Thomas Butcher

By Robin Russell
Managing Editor

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Starting new churches is one way to ramp up membership in the United Methodist Church, say members of a new evangelism strategy team for the denomination.

The Plan One Team, headed by newly appointed congregational development chair Thomas Butcher, wants United Methodists to start 650 new churches by 2012 as a way to stem the denomination's decline in membership.

"We simply don't start enough churches," said the Rev. Butcher, who as a district superintendent in the Desert Southwest Conference helped start 153 churches, 41 percent of which were non-Anglo.

That contrasts with the denomination at large, which has seen a 27 percent decline in membership since 1964 despite a 54 percent increase in the nation's population. The percentage of youth members has declined from one in seven in 1964, to one in 21 in 2005. About 41 percent of United Methodist churches in the U.S. received no members by profession of faith in 2005. 

Yet the common outcry among United Methodists, Mr. Butcher said, is for renewal, not new churches. His response? "It's easier to give birth than to raise Lazarus from the dead," he said in a report to the Council of Bishops.

New churches, he said, need to have a younger and more diverse membership to reach the changing demographics in the U.S. About 35 percent of the nation's population don't attend church. 

And there's plenty of room for United Methodists to grow, he added, giving a jurisdictional breakdown.

At present, there is one United Methodist church for every 6,300 people in the South Central Jurisdiction, which expects a 22 percent population growth in the next quadrennium. 

In the Southeast, there's one UMC per 5,400 people. That jurisdiction should see a 26 percent population increase. 

The Northeast has one United Methodist church per 8,400 people, and will grow modestly by eight percent.

There's one UMC per 7,600 people in the North Central, which also anticipates eight percent increase.

In the West, where the population is expected to grow by 27 percent, there's only one United Methodist church for every 37,000 people. About 45 percent of the population is non-churched.

To make a difference, though, United Methodists need to "plant" the kind of faith communities that are committed to: regular worship, though not necessarily on a Sunday morning; Wesleyan doctrine; an effective discipling system; community outreach; and receiving new members. 

The Plan One Team will provide resources and training. At the top of the list is the need to develop a pool of 1,000 church planters across the country. The expected outcome? Some 63,000 new disciples in the United Methodist Church.

"Leadership is our most important resource," Mr. Butcher said. "And the lack of church planters is our most limiting factor."

Through recruiting and training, mentoring and providing internships, the team will also provide a "church plant package" that includes providing a compelling vision for bishops and annual conferences. 

District superintendents also need to learn how to make strategic decisions on where and when to plant churches, especially multicultural and ethnic congregations, Mr. Butcher said.

So what's needed now?

Based on population growth, United Methodist jurisdictions should start 39 new churches in the West; 21 in the South Central; 37 in the South East; 10 in the Northeast and 8 in the North Central during the next quadrennium.

Outside the U.S., the denomination should be planting 400 new churches by 2012.

Sound impossible? Mr. Butcher pointed out that from 1870-1920, United Methodists started an average of one new church a day.
"It was the best period in United Methodist history," he said.

rrussell@umr.org 

Share