We Can’t Do Megachurch AnymoreWhat happens when an “attractional church” is compelled to go in a different direction?
This Article was published in Christianity today.
My good friend Wade Hodges is a gifted communicator and leader who is doing the hard work of leading his congregation through change.
A few highlights for me:
“Was it time to plant an emerging type church? Or could I help an existing modern-ish church position itself for ministering to the next generation by developing some emerging sensibilities?
Rather than giving up on existing churches, which is what the prospect of church planting felt like to me, I wanted to believe that an existing church could make the transition. So I came to Garnett Church of Christ and set the transition in motion.
The results have been astounding.
850 members in 2003.
550 members in 2006.
Everyone told me that church planting would be hard, but I don’t know if anyone warned me how difficult making this kind of church transition, with its epistemological, cultural, and sociological elements, would be.”
“Our facilities were built with a megachurch in mind. With a 3,000-seat auditorium built in the center of forty acres, Garnett was positioned in the mid-eighties to grow exponentially like the oil-boom neighborhoods that surrounded it.
It never did.”
“To relinquish our rights as members to a church building that we are no longer able to pay for by ourselves. The Garnett Church of Christ building is becoming the Garnett Event Center.
Already, several other churches are using our facilities on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon: a Messianic Jewish community, a charismatic Hispanic church, a rock church called Rolling Stone, and a new church plant.
Throughout the week, a number of other events, some church-related and others not, are held at our building. Not only is the rental income from these events helping to pay the bills, but it’s also giving us a hospitable presence in our neighborhood.
But not without some difficulty. Everyone, myself and all ministry staff included, must reserve any classroom or meeting space equally with those in the community who are using or renting space.
The way we’re trying to see it: this building no longer belongs to us. It belongs to our community. This isn’t easy to explain to a charter member who’s been helping to pay off the building for 20 years!
We’ve started a bi-lingual preschool that has grown to 50 students, half Anglo and half Hispanic. We’ve projected beyond our ability to speak Spanish, putting “Bienvenito” (Welcome) on the front doors and asking Spanish speakers to help us translate for different events.”
Check out Wade’s Blog.
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