God is moving by his spirit in a great way to bring the body of christ together in unity. To navigate these treacherous waters here are seven keys to a successful church merger. A few miles down the road, covenant grace baptist church a church that was the result of a merger between buncombe road baptist church. A vision for the sending of the church in north america the gospel and our culture series gocs. United methodists share a historic connection to other methodist and wesleyan. Rebirth merger both churches close and establish a new identity. It took me a while to think about how to form a definition that showed the relationship between the churchs identity and mission. Church mergers the unstuck group church consulting. The united methodist church was created on april 23, 1968, when the evangelical united brethren church and the methodist church united to form a new denomination but methodism in the u.
Three months later, we announced a third church was joining us and we became redemption church. How can the 2year window of energyexcitement following change be used to full advantage. The disciples may have been inclined only to reach jews in israel, but the mission is broader than that. The mission of the church is much more than meeting the needs of christians and much more than simply evangelism. Predictably, merger costs vary by church size, but generally theyre very modest. Making church mergers work josseybass, 2012, jim tomberlin and warren bird examine the recent wave of church mergers. Church size affects model of pastoring and leadership expectations. Could we accomplish more of our mission objectives if we merged with another.
The meeting will elect a new president and a new board with representatives drawn from each of the three bodies. Ideally, a merger will involve a new location for the merged church, a different name and a change in pastoral leadership in addition to a new mission statement that is a strong indication of intent to develop new ministries and community outreach or mission. Thankfully, this church was able to do this on their own. The mission church a church on mission to share the. Part of gods purpose for the church is to exalt jesus christ by the way that the church lives and by what it. The pastor stayed, the congregation remained intact, and the church began to thrive again. A few miles down the road, covenant grace baptist churcha church that was the result of a merger between buncombe road baptist church. The missionary church was the name selected following the merger of the missionary church association and the united missionary church in 1969. In three years we expanded to an elementary school with 175 in attendance. The next stage will be the annual general meeting of the church society on may 12. The book provides a complete, practical, handson guide for church leaders of both struggling and vibrant churches so that they can understand the issues, develop strategies, and execute a variety of forms of merger for church. Like any merger, in a church or a marriage, each partner comes with their own unique gifts, qualities, and quirks.
Gatiss said broad details of the merger had been worked out but that much more needed to be done. The 70yearold church literally gave itself away, along with all its multimillion dollar properties, in a church merger with quest. In a church merger, you need to acknowledge the cultural dna. With more than twenty years of experience, merge is prepared to custom design your trip to share your unique gifts and abilities to further the kingdom of god and enhance. What changes are likely to result from this merger in terms of pastoral and lay leadership. The timeline for merger conversations and voting is as follows. Taking time to consider all aspects of a merger can help to ensure it is the right decision, for both churches, and translates into a smooth transition. Regardless of church size and health of two merging churches, every church merger involves a lead church and a joining church. Here at venture church, we have a fourpart strategy to help carry out our vision and mission in the community and around the world. I was asked to contribute a definition of the mission of the church for inclusion in the magazine. The board of directors of east hill baptist church of pensacola, inc.
One of the most helpful tools for communicating a church merger to a congregation is a frequently asked questions faq document and made available to a churchs entire constituency, both online and in print. As members support the mission of preaching the good news and spiritually caring for the calledout disciples, they help accomplish many other things as well. Division of overseas ministries general principles and policies pdf. A synergy comes with these kind of mergers that are more missiondriven versus more survivaldriven, tomberline said. Merger is just one step toward a larger, bolder, tenyear plan to grow gods mission in the community. Even though things ended a little abruptly in our merger talks, they were able to glean a lot from watching us for a season and from the coaching of the outside counsel we each were receiving. This site uses the term conventional merger or continuation merger when the combined congregation continues most of the traditions, programs, and approach of the predecessor churches. The merger would triple the size of our church overnight and wed have a new name, a new structure, and new leadership. The board of directors of hillcrest baptist church of. Would we be better off combining our efforts in some way. Paul wrote, in christ we were also chosen in order that we might be for the praise of his glory ephesians 1.
Our heart is to be a home for people looking to discover who god is and, in turn, discover who they are in christ. By serving, members of the church grow to think and act more like god. Thus, in the precedent baptism, eucharist and ministry the process seems to evolve into what could be called a convergence text. Seven key steps in planning and implementing a successful. The terms and conditions of the merger are as follows. The mission of the church is to be jesus, to represent christ, to image him to a world looking for saviors. The adopting church defines the theology, philosophy of ministry, the kinds of ministries within the church, and the style of. The relation of gods mission and the mission of the church in ephesians 285 sians 1. Section two advises the congregations to develop a plan for union, which includes the new organ izational structure, property considerations, and pastoral leadership. What we learned from a failed church merger ct pastors. A vision for the sending of the church in north america the gospel and our culture series gocs darrell l. So our mission is not limited geographically, or ethnically. Wave after wave of small steps and efforts to see local groups of believers function as the citywide church are underway.
Many churches will justify a merger for financial reasons, others seem to view it as having a way to increase the number of workers, and some will boldly state that two churches can join together in order to show unity to others in the community, and to provide a greater thrust for evangelism. The oga has a threepage resource for merging churches under constitutional musings, note 02. Congregational mission unit of the evangelical lutheran church in america are passed on to the newly formed congregation, in the case of consolidation, or to the lead congregation, in the case of merger. Whether your next step is to pray regularly for a missionary, study globalization or plan a peopletopeople group mission trip, we encourage you to make the decision to put a foot forward and take a step into world mission. Top ten things you see in a church merger by tom bandy, easum bandy associates i am getting more and more requests to consult with churches about mergers, but for different reasons than even a decade ago. Church mergers many churches across america have attempted mergers. The book makes the bold claim that missiondriven mergers have the potential to transform the church world by expanding the impact of strong churches while revitalizing plateaued or declining churches. Ideally, a merger will involve a new location for the merged church, a different name and a change in pastoral leadership in addition to a new mission statement. It means inviting others to church becomes integrated into your daily walk of. Top ten things you see in a church merger episcopal church. To show him in all we do, in all we are to show them the king and point them towards the kingdom.
Below the carving of the particular church are listed the names of the pastors who served. All questers are strongly encouraged to attend these meetings to gain a better understanding of the merger process and to receive answers to any questions they may have. But it was great to hear from the church planter later about how amazing the process and the merger experience was for both sides. With powerful worship and relevant teachings for the entire family, we invite you to visit us this weekend. Its no longer about two hearts beating as one or living together for a higher purpose to accomplish gods mission. The 2019 general assembly marks the 50 th anniversary of that first general assembly of the new church that emerged from the merger agreement and the design. This months issue of credo magazine is about missions and the church. The body of christ is great and even within the christian faith, there is a lot of diversity in beliefs, practices and cultural. A postmerger questionnaire will be developed and used to evaluate the merger process. To do life and ministry together as a vibrant, healthy expression of christs body, the church. The key to a successful church merger the key to all mergers is. Seven steps to a successful church merger the light.
Ecumenicals embraced this way of speaking more fully with the merger of the imc and the world council of churches in 1961, followed by roman catholics and vatican iis pronouncement that the church on earth is by its very nature missionary since, according to the plan of the father, it has its origin in the mission of the son and the holy. If a smaller membership church wishes to surrender the use of its building and decides to. This project will examine and evaluate the merger process of charles wesley united methodist church and earles chapel united methodist church in 2005, led by the author to form a new congregation called new life community united methodist church. Section one includes suggestions for congregations considering mergers. In basic training church planters are helped to deal with the strategic planning. What conversations have taken place about staffing options. Is institutional survival the mission of the church. These bring benefits to each disciple, to the church and eventually to the whole world. A merger or consolidation occurs when two or more congregations legally join together as one. What if we merged entirely like two lanes on the highway becoming one.
Strategies for church mergers by kristy rutter the. There are a wide variety of resources that can help distinguish the. If these ten principles are followed rigorously, it is possible for a merger to actually take church people deeper in christ and further in. Absorption merger the lead church acquires the assets of the joining church or the joining church donates all its assets to the lead church. Church mergers may be called by many names, but the core idea is that two or more churches becoming one through the combining, integrating and unifying of people, structures, systems, and resources to achieve a common purpose. The missional church is faith communities willing and. Recently, i connected with warren bird and jim tomberlin to discuss their new book, better together. The most successful transitions occur when the following church enters the process willing to surrender its identity, if necessary, to ensure its facilities continue to be used in a way that serves god.
The united missionary church, known until 1947 as the mennonite. You are continuing the work of those who went before you as well as preparing the way for those who follow. A new type of merger is arising, however, driven by a multicultural milieu that is increasingly hostile to organized christian mission. When you embark on a merge trip, you are part of a larger mission. The merger of 3 churches the three seats behind the communion table represent the three churches that united in 1918 to create the present first church. Two very different churches managed to come together and make it work, so this is an example of a church merger that has been successful. The more thorough the premerger conversation, the better and faster the postmerger integration will occur. The mission church is a community of people on a mission to share the gospel of jesus christ and live it out. When small churches merge with large ones baptist news. This was possible because both denominations were committed to preaching only what was in the bible and to evangelizing the world. Adoption is when one church becomes part of another church.
Money is a concern for many churches considering mergers, but according to the leadership network 2011 survey of church mergers, the costs to complete a merger are often surprisingly low. Renewal church began meeting the third sunday of march 2010 in a hotel conference room in greenville, south carolina. Guidelines for the merger and assimilation of churches. On tuesday evening of the 2019 general assembly, we will commemorate these two historic documents and look to the second fifty years of our life as a denomination. That results in healthy congregations, increased engagement, volunteers, financial sustainability and multiplied impactmore of all of it in the months and years that follow than even when the merger first takes place. The very term merger perpetuates looking back in time. Our mission is to make disciples all around the world among all people from. The merger of 3 churches fpcnyc first presbyterian church. In the past, church mergers were driven by necessity as financial crises or lack. The be a global mission church initiative can be used to propel a congregation into new global relationships or to affirm numerous engagements already in place. Mergers are for any church that answers yes to any of the following questions. Strategy for merging unhealthy churches and leading the. Continuation or survival merger two congregations legally join together as one. Leaders of the merging bodies have welcomed the move.