Evangelism gets new wheels The ELCA rolls out grassroots approach They gather Sunday afternoons in a St. Paul, Minn., storefront for worship. A hodgepodge of neighborhood folks, some were raised in the Lutheran tradition. Others are hearing God's word for the first time. Known as Humble Walk, they're one of 94 synodically authorized worshiping communities in the ELCA.
In the past, the role of planting and developing congregations was inconsistent at the synod level and, in some cases, left to the churchwide expression. But in March 2009, Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Mission committed to providing each of the ELCA's 65 synods with a director for evangelical mission, or DEM. The directors stimulate local evangelism and help align the church with the national landscape, said Stephen P. Bouman, executive director of EOCM. "I've always believed that mission happens locally and needs to be embedded in our relationships," he said. "It just seemed that rather than send a program, we would send to each synod a person, an incarnation of our values, our mission." To fund the positions, leaders realigned EOCM dollars, as well as funds from the ELCA as a whole, said Ruben Duran, director for development for new congregations. Some synods hired new staff as the mission directors, while others had existing staff fulfill the duties as part of a team. In early 2010, with all the directors on board, the ELCA affirmed 41 new starts, 15 of them synodically authorized worshiping communities and 26 of them under development. Bouman said they show a promising trend in Lutheran evangelism. What's a DEM to do? EOCM staff say the directors are whoever their synods need them to be in regard to mission. "DEMs are directors of missional traffic," Duran said. "When there's no traffic, it's their job to create rush hour." Bouman also calls them "adaptive leaders and community organizers," who strive to "reflect the local narrative" in their church planting work. "This is not a one-size-fits-all approach," he added. The directors help form three leadership groups: • A synodical mission strategy table that is responsible for the strategic and theological thinking that goes into evangelical outreach. • A stewardship/mission support table that promotes the generosity of Lutherans toward their congregations and beyond. • A new and renewed congregations table that identifies mission opportunities and assists in the development and redevelopment of congregations. At this table, leaders "are looking at places where we're not present and should be, as well as at churches that with a little push can do more work," Duran said. For the Rocky Mountain Synod, the new model wasn't a big change since a mission director was already responsible for its new starts. But creating mission tables increases collaboration and growth, said James Hytjan, the synod's DEM. "We will be gathering people in more areas to discuss different models of outreach ... which may result in the formation of new congregations," Hytjan said. There are no churchwide rules or procedures for selecting people to serve on each of the three tables. Some table members were elected at their synod assembly; some are invited by their synod bishop or DEM. Others are people who have been active in mission. This flexibility encourages diversity and "ensures that people who are passionate about this kind of work can be at the table," Duran said. Not only do the directors and missional tables do the primary planning for mission in their synod, they also cooperate with churchwide staff on major decisions such as acquiring land and training leaders. Many leaders say they already see one change under the new mission model: an increase in local ownership of the Lutheran church. Noting "a greater sense of excitement of the possibilities," Duran explained, "It's not like 'The national church is going to start a church here,' but rather 'We need to start a church here.' " As in the previous model, churchwide, synods and congregations work together to fund mission development. However, the new synod stewardship and mission support tables improve local communication and coordination of resources. For example, the Delaware-Maryland Synod is developing seven congregations, said Wolfgang Herz-Lane, its newly elected bishop and former DEM. One of these is The Network in Odenton, Md., an area where military realignment created a population surge. "Surrounding churches came together and decided to sponsor a preaching point in the middle," Herz-Lane said. At presstime, The Network held Sunday evening worship at a Presbyterian church. The DEMs also foster better communication and cooperation throughout the mission development process. For example, Erickson meets regularly with leaders of new starts, such as Houge of Humble Walk. Other synod staff have said Erickson's placement in their office helps them "feel more connected to what is happening in mission congregations," Erickson said. At Humble Walk, "it has been a godsend for us because we didn't know what we were doing," Houge said. "To have a point person who can help direct us and gather information has been vital." For the mission directors, it's beautiful, Herz-Lane said. "The beauty is you get to be part of a very important piece of [mission development] all the way from the very beginning to the very end," he added. "It's a very holistic kind of job." Lutherans on the map One of EOCM's major goals is to help the ELCA realign with the U.S. population. This means an emphasis on multicultural and ethnic groups, younger generations and people living in poverty. Some synods appointed additional directors to focus on evangelism within specific ethnic communities. Dennis Mims, the DEM for African descent ministry in the Southwest California Synod, is working with the synod, congregations and churchwide offices to start a congregation for this ethnic group (defined as more than 10 percent membership of African descent) in Palmdale/Lancaster, Calif. It will be the first such start in California in 32 years. And of the 41 ELCA starts approved from January through March 2010, roughly half were begun by people of color or language other than English. "It's kind of neat in the year in which the census is going to tell us our country is becoming more and more global, we will have already advanced the Lutheran presence in what America is becoming," Bouman said. EOCM is also zeroing in on ways to minister to a less traditional crowd. "We want to get under the skin of the culture around us, which doesn't always translate to the church culture we've had for so many years." Bouman said. "I think we're going to have to be really creative and adaptive." Duran makes it clear: "We aren't going to let go of the essence of being Lutheran, but the format can be flexible. If we don't do that, we will become a very nice museum of the Lutheran expression." |
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| Gretchen - 7/27/2010 |
| I am curious to know what is happening in all of the synods that are engaging in the mission tables. In our Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota joint synodical mission strategy table we are taking time for prayer and discernment in a table that we say is, "on casters". The idea being that we take time to listen deeply to the Spirit moving in all of the corners of our two synods. This has already lead to a really interesting conversation about relationship building amongst people of varying backgrounds. I personally have learned more in one session of deep listening than in countless meetings of filled agendas. I don't think we know exactly what will come of this prayer practice but it is kind of thrilling to leave that in God's hands and simply come along for the ride. |
| John Potoskie - 7/30/2010 |
The article states, "The directors stimulate local evangelism and help align the church with the national landscape, " This is wrong. We should be Evangelizing to align a nation that has lost it's way and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ |
| Ron - 7/31/2010 |
| @John- Amen, great insight. |
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