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 are the top three key factors that have led to rapid (approximately 76% – one estimate) growth in worship attendance over the last five years and an annual 10% to 15% growth rate in membership?

1. Visionary Pastors -strong, evangelical Pastors who have worked hard to develop their leadership gifts and their communication/preaching skills.

2. Scriptural Authority – a common denominator among growing churches is their emphasis on scriptural authority. There has been a long and sustained effort to preach the authority of scripture with boldness from the pulpit as we seek to give the people relevant and pertinent ways to live out those scriptures in their daily lives. Along with sound preaching, we have sought to teach the scriptures and educate our people through small group Bible Studies, Sunday School Classes and other study/equipping opportunities. Also our people have been encouraged and trained to read and study the scriptures as a part of their daily activities.

3. Extended Pastorates – (The Alabama West Florida Episcopal and Cabinet leadership have encouraged and allowed longer pastorates.) For example, I have just started my 18th year at Saint James UMC. Most of the growth in the United Methodist Church across the country has come in the evangelical churches that have pastors who have served longer pastorates (8 to 20+ years). This, I believe, is another key factor in the sustained growth of Saint James UMC. It takes many years to build trust, to put together great staff teams and to grow complex ministries that reach out to unreached seekers, empower Christians (who are serious about spiritual growth) and develop and train visionary leaders (who play key role in the growth of the church.)

What is the story behind Saint James UMC?

Saint James began in 1946 with its first buildings being built on the west side of Montgomery on the comer of Court Street and Edgemont. This was the fastest growing part of the city in those early years of the church’s growth. It continued strong growth and ministry up until the mid to late 1970′s. In the early 1980′s, due to a number of factors – (a transitioning neighborhood, lack of leadership, etc … ), the church began to rapidly decline in membership, worship attendance and growth. By 1993, the church was struggling to pay its bills and could not pay its apportionments. In June, 1993, Janeese and I accepted the call to go to Saint James UMC. The average age was 71, there were no children in the nursery, only a handful (4 or 5) of elementary age children and a few youth (3 or 4). The average worship attendance was 130 (on a good day) and the membership was about 320 (half of which could not be located). The annual budget was $148,000 (and struggling to hit that.)  However, we discovered that there were some amazing lay leaders who really did want to make a difference for Christ in Montgomery. So, we began to work with them in this great kingdom endeavor. In 1994, we formed the first Joshua Committee, the SJUMC version of a long range planning team. We had 12 members representing a cross section of the congregation. After much prayer, Bible Study and research, the Joshua Committee voted to recommend relocation to East Montgomery. The church eventually voted in 1995 to relocate to 9045 Vaughn Road (with a 98.6% vote to relocate.) How we led the church to this point and through the process of relocation is the subject of a book (upon which I am currently working).

SJUMC has been blessed to experience much growth since those days. We moved into phase 1 on our new campus in 1998, and we finally built phase 2 in 2008 which houses our primary 1,000 seat Worship Center, our Traditional Sanctuary, our new children’s wing, a wonderful lobby/atrium, a cafe, a bookstore and a special place just for guests called Guest Central. Our membership is now 1,850 plus and worship attendance hovers around 1,250 per Sunday. Our Annual Ministry and Mission Budget is now close to $2.7 million plus Building Fund plus Designated giving. It’s been a wild ride and a great spiritual journey for all of us!! !

What were and are the primary ministries and emphases that have contributed to the growth and success of SJUMC?

1. Having a Christ-focused, God honoring vision to reach lost people, empower Christians and send Christ followers out in service. We seek to cast and recast that vision on a regular basis.

2. Focus on solid Biblical Preaching and Teaching which is relevant and applicable to our lives. We seek to do this through Sunday a.m. Worship, Rhema Women’s Bible Study, Small Groups, Sunday School, and various other study opportunities. We have over 650 adults and youth involved in our Small Group Ministry “SJLife Groups”. These groups meet weekly in homes or on the church campus.

3. Providing high quality, exciting, relevant and celebrative worship where people can experience the presence of God and life transformation by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. This, of course, includes excellent quality Worship music, high impact messages, use of multi-media, testimonies, stage props and set-ups and, hopefully, a good sense of humor when we mess up.

4. Emphasis on Intercessory Prayer, Fasting, Healing and Counseling. As we seek to be an Acts II church, we are teaching our people about the Power of the Holy Spirit and the importance of intercessory prayer, fasting, healing and counseling.

5. Our Renew Women’s Ministry is a huge regional outreach ministry to women in the tri-county area. This ministry led by Rev. Janeese Spencer and the Renew Leadership Team reaches out to women of all walks of life through many different ministries. The Rhema Women’s Bible Study is a weekly Tuesday study which averages 300+ per week.

6. Our location is also an important factor in our growth. We are located on the corner of Vaughn and Ryan Road right in the middle of the most rapid growth in east Montgomery and Pike Road. Location. Location. Location. We also have room to grow with 58+ acres of land! Buying adjacent land has always been a priority for us!

7. Our “Perceptions” Radio and T.V. Ministry reaches over 100,000 people per week with a 30 or 60 second spot each day. We have been doing this ministry for 13 years now, and it has drawn many people to visit Saint James, plus it has put us on the map in Montgomery. With the “Perceptions” ministry, we enjoy great name recognition in the River Region. But most importantly of all, I have discovered that it ministers to and shares the Gospel of hope and encouragement with 1,000′s of people everyday who will perhaps rarely, if ever, darken the door of a church. Currently, we air on the radio on 95.1 The Fox, 96.1, and YI02 at drive time (7:40) a.m. each M-F. We also air on TV 6 to 8 times per day on WCOV Fox TV in Montgomery. (A special thanks to Durrell Durham who is the master mind behind the power of “Perceptions”.)

8. Joshua’s Men and Esther’s Women are perhaps the best kept secret concerning our growth and strength. For 13 years now, Janeese and I have been intentionally training and mentoring leaders for the future through these unique ministries.  Each year we, or leaders we have trained, lead 10 to 12 men in Joshua’s Men or 10 to 12 Women in Esther’s Women. Ideally (now that we’ve been doing this awhile), we have 2 to 3 groups of Joshua’s Men and 2 to 3 groups of Esther’s Women each year. That means that each year we are training and mentoring around 45 to 60 new leaders who will step up and help lead and empower SJUMC to fulfill the Mission of Christ. We are big into leadership development and are the only host site in Alabama for the Global Leadership Summit in partnership and connection with Bill Hybels and the Willow Creek Association!

9. Strong Children and Youth Ministries with cutting edge approaches led by great staff and gifted lay people. This, of course, is a no brainer for any church that wants to grow. In order to grow, our churches must reach young families and their children. We seek to provide whatever resources and whatever square footage is necessary for these ministries.

10. Many Sending Out opportunities for members and guests to volunteer to serve in the church, in the community, in the city and around the world. We are known as a Mission and Outreach church. We send teams regularly to Cuba, Honduras, Brazil, Haiti and other countries. We have partnerships with the church in Zambia where we have dug 8 fresh water wells in the last two years. We are very involved in local ministries in Montgomery such as “Common Ground”. We are also in our 14th year as the Regional HQ/Collection Center for Operation Christmas Child.

11. Great Weekday Saint James Christian Pre-school (M through F) is a big draw for young families. Currently, we have 160 children enrolled in the Preschool with a long waiting list. Many of these families eventually visit our church and join with us.

What are the essential qualities of a Pastor who is called to lead a growing church?

1. Visionary Leadership (a Must). “Without a Vision the people perish”!!! The leader must get on his/her knees and go wherever and do whatever it takes to seek God’s heart for their ministry. A Romans 12:8 leader must lead… but the heart of a God honoring leader is always on the vision that points the way.

2. Gifted Communicator – one who is always striving to learn, grow and improve his/her communication skills as they seek to advance their gift of preaching and teaching. Listening to great preachers/communicators at:  a.) conferences (i.e. The Global Leadership Summit, various Preaching conferences, etc … ); b.)via the internet… there are so many church websites where you can tune in (some for free) to watch and hear great preachers on line (i.e. Craig Groeschel at Lifechurch.tv, Andy Stanley at North Point, and many others).

3. Strong People Skills – has the ability to connect with a wide variety of people and inspire them to connect with their time, talents and resources to the ministry/mission at hand.

4. Personal Integrity – essential – in order for there to be trust in the relationships that enable effectiveness and growth. I believe the Lord will not honor our ministries if there is a lack of integrity in any part of our lives.

5. Intimacy with God – A great leader must give out of the overflow not the reservoir. A wise leader will make time for breaks and personal spiritual growth.

6. A Passion for the Lost – an effective Pastor has a deep calling to impact people for Christ – to make a difference in their generation!

Lester Spencer – lspencer@sjlife.com

Church website – http://www.SJLife.com