason for being is to: -‐Evangelize the lost -‐Worship God -‐Disciple believers -‐Show compassion What does the national church office do best to help accomplish this? -‐Enacts legislation that is voted on by the General Council. -‐Credentials ministers. -‐Oversees the missions department. -‐Oversees AG’s colleges and seminary. -‐In addition, clergy looks to the national office for legal and retirement planning. -‐Develop initiatives to promulgate the vision and mission of the denomination. What do the districts do best? -‐Oversees all church activities within their jurisdiction. -‐Mediates disputes within congregations. -‐Recommends ministers for national credentialing. -‐Resource the local church. What does the local church do best? -‐Implement the vision and empower and equip believers. Denominational Funding What are the sources of income for your denomination? -‐Licensed ministers give 10% of their pastoral income to the district office. -‐Churches are asked to give 2% of their income to the district. The National Church office receives funding through three primary means: -‐A 240.00 annual licensing fee for every ordained pastor (a licensed pastor pays 180.00).
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-‐Revenue generated from their publishing company, Gospel Publishing House (they have been in the red for the past several years, however). -‐Assemblies of God Financial Solutions. This is the financial arm of AG, started in 1998, available to all church workers. Over 60,000 people have taken part in this, with over 2.2 billion dollars in assets. They manage retirement funds, offer financial planning, and provide loans within the denomination. Ownership of Property Who owns the local church property? -‐The local church, with a reversionary clause in place. Are there options for ownership of property? -‐No Has the denomination gone through a change concerning ownership of property, and if so, how has church polity been affected? -‐No change.
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Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) Historical Overview
The Christian and Missionary Alliance was not founded as a denomination. The Rev. A.B. Simpson was a Presbyterian clergyman with a heart for missions and the urban poor North America. During the start of the 20th century, Simpson became closely involved with the growing Pentecostal movement, with many Pentecostal pastors and missionaries to receiving their training at the Missionary Training Institute Simpson founded. Consequently, Simpson and the C&MA had a great influence on Pentecostalism, in particular the Assemblies of God and Foursquare.
Eventually, there developed severe division within the C&MA over issues surrounding Pentecostalism. By 1912, this crisis was a catalyst for the emergence of the C&MA as an organized denomination, becoming less grassroots and shifting more authority to the council. To ensure the survival of the C&MA in the face of division, Simpson put all property in the name of the C&MA. In the event of separation, all property would revert to C&MA.
After Simpson's death in 1919, the C&MA distanced itself from Pentecostalism, rejecting the premise that speaking in tongues is a necessary indicator of being filled with the Holy Spirit, and instead focused on the deeper Christian life. By 1930, most local branches of the C&MA functioned as churches, but still did not view themselves as such.
By 1965, the churches adopted a denominational function and established a formal statement of faith.
Size, Structure, and Theology
Size and Population Trends
The Christian and Missionary Alliance has experienced steady and significant growth since its inception, but has leveled off over the past decade. In 1925, there were 25,000 members in 392 churches. Membership reached 50,000 members in 1950 and by 1976 had reached 150,000. In 2006, there were 417,008 members in 2,010 congregations. Membership is concentrated in the American Midwest and Northwest, although the denomination is represented throughout the United States. Pennsylvania has the largest number of both members and congregations.
-‐Over 2,000 U.S. churches with a combined membership of 430,000.
Structure
-‐The General Council is the highest governing body of the C&MA, existing to elect officers, transact business, enact policies, and evaluate the progress of denominational ministries. They meet biennially.
Delegates include licensed workers (i.e. clergy), members of the board of directors, three representatives from each C&MA postsecondary educational institution, two lay delegates from each accredited church (with additional delegates for every 100 church members), national officers of Men and Women’s ministries, lay members of district executive committees, and retired and disabled missionaries and official workers.
-‐A 28-‐member board of directors elected by General Council provides general oversight and management of the denomination and acts as the executive committee of the General Council when the council is not in session. National officers (president, vice president, secretary, treasurer) are ex
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officio members.
-‐Churches are organized into either geographical or cultural districts. A district is led by a conference, a legislative body meeting once a year. The conference elects the district executive committee and a superintendent, the chief officer of the district. The ordination and licensing for clergy is the responsibility of districts.
-‐Local churches elect their own officers and elders. Pastors are called by the elders but must be appointed by the district superintendent. Local church property is owned by the denomination.
-‐Churches are owned by the local congregation, with a caveat (see interview with Andy Nowlen, below)
Theology
Showing its common heritage with Foursquare, The Alliance's core theology is described as the "Fourfold Gospel": Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Soon Coming King. Sanctification is sometimes described as "the deeper Christian life". The C&MA also emphasizes missionary work, and believes that the fulfillment of the Great Commission is the reason it exists.
Mission, Vision, and Values Mission Statement: We desire to know Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King and to complete His Great Commission. The Alliance will fulfill His Commission through: -‐Evangelizing and discipling persons throughout the United States. -‐Incorporating them into Christ-‐centered, community-‐focused congregations, and -‐Mobilizing them for active involvement in a global effort designed to plant Great Commission churches among unreached and responsive peoples worldwide. Core Values: -‐Lost people matter to God. He wants them found. -‐Prayer is the primary work of the people of God. -‐Everything we have belongs to God. We are his stewards. -‐Knowing and obeying God’s word is fundamental to all true success. -‐Completing the Great Commission will require the mobilization of every fully devoted disciple. -‐Without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish nothing. -‐Achieving God’s purposes means taking faith-‐filled risks. This always involves change. Interviews -‐Jonathan Wiggins (Mountain States Superintendent) and Don Wiggins (North Central Superintendent and former vice-‐president of C&MA) Ownership of Property
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-‐Churches own their own buildings. There is a ‘reversionary clause’ in place, stating that if a church folds or becomes heretical, the building would revert to the denomination. In ten years of being superintendent, Don has never had this happen. -‐They have what is known as an affiliate option for churches coming into C&MA, where the church adopts the denominational statement of faith, and typically the pastor becomes C&MA licensed, but the reversionary clause is waived. About 5% of C&MA churches are affiliated. They have had this option in place for 40+ years. Examples were given of several Lutheran churches in Minnesota who have come into C&MA recently over issues of homosexual clergy. They own their buildings, but are afraid that if C&MA adopts this same liberal stance, they could lose them to the reversionary clause. -‐The district office helps with obtaining property loans, streamlining the process, etc., but serves primarily in an advisory role. Denominational Funding -‐The district and the national office receive their funding through different means: District Funding: -‐Each of the 35 districts meet annually to determine a set percentage amount needed from their churches in order to operate. Depending on the size of the district (smaller districts requiring a greater percentage), this figure runs from 3-‐10% of a church’s net giving (after rent/mortgage and the Great Commission fund giving is taken out). -‐This giving is not considered optional, and the majority of churches do fully comply. -‐District superintendents receive approximately 75% of their salary from the national office, but all other staff positions are paid for out of the district budget. Don feels like this is a good way of keeping a positive connection and lines of communication open between the superintendents and the national office. National Office Funding: -‐Every year, each C&MA church holds its own missions conference. At this conference, something known as a Great Commission offering is taken, either by a total church pledge or through individual donors, with this money being used to fund both the national office operations, and missionary work (both overseas and, more recently, cross-‐cultural work within the U.S.) For the past several years, this number has hovered around 38,000,000. Approximately 68% goes overseas and 32% is used to fund the national office and missionary support staff. -‐This pledge is entirely voluntary, but is very much a part of the ideology and culture of C&MA. -‐Missionaries are fully funded. -‐Camps are self-‐funding. Advice to Foursquare?? -‐Be cautious in instituting change and take care to consider all ramifications of a decision before moving forward. It is very hard to take something back once the wheels are in motion. -‐The winds of change are blowing toward de-‐centralization. Ask ourselves, “How can we retain our core values (i.e. what it means to BE Foursquare) yet still be flexible in structure.
Church of God, Anderson, Indiana
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(North American Church of God) Historical Overview The Church of God began in 1881 as a movement emphasizing the unity of God's people and holy living. Daniel S. Warner and several associates sought to forsake denominational hierarchies and formal creeds, trusting solely in the Holy Spirit as their overseer and the Bible as their statement of belief. These individuals saw themselves at the forefront of a movement to restore unity and holiness to the church. Their aim was not to establish another denomination but to promote primary allegiance to Jesus Christ and transcend denominational loyalties.
This movement is not historically related to the several Church of God bodies rooted in the Holiness Revival of Tennessee and the Carolinas in the late nineteenth century. Although it shares their holiness commitment, it does not emphasize the charismatic gift of speaking in tongues generally associated with Pentecostal churches.
In 1996 and 1997, the General Assembly initiated a restructuring of the work of the national ministries of the Church of God within the United States. The result was the formation of Church of God Ministries Inc.
Size, Structure, and Theology Size and Population Trends -‐2,200 North American churches, with an average weekly attendance of 250,000 -‐The largest concentrations of U.S. churches are in the Midwest, along the Pacific Coast, and in western Pennsylvania. -‐Worldwide, the movement has work in eighty-‐nine countries and territories representing approximately 7,500 churches and more than 1.1 Million believers. Structure -‐There is no formal membership. Individuals are assumed to be members on the basis of personal conversion and conduct that supports that conversion experience.
-‐Church polity is autonomous and congregational. Buildings are owned by the local congregation in a policy known as ‘conditional deeding’; if the church folds or wants to leave the denomination, it is turned over to the Church of God.
-‐Annual convention, known as the General Assembly, held in Anderson, Indiana. All ordained ministers eligible to vote. Its function includes establishing policies for Church of God (local congregations are not bound by these policies, however), adopting a budget, and ratifying key executives and college presidents.
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-‐The local congregation is the basic organization of the church. The denomination appears to have maintained its bottom-‐up hierarchy.
Theology
The Church of God considers itself to be a holiness Christian body with roots in Wesleyan Pietism and also in restorationist traditions. It is non-‐Pentecostal.
Mission, Vision, and Values Statements Vision and Mission: Transform culture by being the body of Christ. Values: 1. Ignite—Revitalize the Great Commission 2. Permeate—Engaging every individual, church, and agency in the Great Commandments 3. Free—Committing to stewardship principles 4. Cultivate—Nurturing spiritual gifts 5. Refresh—Renewing our efforts toward relational connectivity and identity Interviews -‐Randy Montgomery, Co-‐Director, Leadership Development/Church Multiplication and Health -‐Lloyd Moritz, District Supervisor for Washington Missions, Vision, and Value -‐A Strategic Planning conference is held every five years in Anderson. 150 leaders are selected from a well-‐represented demographic within CoG, including the 30 district supervisors. Approximately twelve years ago, they came up with some very simple Mission, Vision, and Core Values statements, and put teams in place to be given the job of ‘marketing’ these throughout the denomination. -‐So for instance, each team is given one Core Value (e.g. Permeate—Engaging every individual, church, and agency in the Great Commandments.). This team meets six times a year via video conferencing, and twice a year in person to brainstorm and implement ways of getting the message out. They have found this very helpful, and believe that, as a result, most congregants DO know what the five core values are, and are incorporating them into their day-‐to-‐day lives. Funding -‐Churches are expected to give 5% of their revenue to the district office, and 5% to the national office. The full compliance rate is very low (less than 30%) and a number of churches give nominally or not at all. -‐Missionaries are self-‐funded. For the national office, there are three main sources of income: 1. Donations from both churches and individuals (the 5% suggested gift). 2. Earnings from their publishing company (Warner Press), church and youth conventions, and other
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fundraisers (10-‐15% of revenue coming in). 3. Estate Planning—a subsidiary of CoG, World Ministries Advance team, operates this arm. They have received some very large gifts as a result of this, but it is sporadic and difficult to budget for. Property Issues -‐The local church owns the property, with a reversionary clause put in place. They used to not enforce this too much, but they have had some serious legal issues/lawsuits with congregations who have left and taken the building. They view it/market it to various churches as a way for a particular congregation to protect itself from a maverick leader. -‐Most of the larger churches have conditional deeding in place. -‐The reversionary clause was added to the bylaws about ten years ago.
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The Churches of God General Conference, Findlay, Ohio
Historical Overview
The Churches of God, General Conference began in 1825 as a result of the labors, revivals and ideas of John Winebrenner, a German Reformed pastor who ministered in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
During the late 1820’s, Winebrenner came to new theological conclusions about the nature and government of the Church, the importance of the regenerating experience of the new birth and the ordinances (Believer’s Baptism by immersion, Lord’s Supper and Feet Washing). He reaffirmed the belief that the Bible was the “only authoritative rule of faith and practice.”
In 1830 he joined five other ‘teaching elders,” or ministers, in central Pennsylvania in forming an “eldership” for the purpose of adopting a system of cooperation.
As Churches of God settlers moved west, they established new churches and elderships in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan. They are primarily located on the East Coast and in the Great Lakes region. Size, Structure and Theology -‐The CGGC has a Presbyterian policy. The church is divided into nine regional conferences, with headquarters in Findlay, Ohio. -‐The church reported 336 congregations with 32,208 members in 2000, principally in Pennsylvania and the Midwest. -‐They describe themselves as conservative, evangelical, and Arminian. -‐Denominational conferences are held every three years. Mission, Vision, and Values Mission and Vision: To make more and better disciples by establishing more and better communities of faith all over the world in His name. Core Values: We value… 1. Obedience to Jesus Christ. 2. Each individual as one who matters to God. 3. Dependence and confidence in God. 4. Christ-‐honoring, culturally relevant worship. 5. Evangelistic outreach. 6. Each believer growing in Christ-‐likeness and serving in ministry based on their spiritual gifts. 7. Vital reproducing congregations. 8. Trained, committed, and competent leaders. 9. Christian unity within a diverse body of faith. 10. Accountability among believers and congregations.
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Interview Earl Mills, Regional Director for the Great Lakes Conference of the Churches of God, General Conference, and former President of the Churches of God denomination. Mission · What is your denomination’s mission? -‐ Our formal mission statement is one that no one knows, except the central office, and probably most of the workers in the central office do not know it entirely. The basic mission of our denomination is informally – to make more and better disciples.
· What does the national church office do best to help accomplish this? The national office has the main purpose of keeping big picture and unifying issues in front of the churches: -‐ Church planting vision and direction,
-‐ Cross Cultural ministry focus
-‐ Credentialing consistency of our clergy
-‐ Communication between our regions, churches. This includes telling our story
-‐ Through the help of our seminary, theological consistency in our denomination
-‐ Provide resources to help complete the mission
· What do the districts/regions do best to help accomplish this? -‐ Church planting in the regions
-‐ License and ordain church pastors
-‐ Communication, sharing the stories of churches
-‐ Help churches search for pastors and assign pastors
-‐ Conflict management in churches
-‐ Resource for renewal in churches
· What does the local church do best to help accomplish this? -‐ This is the key place making more and better disciples takes place. This is the top rung on the hierarchy. It is not at the Central office location
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-‐ Day to day operations of carrying out the mission
-‐ Personal interaction with those who are receiving ministry
Denominational Funding · What are the various sources of income for your denomination? -‐ The churches tithe to the local conference – Fair Share and that tithe gets split 53% to Central Office and 47% to the regional conference.
-‐ There are also many different ministries that are placed on a designated list and churches and individuals pay toward that.
-‐ Some income comes in from publications
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· What percentage of income does the local church give to your denomination? -‐ Ten percent, it is a tithe in that sense.
· What percentage does the denominational office receive from the church assessment? -‐ In our denomination about half comes in through the Fair Share or the tithe and about half comes in from Designated giving.
Ownership of Property · Who owns the local church property? -‐ The local church has the deed to the property and it is held in trust for the regional conference of the denomination where the church is located. There is a reversion clause that basically says if the local church ceases to be everything goes to the regional conference of the denomination.
· Are there options for ownership of property? -‐ There is not, but not all churches do have their property deeded to the denomination. Some of the long time churches have never done this and some existing congregations who have affiliated with the denomination do not have their property deeded to the denomination. All of them have to have a reversion clause to be considered under our denomination 501C3.
· Has the denomination gone through a change concerning ownership of property; and, if so, how has church polity been affected? -‐ Our denomination has put together a withdrawal policy to give churches the ability to withdrawal if they want to end the relationship with our denomination. This has been in existence for 5 years and only 2 churches have withdrawn. If the church goes through the policy, they are permitted to take their property along.
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· What are the pros and cons of your current model? -‐ Churches feel like they have a choice and they do not feel trapped. Churches partner with the regional conference and the regional conference partners with the denomination as a whole. This does seem like a team effort. The funding model feels Biblical with a 10% tithe requested from churches. The Designated giving component lets churches give to what they feel is their hot button items and they feel more of a part.
· What advice would you offer for a denomination considering changing its property and funding model?
-‐ Communicate well and often. Be extremely transparent about funding and what takes place with the funds. Make sure if it consistently communicated that if there is a hierarchy of importance that the local church is always placed at the highest point on that hierarchy, with the regional conference next, and finally, the national office, existing to serve the local church.
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The Evangelical Church
Historical Overview The Evangelical Church of North America was born June 4, 1968, in Portland, Oregon, when forty-‐six congregations and eighty ministers met in an organizing session. Within two weeks a group of about twenty churches and thirty ministers from Montana and North Dakota became a part of the new church. These congregations and ministers had been a part of The Evangelical United Brethren Church but had declined to enter the newly formed United Methodist Church due to concerns they had over Methodism’s increasingly liberal ideology. The former Holiness Methodist Church became a part of The Evangelical Church of North America in 1969, and the Wesleyan Covenant Church joined in 1977. Size, Structure, and Theology Size -‐140 churches with approximately 12,500 weekly attendees. Structure -‐The principle governing body of the Evangelical Church is a general conference, with delegates from each of six regional conferences. The regional conferences meet annually with delegates from each of the local congregations within their respective territories. The Church does not have bishops, but is led by Conference Superintendents and a General Superintendent, who are elected to fixed terms, and have both pastoral and administrative responsibilities. Theology -‐The Evangelical Church is Wesleyan-‐Arminian, born out of the Holiness movement, emphasizing free will over determinism and salvation through two separate and instantaneous acts of grace, justification, and sanctification, and attained through faith. The Church has an official "Statement of Faith," which is generally based on that of the Methodists.
Mission, Vision, and Value Statements Mission Statement
The Evangelical Church exists for the purpose of:
proclaiming assurance of personal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. witnessing to the personal cleansing and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Vision Statement Our vision is: to engage the harvest both in the United States and overseas. transform our cultures as we grow in Christ-‐likeness (holiness.) Our mission is a God-‐birthed passion: to bring people into a vital saving relationship with Jesus. to provide the unchurched with a healthy church family. to disciple believers into heart holiness and the Spirit-‐filled life. to build a network of healthy life-‐giving multiplying churches. We will accomplish our mission by: • praying.
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• living a Spirit-‐filled life. • evangelizing. • discipling and building healthy life-‐giving multiplying churches by intentionally developing a
system of assessing and coaching. Simply put, we are "harvest-‐focused, holiness-‐fueled" Core Values
• We value people becoming followers of Jesus Christ. • We value God’s revelation to us through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, prayer, and
church. • The resources God gives us in leadership and money.
Interview Brian Ekhardt, General Superintendent Mission What does the national church office do best to accomplish your mission? -‐Resource and give guidance to the Districts. What do the districts do best? -‐Resource and give guidance to the churches. What does the local church do best? -‐This is where true transformation takes place in the lives of people. Discipling, evangelizing, praying. *This denomination has been on a different trend than the others researched. While most are moving toward de-‐centralization, the Evangelical Church is attempting to consolidate. Rev. Ekhardt attributes this to the unique history of the EC: birthed in the 1960’s out of a reaction to United Methodism and its Episcopal/hierarchical form of governance, they sought to have great autonomy within their congregations. This has left many churches feeling isolated and out-‐of-‐touch with the denomination as a whole. They are now trying to unite churches around mission. He mentioned a book, ‘Winning on Purpose: How to Organize Congregations to Succeed in Their Mission,’ as one that has strongly influenced his thinking. Denominational Funding What are the various sources of income for your denomination? -‐A 10% tithe to the regional office (excluding income for missions, capital improvements and benevolence). -‐The district, then, gives a 10% tithe to the national office. Ownership of Property -‐The local church owns the property. There isn’t a reversionary clause per se; if a church dissolves, and there is a building, what typically happens is the local church will sell off the proceeds, giving 1/3 to the denomination, 1/3 to missions, and 1/3 to other non-‐profit groups. There has not been a change in policy.
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Missionary Church Inc., Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Historical Overview The Missionary Church was formed upon the merger of the Missionary Church Association and the United Missionary Church in 1969. The United Missionary Church, known until 1947 as The Mennonite Brethren in Christ, was formed at a meeting near Dayton, Ohio, in 1883. It began, however, in the 1850's when a number of Mennonite ministers were dismissed from their former churches for having prayer meetings, holding revival services, and giving public testimonies. It was largely through the leadership of Daniel Brenneman and Solomon Eby that the denomination was organized. Joseph Ramseyer founded The Missionary Church Association after he was dismissed from his former denomination over the issue of baptism by immersion. Ramseyer continued to preach the message of God's love through Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. In 1898, those who shared his convictions adopted the name "The Missionary Church Association" because of their desire to evangelize the world.
Size, Structure, and Theology Size -‐1,800 congregations worldwide; 475 within the United States. -‐Primarily located in Indiana and Michigan Structure -‐The organization of the church is divided into 11 districts (and 5 mission districts). Offices are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Its ministries include World Partners USA, the Missionary Church Investment Foundation, U.S. Ministries and Bethel College. Bethel College currently has over 2000 students. Theology The Missionary Church is a Trinitarian body that believes the Bible is the inspired Word of God and authoritative in all matters of faith; that "salvation is the result of genuine repentance of sin and faith in the atoning work of Christ"; and that the "church is composed of all believers in the Lord Jesus who have been vitally united by faith to Christ". They hold two Christian ordinances: baptism (by immersion) and communion, which are outward signs, not a means of salvation. *In recent years, the Missionary Church has sought a closer return to its Mennonite roots. In 2003, the church of the United Brethren in Christ, another body with Mennonite and Pietist heritage, began pursuing an attempt to join their 200-‐some churches in the United States with the Missionary Church. The leadership of both denominations were firmly behind this. However, United Brethren members in the United States voted against the idea 56% to 44%, thereby halting the discussions. Mission, Vision, and Values Mission: The Missionary Church, in obedience to Jesus Christ her Lord, is committed to being holy people of God in the world and to building His church by worldwide evangelism, discipleship and multiplication of growing churches.
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Core Values: In Biblical Authority… 1. Encourage inspired relevant teaching of the Word. 2. Obey and live the Word. 3. Provide a learning environment in the local churches. 4. Develop ministries that flow from a biblical base. 5. Facilitate biblically-‐trained leadership. In Spiritual Passion—We will passionately love God and recognizing the Lordship of Jesus Christ, be sensitive to and independent upon the leading of the Holy Spirit. In order to accomplish this, we will… 1. Pray intensely. 2. Worship expectantly. 3. Preach biblically and relevantly. 4. Study diligently and thoroughly. In Great Commission Commitment—We will reach the lost and disciple the saints in any context. In order to accomplish this, we will… 1. Plant churches. 2. Send missionaries. 3. Evangelize. 4. Establish growing, healthy churches. 5. Train and equip. In Empowering People—We will build healthy local churches by equipping people for ministry. In order to accomplish this, we will… 1. Provide leadership training and assessment. 2. Cultivate an environment for pastoral excellence. 3. Practice servant leadership. In Kingdom Perspective—We will focus on building God’s kingdom as we fulfill our mission and calling. In order to accomplish this, we will… 1. Develop strategic partnerships. 2. Network with like-‐minded ministries. 3. Place God’s agenda first. 4. Focus on building His kingdom and let Him build the church. Interview -‐Bob Ransom, US Ministries Director Mission
• What is your denomination’s mission? The Missionary Church is an evangelical denomination committed to church planting and
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world missions is the shortest statement of our mission. The focus at our founding and still today is a commitment to scripture and the Great Commission.
• What does the national church office do best to help accomplish this? We cast vision and work with our districts/regions through five priorities: prayer, evangelism and discipleship, strengthening local churches, church multiplication and development of catalytic leaders.
• What do the districts/regions do best to help accomplish this? Carrying out the same focus with the local churches and seeking to multiply disciples, leaders, churches and districts within their geography.
• What does the local church do best to help accomplish this? The multiplication of disciples, leaders and churches.
Denominational Funding
• What are the various sources of income for the denomination? US operations and ministry via a 2% assessment of local church income. World Partners/missions is funded through shares raised mostly by missionaries.
• What percentage of income does the local church give to the denomination? 2%
• What percentage does the denominational office receive from the church assessment? 75% (although it is closer to 90% in a majority of our districts/regions but we get a very low percentage in one that brings the overall average down.
Ownership of Property
• Who owns the local church property? Predominately the local church. In one district we have pre-‐merger carryover where the district still holds the title to several properties but even those churches can request the title.
• Are there options for ownership of property? Other than the above property is owned by the local church.
• Has the denomination gone through a change concerning ownership of property; and, if so, how has church polity been affected? No.
• What are the pros and cons of your current model? Obviously if a church departs there can be some circumstances where it could be a move by a rogue group to take a property but so far the few instances of this have been overcome by other measures in place to govern churches making such moves property via by-‐laws and constitution.
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United Methodist Church Historical Overview The movement which would become The United Methodist Church began in England in the mid-‐18th century. A small group of students, including John Wesley, Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, met on the Oxford University campus, focusing on Bible study, methodical study of scripture and living a holy life. Other students mocked them, saying they were "the Methodists", being methodical and exceptionally detailed in their Bible study, opinions and disciplined lifestyle.
In 1735, John and Charles Wesley went to Georgia to teach the gospel to Native Americans. They soon disbanded, with John Wesley returning to England and meeting with a group of clergymen he respected.
These ministers preached a teaching that emphasized salvation by God's grace, apprehended through faith in Christ. Very quickly, these clergymen became popular, attracting large congregations. The nickname students had used against the Wesleys was revived; they and their followers became known as Methodists.
The first official organization in the United States occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1784, with the formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Though John Wesley originally wanted the Methodists to stay within the Church of England, the American Revolution decisively separated the Methodists in the American colonies from the life and sacraments of the Anglican Church.
The new church grew rapidly in the young country as it employed circuit riders to travel by horseback to preach and establish churches until there was scarcely any village in the United States without a Methodist presence. With 4000 circuit riders by 1844, the Methodist Episcopal Church rapidly became the largest Protestant denomination in the country.
In 1968, the United Methodist Church was created when the Evangelical United Brethren Church and The Methodist Church merged at the constituting General Conference in Dallas, Texas.
Size, Structure, and Theology Size and Population Trends
Like many other mainline Protestant denominations in the United States, the United Methodist Church has experienced significant membership losses in recent decades. At the time of its formation in 1968, the UMC had about 11 million members in nearly 42,000 congregations. In 1975, membership dropped below 10 million for the first time, and by 2005, there were only 8 million members in over 34,000 congregations. Its population continues to fall, with an estimated drop of 1,000 members a week in the U.S. Membership is concentrated primarily in the Midwest and in the South. Texas has the largest number of members, with about 1 million. The states with the highest membership rates are Oklahoma, Iowa, Mississippi, West Virginia, and North Carolina.
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Structure
The United Methodist Church has no single central office, no archbishop, no pope. This reflects the representative nature of the church's organization -‐ which also provides a system of checks and balances. The church created a system that in some ways parallels that of the U.S. government when it came to America. The church has a General Conference, its legislative branch; a Council of Bishops, somewhat like an executive branch; and a nine-‐member Judicial Council, the judicial branch.
-‐The only body that can set official policy and speak for the denomination is the General Conference, an international body of nearly 1,000 elected delegates that meets every four years. Bishops serve as presiding officers during the conference. During General Conference, delegates discuss and vote on petitions and resolutions proposed by individuals, agencies, annual conferences, and other groups within the denomination. It is at General Conference where delegates wrestle with today's issues in light of scriptural teachings and the church's understanding of that teaching. Here is where the church's official stands and church policies are made regarding such issues as human sexuality, abortion, war and peace, as well as determination of ministries and funding. COUNCIL OF BISHOPS -‐The United Methodist Church uses an episcopal system of governance, with bishops providing the top leadership. All bishops (active and retired) are members of the Council of Bishops, which is required to meet at least once a year.
-‐ Bishops are directed to provide oversight of the entire church but have specific leadership responsibilities in a geographical area, called an episcopal area.
-‐There are 50 episcopal areas in the U.S. Both men and women can be elected bishop. The only requirement to be elected bishop is that the person is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church.
-‐The Executive Secretary (a retired bishop serving a four-‐year term) is the chief operating officer for the council in a permanent, staffed office in Washington, D.C.
-‐The United Methodist Church is intentionally decentralized and democratic.
-‐Groups of churches in a geographic area are organized to form a district. Often, churches in a district will work together to provide training and mission opportunities. Each district is led by a district superintendent, an elder appointed by the bishop, usually for a six-‐year term. The DS oversees the ministry of the district’s clergy and churches, provides spiritual and pastoral leadership, works with the bishop and others in the appointment of ordained ministers to serve the district’s churches, presides at meetings of the charge conference, and oversees programs within the district.
Theology
The United Methodist Church believes in prima scriptura, seeing the Holy Bible as the primary authority in the Church and using sacred tradition, reason, and experience to interpret it, with the aid of the Holy Spirit. United Methodist theology is at once "catholic, evangelical, and reformed." Today, the UMC generally considers itself one of the more moderate denominations with respect to race, gender, and ideology, though the denomination includes a very wide spectrum of attitudes. Comparatively, the UMC stands to the right of liberal and progressive Protestant groups but to the left of historically conservative evangelical traditions.
Mission, Vision, and Values Statements Mission: Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
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Four Areas of Focus: 1. Combating the diseases of poverty by improving health globally. 2. Engaging in ministry to the poor. 3. Creating new places for new people and revitalizing existing congregations. 4. Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world. *Open hearts, open minds, open doors. United Methodist Interviews: Mary Brooke Casad, Executive Secretary, The Connectional Table Dave Merkel, UM minister Missional Responsibility and Effectiveness What is your denomination’s mission? -‐The mission of UMC is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. What does the national office do best to help accomplish this? -‐UMC has 13 general agencies who help provide resources to local churches and annual conferences and unite our churches in common mission efforts. -‐Collecting and distributing funds, known as apportionments, for disbursement throughout the UMC. What do the districts do best? -‐Annual Conferences are the basic unit of the UMC. Bishops are assigned to give spiritual and temporal leadership to these conferences, and appoint clergy to the local churches within the conference boundaries. Annual conferences also organize for resourcing and joint mission efforts. What does the local church do best? -‐The Book of Discipline states that local churches are the primary place where disciple-‐making occurs. Our local churches are where the “hands-‐on” ministry occurs, offering grace-‐filled communities that share the transforming love of Christ. *The UMC commissioned a study a few years ago, attempting to determine missional effectiveness within their churches. They used four criteria: inspirational preaching, strong lay leadership, choices in worship, and availability of small groups. They found only 15% of UMC churches would be considered “vital”. *The committee that Ms. Casad chairs, the Connectional Table, is looking to address some of these issues. It is a group of 60 (including bishops, clergy and laity) that is trying to breathe life and awareness of mission into local congregations. Denominational Funding What are the various sources of income for your denomination? -‐Churches are expected to give an apportionment to the UMC, which works out to just over 10% of income. -‐Endowments make up a large part of the operating budget. This is how they have managed to stay afloat after 43 years of decline. -‐12-‐20% of the 13 seminaries’ budget comes from apportionment.
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Ownership of property Who owns the local church property? -‐The local church has its name on the deed and legally "owns" the property, and the local church trustees are responsible for that property. This is known in Methodism as “The Trust Clause”. However, the ownership is in held in a UMC trust, and would revert back to that if the church ceases to function or wishes to leave. In the case of the Evangelical Church (which branched off of the UMC in 1968), they were eventually allowed to keep the majority of their church deeds. Pros and cons of your current model? -‐Pros: If ecclesiastical "divorce" were easy (i.e. becoming disgruntled and taking the building), there would be many more church splits. By sticking it out during troubled times, even if the only reason at the time, was because we couldn’t "take the property and run, we work through otherwise seemingly insurmountable conflicts. -‐Cons: There is little recourse for a church that feels as though their denomination is no longer ‘speaking for them’ and wants to leave. The choice is either to grudgingly stay or start all over and build a new church. *Two other unique aspects of the UMC: One is known as a ‘guaranteed appointment’, meaning once you are ‘in’ (our equivalent of ordination, or in scholastic circles, tenure), you will be retained until retirement. While this might create a ‘safety net’ whereby pastors feel cared for, it perpetuates a system that potentially rewards mediocrity. There is a push to reform this, however the expectation is that the reforms will be ruled unconstitutional by the judicial committee. Secondly, is the itinerant minister paradigm, going back to the circuit rider roots of Methodism. Until recently, a minister was moved to a new location every two years; now it is stretched out to every seven or eight. *A contentious General Conference this year led to an unconstitutional vote for reform. This article details some of the issues UM is dealing with as well as steps they are taking to pare down their structure…
7:00 A.M. ET August 9, 2012
Despite the recent collapse of an overall strategy for restructuring, the bureaucracy of The United Methodist Church is changing.
Shrinking boards of directors — in some cases, to tiny proportions — are requiring adjustments in governance and representation for the denomination’s agencies and commissions. Budget constraints dictate a streamlining of priorities and realignment of staffing needs.
Renewed commitments to bilateral and multi-‐agency cooperation are focusing attention on shared services and common missional priorities.
Gil Hanke, who chairs the General Secretaries Table, a forum for the church’s top staff executives, said its members are working “with renewed interest” on issues perceived to be unresolved and new areas of interaction. “I’m kind of excited about where we are right now,” he told United Methodist News Service.
The Call to Action, an effort to reform the denomination, led to restructuring legislation presented this spring to the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Fla. General Conference is the denomination’s top lawmaking body.
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The church’s top executives sometimes found themselves on the defensive as the legislation was debated and shaped into Plan UMC.
“There’s this narrative that the general agencies continue to grow and grow and grow, that there’s this huge bureaucracy, but the truth is that we’ve gone from 3,100 agency staff to 1,300 over the last 40 years,” said Jim Winkler, Board of Church and Society.
Although some agencies submitted their own legislation to reduce the size of their boards of directors, Winkler believes a “mob mentality” prevailed at General Conference over the idea that agency boards had to be shrunk as a cost-‐cutting measure.
The Board of Church and Society, which retains a 62-‐member board, already had slashed its meeting costs by 40 percent, he said. “I think we’re going to find out we’ve lost a lot of connections to annual conferences and local churches by having fewer people represented on our boards.”
Erin Hawkins, top executive of the Commission on Religion and Race, said she was disappointed about how the discussion over the need for realignment of the general church was redirected during the course of the legislative meeting.
“What it came down to at General Conference, it seemed, was ‘where can we start to cut,’ which is really not a conversation about the ministry of the church,” she said.
Only 2 cents out of every dollar in the collection plates go to support general church ministries, but when the final denominational budget for the next four years was adopted, the cuts were substantial, particularly for agencies dependent upon World Service funds.
After the Judicial Council declared Plan UMC unconstitutional on the last day of General Conference, some church members were discouraged and angry and others relieved.
In a May 17 letter to his directors, Thomas Kemper, top executive of the Board of Global Ministries, expressed regret that more energy at the top legislative meeting was focused on “rearranging the denominational furniture” than developing vital congregations.
But Kemper also saw an opportunity for the general agencies to take the lead in shaping the denominational future, acting in collaboration to “build productive, unifying approaches to share services and support one another in the interfaces of mission, discipleship, education and social justice.”
Making cooperation ‘visible’
Hanke is finding that kind of enthusiasm among other agency leaders as well. Cooperation was evident before, he pointed out, but not always apparent to the rest of the church.
In the few months since General Conference concluded, members of the General Secretaries Table have discussed sharing services and are evaluating programmatic overlaps to address accusations about the redundancy of agency programs. “We need to look at those perceptions, and if they’re the reality, we need to deal with it,” Hanke said.
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Vision360 Network
Historical Overview Vision360 was founded in Orlando, Florida in 2004 as a collaborative effort between business leaders and ministry leaders to plant churches. It is an emerging movement of leaders in business, education, governance, agriculture, civil society, and the arts that centers around the question of what it looks like for Christ-‐followers to see transformation happen in their city. They do not consider themselves to be a denomination. Size and Structure Size and Population Trends
-‐Vision360 has planted over 269 churches in the United States and helped facilitate other movements around the world in the planting of thousands of churches. Vision360 currently has catalysts in ten U.S. cities and in 22 global cities with a goal to expand into 500 global cities by 2025.
-‐In Orlando, Florida, the first Vision360 city, 24 new churches have been established. Vision360 does not consider themselves to have started these, however. They view their role as serving and empowering city movements, and mobilizing people who have a vision to change a city.
Structure
They view themselves as a network, acting as a collaborative hub, serving and connecting movement leaders such as business leaders, denominations, church planting churches, organizations and networks.
Initiating and Expanding new City Movements and initiating new church plants within that movement. The Vision360 team collaborates with local business and ministry leaders to identify influential cities and form a leadership team for each new city movement. The leadership team then utilizes the resources and tools developed to serve and empower a local autonomous movement to organize itself to be part of the global movement.
-‐They are polycentric, having multiple hubs; decentralized.
-‐They have a chief visionary officer, a chief operating officer and currently, eleven regional catalysts who serve to connect like-‐minded people within a city.
Mission, Vision, and Values Vision: Collaborate to accelerate the global movement of Jesus
Mission: To release followers of Jesus into all domains of society to make disciples and multiply communities of faith
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Five Core Values:
1. Kingdom Minded: Vision360 brings churches, networks and denominations together through a city-‐reaching strategy that enables more churches to start while providing greater diversity and impact within the city. We create mutually owned and integrated Strategic Ministry Plans that utilize the collective strengths, talents and passions of Kingdom minded business and ministry leaders.
2. Disciple Driven: The kingdom of God expands, not by institutions, programs, or new and improved churches, but by something much simpler and organic: the activity of committed disciples. If we want a different church, we need to change the way we make disciples.
3. City Engaged: Vision360 works with a city’s business and ministry leaders to develop a strategy for saturation church planting that will result in transformation throughout the city. New churches must impact the communities, not just their attendees.
4. Globally Connected: We provide connection and support by encouraging church planters to learn from each other and utilize best practices for initiating and serving church planting movements around the world and the demographics of its community.
5. Church Multiplication: We are more committed to seeing the kingdom extended than we are about individual church growth. Rather than being the biggest church in the area, our desire is to church the area. Healthy churches strive for multiplication on every level.
Interview -‐Chris Lagerhof, California Catalyst, Vision360 Missional Responsibility and Effectiveness What is your denomination’s mission? -‐To release followers of Jesus into all domains of society, to make disciples and multiply communities of faith. What does the national church office do best to accomplish this? -‐The Vision360 team collaborates with business and ministry leaders to identify influential cities and form a leadership team for each new city movement. The leadership team then utilizes the resources and tools developed to serve and empower a local autonomous movement to organize itself to be a part of the global movement. What do the districts/regions do best? -‐They view themselves as a network, acting as a collaborative hub, serving and connecting leaders (business and civic leaders, denominations, planting churches, organizations, etc.) within a particular city. Denominational Funding -‐Some very large donations helped to get Vision360 off of the ground (Al Weiss of Disney). -‐Vision360 requests that 5% of the tithes of a church plant goes back into a fund for church planting. This money remains in the same city.
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Ownership of Property -‐No property ownership of any kind. The metaphor they use is one of Vision360 being the playground at school; the place where like-‐minded people merge their talents, gifts, and resources together to affect kingdom change. -‐They are currently in 12 cities in the US, with the goal of 50 (500 worldwide) over the next several years. -‐They consider themselves as a global organization that just happens to be based in the US. Pros and Cons Pros: -‐Resources -‐Accountability for the mission -‐Inroads with powerful civic leaders who can effect change (government officials, school administrators, etc.). -‐Trust is already present, because they are, in a sense, a neutral third party. -‐The burden of responsibility lies with the churches themselves, not Vision360. Cons: -‐Churches often move slowly and get bogged down in bureaucracy. Vision360 can only move as fast as they do. -‐Collaboration with other churches, denominations, etc., isn’t natural. It takes trust and a paradigm shift in thinking. -‐Limited resources/fundraising. Advice for a denomination considering change? -‐Come up with your strategy. Don’t think like a denomination; think as though you are starting from scratch.
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Statistical Snapshot of Foursquare Churches Size of Foursquare Churches (2010) Weekly attendance Number of Churches Percentage 0-‐60 776 42.3% 60-‐100 351 19% 101-‐250 301 16.4% 251-‐500 97 5% 501-‐1000 41 2% 1001-‐above 37 2% Non-‐Reporting 231 12.6% 77.7% of U.S. Foursquare Churches are 250 and below. 9% of U.S. Foursquare Churches are 251 and above (Remove the largest 24 churches from our reporting…the average church is 58 people in weekly attendance.) Foursquare Credentialed Ministers Age Male Female 20’s 125 81 30’s 589 286 40’s 849 452 50’s 1238 673 60’s 926 577 70’s 357 235 80’s 174 148 90’s 16 35 100’s 0 3
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Presidential Task Force, Denominational Survey Literature Review
Literature Review: “The Fly in the Ointment”, J. Russell Crabtree 1) Denominational Leaders are sending a confused message to the church regarding the need for change. Their ambivalent message hinders growth and obscures the depth of the issues that need to be addressed. Denominations in plateau or decline say things like, “We are in decline, the statistics don’t look good, but don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it seems on paper.” 2) The primary obstacle to improvement is that local church leaders do not have the knowledge or insight to know what to do. Churches and pastors want to grow, they want to reach the lost, but they do not know how. 3) Satisfaction levels of church leaders regarding the work of their regional associations/denominations are abysmally low. Organization type Clearly On the Clearly Negative Fence Positive _______________________________________________________ Typical Public Library 2% 11% 87% Typical Church 6% 39% 55% Church Assessment Tool and Patron Assessment Tool 4) The redevelopment of regional associations/denominations to provide the services needed to the local church will require a major cultural shift from mono-‐optional perspectives to multi-‐optional perspectives. This cultural shift, which has been accepted and engaged by nearly every other nonprofit and for-‐profit organization in the United States, has not yet been accepted in the church. Church leadership is still offering one option for funding, one option for training and one option for growth. There is far too much differentiation in church size, culture and personality for this to be a viable option. 5) In order to effectively manage the scarce resources of time and money, regional association leaders/denominations must gain greater clarity distinguishing between whom they are called to help and whom they are called to serve. When and organization fails to make this distinction, it cannot serve its donors, it cannot help its clients and it cannot manage its bystanders. Crabtree says that the fastest way to sink and organization is to focus on the people you want to help rather than focusing on the people you are called to serve. When an organization gives most of its efforts to helping struggling churches they no longer have the ability to serve healthy churches. The author challenges regional associations/denominations to first serve healthy churches and secondly help struggling churches. 6) Church leadership must distinguish between strategic changes and reactive changes. Reactive changes are adopted to insure survival at the edge of viability. Strategic changes are made to realize a stronger presence in the world. Successful organizations change before they have to, that is why they flourish. Charles Fulton says of the Presbyterian’s thirty-‐year plateau and decline, “If it’s related to one event, that can be dealt with and we’ll get beyond it. If it’s a systemic, lifecycle issue, it will be harder to turn it around, and it will require a kind of radical leadership we don’t really encourage right now. Resurrection follows death—it does not follow denial.”
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7) The most important and radical tasks in redeveloping regional/denominational leadership into transformational bodies is the recruiting, developing and retaining the right leadership. Crabtree suggests there are four key components that one must have to be an effective denominational leader. A) You must value indirect success; that is, success through others. B) You must value strategic engagement with your member congregations. Helping their member congregations discern the strategic directions that are most likely to bear fruit for the Kingdom must energize the leader. They must help members break the false dichotomy between quantity and quality in a congregation. It is spiritually irresponsible to increase the quantity of members in a church where all the measure of the quality of its shared life are poor. C) You must value the development of a pool of high-‐quality leaders. Regional leaders must make a shift from the local church model of managing the leaders already in a congregation and instead find energy in recruiting, developing and retaining a first-‐rate clergy pool. D) You must value making the connections between the needs of your member congregations and the needs of the denomination you serve. 8) Six Characteristics of Effective Organizations. A) They recruit, develop and retain effective leaders. They go beyond management, which is primarily a maintenance function. The church regional and denominational leadership usually has a scarcity of leadership and an abundance of mangers. This trend needs to be reversed. B) They are externally focused C) They are tactically nimble D) They engage the whole person E) They are relentless learners F) They utilize best practices Literature Review: “What kind of training do leaders need today?” Carolyn Weese, in partnership with Leadership Network. Surveyed 146 large churches and 7 seminaries. 1) A theology of church leadership Provide a mental model for thinking about leadership from a spiritual standpoint with a shared vocabulary, clear values, and support elements. 2) Strategic capability Develop the capacity of leaders to think strategically, articulate a vision for the future, establish goals, align the organization, and put the plan into action. 3) Church growth Equip leaders with church growth strategies that are externally focused, missional and transformational. 4) Change management Equip leaders with the tools required to lead a church through a change process with clarity, sensitivity, and minimal losses. 5) Marketing and communication
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Provide the tools for leaders to develop a comprehensive and effective internal and external communication plan. 6) Multi-‐level leadership roles Equip leaders in cascading training down through all the levels of the organization including clergy, staff, board members, ministry team chairs and front-‐line ministries. 7) Organizational dynamics Provide leaders with a clear understanding of organizational dynamics including size dynamics, level dynamics, multi-‐site dynamics, and transitional issues in moving from one organizational type to another. 8) Stewardship and fund development Equip leaders to assess giving level and potential, to generate multiple revenue streams, and to leverage external revenue through internal giving. 9) Conflict management Develop leaders who understand the ways people deal with conflict from a psychological, physiological and spiritual standpoint. Equip leaders with skills to deal with conflict in their congregations and communities. Provide train-‐the-‐trainer opportunities to drill training down to the member level. 10) Volunteer recruitment and development Equip leaders to create a member development system that optimizes the gifts of the people of God for ministry. 11) Spiritual gifts and ministry Equip leaders with a method of systematically identifying the gifts of members and helping members discern their ministry path based on those gifts. 12) Staff recruitment and development Equip leaders to effectively recruit and develop and effective staff. Equip staff members to function successfully as a team. Literature Review. “Denominationalism: Is there a Future?”, Ed Stetzer 1) Denominations are inevitable. Like-‐minded people will always find a way to associate with each other. -‐The positives are missional cooperation. -‐The negatives are tribal self-‐preservation. 2) Churches that belong to denominations have confessional systems and accountability that ground them in orthodoxy. 3) Younger evangelicals are looking for a sense of rootedness in a fragmented society. 4) What kind of Denominationalism is Desirable? A. Denominations that are missional as opposed to tribal. B. Denominations based on confessional consensus. C. Denominations that value methodological diversity. D. Denominations that assist local churches not vice versa.
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Literature Review: “American Denominational Studies: A Critical Assessment”. James W. Lewis 1) There is a growing indifference to denominations. 2) The center of gravity in denominational life has moved from the denomination to the congregation. 3) Mainstream Protestant denominations will not be saved by research, but they can be threatened by ignorance and inattention. 4) In the future, denominations surely will not be what they have been, but we do not yet know what they will be. 5) Protestant denominations are blessed with theological, communal, and organizational resources of immense power, which in a new day and probably in a new way will be shaped for the good of many. Literature Review: “Denominations and Denominationalism: Past, Present and Future”. Russell E. Richey 1) Four evidences of denominational slippage: A. Patterns of congregational independence, including loosening of or removal of denominational identity, particularly in signage, and the related marginal loyalty of members. B. The emergence of megachurches, some with resources comparable to small denominations and many with the capacity to meet needs heretofore supplied by denominations (training literature, expertise). C. The coalition of such megacongregations and/or parachurch organizations into quasi-‐ denominations. D. The widespread suspicion of, indeed hostility towards, the centers and symbols of denominational identity—the regional and national headquarters. 2) Four historical observations of Denominations: A. Denominations shift from patterns of expansiveness to efforts of consolidation. B. The separate cyclical phases yield distinct stages of styles of denominational governance and cohesion. C. Each stage evidences significant cultural adaptation. D. New denominations whose energy, creativity, success, and aggressiveness negotiate their admission to the system of denominationalism. 3) Six stages of denominations: A. Plantation movement—growth, expansion, emphasis on conversion and heart issues. B. Voluntarism—search for resources, order, leadership, purpose and community. C. Missionary association—the race to bring new people into their communities. Typified by revivalism. D. Confessional order—seeking churchly order, striving to put ecclesial houses in order, often produce discord, division and schism. E. Corporate organization—professionalization, economic organization. Efficiency, resourcing, communication development for the purpose of missions. F. Institutional transformation—collective consolidation, search for internal order, unit that will staunch losses, renewed search for effectiveness and cultural compatibility.
