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.

“One Dynamic Church, Two Diverse Locations”

When Winchester First United Methodist Church formed a prayer group in 2005 to discern God’s direction for how to reach the 15,000 unchurched people in their county, little did they know it would lead to a new era of ministry for the congregation located 20 minutes from downtown Lexington, KY.  After much planning and seeking God, the church embarked on a journey like none they ever had in the history of the church.

The church initially decided to begin a contemporary worship service somewhere “off campus” in order to reach persons who may be intimidated by the ornate structure of Winchester First.  A miniature replica of the Winchester Cathedral in England, the church’s beautiful stained glass windows and aging limestone serve as reminder of a time when the congregation was growing quickly and the center of downtown Winchester.  With the construction of a By-pass near the interstate, many activities moved to the opposite side of town and First Church began a steady decline.  “We were definitely a church in decline”, said Rev. James Williams, the church’s senior pastor.  “However, we are a church of strong lay leadership and marvelous resources, but as with many of our congregations in the United States, our community has changed.  In order to thrive and remain vital for the future, we had to meet that change head on.”

So in 2006, the congregation commissioned 30 people to begin a worship service in a local movie theater. The service was named First Fire and began onFather’s Day. It continued to grow to a point that the crowds were becoming uncomfortable in the theater.  It was decided that an abandoned department store would be leased and remodeled to become the second campus of Winchester First.

The downtown campus offers a traditional service, and the two services at First Fire, on Saturday night and Sunday morning, are contemporary with a full band and coffee café.

Rev. James Williams

Since then, the church has experienced tremendous growth at both campuses and adopted the motto: “One Dynamic Church, Two Diverse Locations.” With the help of the Kentucky Annual Conference, a campus pastor was just added to the staff to assist with doing follow-up ministry.  The multisite concept has allowed the congregation to reach the community in a number of different ways, one of which is a fall family event at the First Fire campus that draws over 2,000 people each year.  At this year’s event, the largest number of people ever came out for a night of family fun.  Attendees were invited to register and the church followed up by inviting them to the second campus’ “Souper Saturday” where vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches are offered along with an adult bible study, children’s activities and free kids haircuts are done by church volunteers.

In addition to the second campus, the church has a thriving small group ministry (LifeGroups) which will soon have close to 200 people involved.

For more information, the church’s website is www.winfumc.org

Rev. James Williams, Senior Pastor: mailto:jawiv@live.com