This is part of a series of interviews with pastors of churches whose attendance has grown 20% or more in 5 years. We hope this series will be a resource of ideas to help increase worship attendance at your church.

What helped St. James United Methodist Church grow?

It started 18 years ago with Disciple Bible Study (DBS). The senior pastor, Woody Wells, challenged the congregation to participate in DBS I.  Disciple Bible study is more than studying the scriptures.  It teaches one what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. At that point, St. James started looking outward instead of inward. It started discovering how it could serve the Greenville community and beyond.

Each year, St. James holds an event called “Spring Fling.” Its first year in operation, the church used the money for itself. The second and succeeding year the church used the funds raised at “Spring Fling” for local ministries and missions. St. James UMC has given away over $700,000 to the local community. The outreach to the community displayed a care for our neighbors. People within the community started attending St. James and participating in worship due to its generosity. In 1999, Gray Southern, senior pastor, encouraged St. James to create a Praise worship service. They first met in the fellowship hall until the Christian Life Ministry Center (CLMC) was completed in 2000. The Praise service moved into the CLMC and continued to grow in average worship attendance. St. James also opened up the new CLMC and its other facilities to the community. There are very few days or nights that some organization in the community is not using the facilities along with the church members.

In 2007, St. James began to emphasize the development of small groups. That emphasis has kept members and non-members involved in the life of the Church and in worship. In 2008, St. James started another Praise Service in the CLMC. That worship service has continued to grow in attendance. Today, St. James UMC offers four worship services on Sunday morning. The 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. services are held in the sanctuary. The 9:00 and 11:11 a.m. worship services are held in the Christian Life Ministry Center.

It all started because Woody challenged the congregation to become involved in Disciple Bible Study. St. James continues to offer Disciple Bible Study along with other biblical and disciple studies throughout the year. The idea is to continue to challenge the membership and worshippers to become active disciples for Jesus Christ. That faithfulness is encouraged through the body of Christ studying together and worshipping and praising God together.

Johnny H. Branch, pastor

St. James UMC

Greenville, NC

http://stjconnect.org