What I am about to ask is
about as controversial a question as one can ask in the Church. But because
I’ve rarely heard it asked, I’ll ask: Do we need more mission congregations? For those who aren’t familiar with all this
language, a mission congregation is a new church plant, an upstart. They are
organized to serve gatherings of underserved Christians, or to try to make new
Christians in secular areas. Church denominations frequently have goals of
planting new congregations in new housing developments or suburbs where a
church with their “brand” is not yet present.
Without a doubt, many areas do need church plants,
so it would be quite silly to suggest that there is not an absolute need for
more church plants. As the population naturally increases, some areas will have
enough Christians to merit a congregation of one brand or another. But how many
do we need and what church plants are legitimate, if I may be so bold to ask?
With a few exceptions, mission congregations that
aren’t absolutely necessary, can easily do two things that are harmful to the
body at large: they market themselves to a particular demographic, creating a
competitive atmosphere in the Church; and they create overhead for new congregations,
a burden when so many small congregations are struggling to survive and could
benefit from partnership. Unless a congregation is one of the exceptions, mission
pastors should strongly consider whether they need to be involved in a church
plant.
What are the exceptions? First, if there is an area
that does not have a Christian presence, clearly a congregation is needed. Much
more discernment would be needed to decide if a particular brand (Lutheran,
Presbyterian, Methodist, etc. and various versions therein) is needed, or if a
partnership between congregations can be worked out. Second, if an ethnic group
that does not speak English (assuming an American context), it will likely need
to be served by a pastor of its heritage for a generation or so. Third, if your
brand has very particular theological issues at stake, and no congregation in a
good distance (say, a 25 miles radius) shares them, a mission congregation may
be needed. If there is no confessional or sacramental congregation in 50 miles,
a mission congregation may be needed for sure.
The problems with too many mission congregations
are rarely said –who wants to be opposed to mission! – but they should be.
Notably, too many mission congregations inevitably create a competitive
atmosphere, because they are rarely planted out of pent-up demand. Graduates
from seminary want to lead a congregation, so one is organized. This can lead
to a less-than-catholic view of worship and fellowship: people are marketed to
by demographics and felt needs. All of a sudden, mission congregations are
appealing to the very people established congregations are losing. But instead
of restoring people to catholic worship and teaching, they are recruiting them
to something new that may be perilous to their spiritual health, i.e.
Purpose-Driven, seeker-sensitive versions of Christianity.
All of this marketed, demographic research and
certainty that “we can reach who others can’t” is happening while churches are
hallowing out. Leaders and people that could be engaged in already-established
congregations, helping them grow or resurrect, are beginning from scratch
somewhere else. And when they do, they take on overhead that the other church
already has covered: a building, property insurance, utilities, hymnals, and so
on. Instead of the Church coming together, it is breaking apart and competing
with itself…all in the name of mission.
What fuels all of this? The easy answer is typical
American methodology: bigger is better and numbers are king. We want to say we
have planted so many congregations. I think we also look at the megachurch
superstars - Steven Furtick, Mark Driscoll, et. al. - and we believe we can be
the next guy to start a church as a Bible study and grow it to a powerhouse.
But what if the Church at large is contracting in
the West? What if, no matter how many mission congregations we plant, the Lord
is shrinking his Church, turning it into a mustard seed? Why should we resist
it? What makes us think we’re so special that we must grow? Or more to the
point, is God’s Kingdom always growing? That seems to be the assumption in all
of this, but I know of no reason that it is necessarily true.
I guess to put some meat on the bones, if I were a
bishop and a young man contacted me about starting a mission congregation, I
would have to really think about it. Unless it were an ethnic situation or a
totally barren community regarding the Church, my answer would probably be, “No.”
A final proposal: among like-minded (generally
like-minded, but not always exactly like-minded) church bodies, it seems that
congregations should share as much as they can, but create ordinariates within
one congregation. For example, Rome has done this with its Personal
Ordinariates, where Anglicans retain Anglican liturgy
and practice, but in some cases, have reunited with the Roman Catholic Church.
Perhaps a variety of ordinariates can be one congregation for elements of
worship, Bible study and outreach, but separate for sacramental purposes. This
isn’t a perfect solution, but at least it shares the burden of overhead, saving
resources. It also encourages cooperation in the Church instead of competition.
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