North America Needs More Churches

Ray A. Seilhamer
Bishop, 1993-2001

During the next ten years, 100,000 churches in the United States will close. I first heard that shocking statement in 1992 from Dr. Paul Cedar, the president of the Evangelical Free Church of North America, who spoke at our denominational convention. The more I observe, the more I agree. Unless something radical happens, probably 50 United Brethren churches will be among those 100,000.

At the same time, church grow specialists say we need to start 100,000 churches--now. New churches seem better tooled for evangelism than churches that have been around for a long time.

During the next ten years, the United Brethren church intends to start 50 churches in North America. Here are some ways we'll do that.

Ask God to Call 25 Church Planting Families From Among Our Laity

I happen to believe laypeople can start churches. You don't need an ordained minister. A layperson with vision and passion can go a long ways. Ministers need to challenge laypersons in the congregations with this possibility.

Evaluate and Train Church Planters.

Church planting requires a special set of gifts. All potential church planters will be assessed to determine their aptitude for church planting. That doesn't mean testing will be the final word. I started two churches, but I'm not sure that I would have "passed" a church planting assessment. But assessment is a valuable tool, and can help prevent some bad situations. We've been sending church planters for assessment testing for several years now, and will continue doing so.

We also need train church planters. Tremendous resources are available today--seminars, demographic information, methods, support networks, church planting "boot camp," and much more. We need to plug into these resources.

Start Daughter Congregations

Both of the churches I started were spearheaded by established churches. This is the most effective way to start churches.

I have challenged 35 congregations to consider starting satellite congregation during the next 5-7 years. Some have already accepted the challenge. Every year, I will nudge churches in this direction--to at least talk about the possibility.

Do Our Homework

We need to research specific communities to understand that community, and determine whether another evangelical church is needed there.

Use a Variety of Methods

New churches take many forms, depending on the community and target audience. There are differences in worship format, preaching style, outreach ministries, music, and other areas. If it's biblical, it if fits the situation, and it if works--let's be open to it.

Focus on Cities

Our background is the country and small towns. We need to keep ministering there. But I believe God is giving us a new generation of young people who are willing to risk it in the city.

Start Cross-Cultural Churches

We will become more aggressive in starting churches among immigrant populations and other ethnic groups. One of the most exciting developments in recent years is the emergence of UB churches among North America's immigrant populations--Chinese in New York City and Toronto, Jamaicans in New York City, and Hispanics in southern California.

The opportunities are unlimited. The fast-growing Hispanic work in southern California could expand to 20 churches. We're probing possibilities for ministry among the many Sierra Leoneans--10,000 in the Philadelphia area alone--who now live in the United States. There is plenty of room for more Chinese and Jamaican congregations in New York City. And a Hispanic church could be started in Toronto.

We can also encourage missionary work in North America by our international conferences. Instead of us sending missionaries to other countries, they will be sending missionaries to North America.

Challenge College Students

I want to challenge Huntington College students, upon graduating, to look for jobs in areas where we plan to start new churches. I'd like to tell students, "During the next five years, we plan to start two churches in Indianapolis. Would you pray about the idea of searching for a job in the greater Indianapolis area so you could give five years toward starting a new church there?"

Raise a $1,000,000 Church Planting Endowment

We're just starting to raise this fund. The interest (none of the principle) will be used to start new congregations. It'll be invested in people--assessment, training, salary support, etc.--rather than in property. I especially want to help the smaller conferences with limited resources. The $1 million won't be enough, but it's more that we've got, and it's a good start.

We'll engage 2000 UB people to make faith commitments to the fund. Perhaps you'll be one of them.

And Overseas....

In addition to 50 new churches in North America, we hope to start many churches on our foreign fields. During the next 10 years I'd like to see two churches added in Hong Kong, 15 in Honduras, and three each in Nicaragua and India. It would be great to start three more churches in Macau, so we could have a Macau Conference before the city reverts to Chinese control in 1999.

You'll hear a lot about church planting in the years ahead. Keep in mind that every church, at one time, was a new church. Your church began because someone had a vision for ministering in that community. The need for new churches has never ended, and we intend to do our part in reaching North America's unchurched population for Christ.