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.

Recipe for Growth: Mixing Stained Glass and Skate Boards

From 1994 to 2009, worship attendance at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Davenport, Iowa doubled. This downtown church, founded in 1836, exploded in growth in the 1940s to late 50s, but began a slow and continuing decline in the mid 1960s. Gradual growth returned in the mid 90s, but substantial worship growth happened between 2002 and 2008. Our surprising God has moved among us in ways we never could have foreseen.

God gives the growth, we try to go where he is leading.

What “human” factors co-operated with God’s moving in reversing the decline and beginning a new era of renewal? (1) Expanding worship options, (2) Radical risk-taking, (3) Reclaiming mission emphasis, (4) Improving facility infrastructure.

Amping up Worship Options

After 40 years of two Sunday morning worship services, we attempted some new directions. In 1998 we added an 11:45am contemporary service in Fellowship Hall. By Easter of 2001, leaders decided we could not justify a full-time staff person to lead that service. But in April, we had a special one-time powerful contemporary worship service in the sanctuary. God stirred in ways we never imagined or planned. Our Council Chair said, “If we could do this every week, we could pack the sanctuary.” Within a few days, that seed of possibility sprouted big time. Within 3 months, church leaders were committed to starting a new Sunday morning contemporary service in the sanctuary. They decided that the new schedule would be Celebration contemporary service at 11:00, Sunday School at 9:45 and Classic traditional at 8:30. We were asking more than 200 people to shift their preferred service time from 10:40 am to 8:30 am. Leaders said, “We do it for the sake of those we are trying to reach with the Gospel.” Within a year of the November, 2001 launch, hundreds of mostly young adults and families began to attend.  A highly talented band and the use of visuals characterized the new service.

In 2004, we moved our Saturday night monthly “worship event” to a weekly “worship community”. This informal service includes country music videos, humor moment, a country band, and a monthly meal. Attendance continues to grow.  In 2006, we launched an extension site. This 9:45 am Sunday worship service began in a funeral home 3 miles from our sanctuary site. This media service featured a live band and a video-taped sermon. Attendance was somewhat disappointing, but still steady, in spite of moving to a third site.

Ramping up Youth Ministry

You can’t tell the story of the last decade without talking about skateboards. In 2000, our youth director began a summer skateboard ministry in our parking lot, twice a month. Skate ramps were assembled and put up on Saturday morning and had to be taken down before weddings etc. This was our pattern until 2004 when we leased space in an abandoned furniture store across the street from the sanctuary. We named our skate ministry “SkateChurch” and the number of youth exploded from 30 to 100 per week.

One faith-filled group of youth walked around the furniture store and prayerfully claimed it for God’s purposes. God heard their prayers. In 2006 St. John’s purchased the 40,000 square foot store and began to renovate it. We named it “The Center”.  SkateChurch grew, until on some weeks 400 youth came to one of the 4 skate nights. A faith-centered Bible message is an integral part of every skate night. Nearly 5,000 different youth have passed through the doors of SkateChurch in the past 5 years.

Mapping out New Mission/Ministries to the community

The Center is also home to the largest food pantry in Davenport, a thrift store, a Christian coffee house, a Christian drama team, Quad City Prayer Center and Safer Foundation. “Love in Action” (I Jn 3:18) is the motivating scripture to this ministry center for the marginalized.

The Center is the central component to our ministry to our nearest neighbors. We see ourselves as in ministry to two local neighborhoods – the immediate neighborhood of those who can walk to our facilities and the larger neighborhood of those who can drive here. The combination of The Center, the contemporary 11 am service and Jesus Country service have opened significant new doors into our immediate neighborhood. Although most worshippers still come from our driving neighborhood.

We also connect with the community through our wedding ministry, which seeks to be welcoming and non-judgmental. We usually have 2 weddings per weekend mid-April through mid-November; but have had as many as 5 on a weekend. This is a staff intensive ministry, but we want people to experience God’s grace when they’re seeking a place to be married.

Our mission beyond our local neighborhoods includes supporting two United Methodist missionaries, multiple Volunteer in Mission work teams and building an elementary school in Liberia.

Improving  building facilities

Some renewal is not glamorous; such as upkeep and improvements on a sanctuary built in 1902 and an education unit/fellowship hall added in 1952.  A major building renovation project was beginning as I came to St John’s in 1994. The next ten years were spent in capital campaigns to renovate the entire building: elevator, tuck-pointing, new roof, sanctuary remodeling, new heating and air conditioning, etc.

The building needed updates and improvements to be welcoming to newcomers, weddings etc. These improvements also enabled us to do contemporary services in several locations, including the sanctuary.

We are on a journey, seeking to be faithful to our Lord, who gave himself for us. We are, like most older congregations, in transition. Mixing skateboarding and stained glass together is often not pretty. But we believe it is faithful. Who knows where God will lead us next!

Rev. George White, Senior Pastor – georgeandmartha@mchsi.com

Church website – www.stjohnsumc-dav.com

563-324-5278