{"id":18691,"date":"2017-10-30T01:16:18","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T05:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/?p=18691"},"modified":"2017-10-15T12:21:34","modified_gmt":"2017-10-15T16:21:34","slug":"treats-not-tricks-umcs-fasted-growing-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2017\/10\/30\/treats-not-tricks-umcs-fasted-growing-churches\/","title":{"rendered":"Treats not Tricks— The UMC’s fasted growing Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"christ-1618197_640_opt\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Here is a positive and helpful article on church growth in the UMC, and where and how it is happening. Note that the majority of these churches are in the Southeast region of the UMC, and a good 40% of the senior pastors of these churches went to Asbury. Of the rest, another 30% or so are Evangelical pastors as well. None of these churches are in the Western Jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

Fastest-Growing UMC Congregations Led by Evangelical, Southern, Asbury-Educated Pastors<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\nHere\u2019s an excerpt from the article\u2014<\/p>\nFirst, here is his 2017 list:<\/p>\nRank\tChurch Name\tCity\tState\tSr Pastor\tPastor Since\t2015 AWA\tRank by size\t5 Yr Growth\tLast Year \n1\tEmbrace\tSioux Falls\tSD\tAdam Weber\t2007\t3,082\t12\t1042%\t1 \n2\tCommunity of Hope\tLoxahatchee Groves\tFL\tDale Locke\t1996\t1,276\t91\t228%\t2 \n3\tThe Gathering\tSaint Louis\tMO\tMatt Miofsky\t2006\t1,100\t140\t134%\t\u2014 \n4\tProvidence Church\tMt. Juliet\tTN\tJacob Armstrong\t2008\t1,060\t151\t128%\t\u2014 \n5\tCalvary\tEast Brunswick\tNJ\tSang Won Doh\t2010\t1019\t161\t126%\t\u2014 \n6\tImpact\tAtlanta\tGA\tOlu Brown\t2006\t2,250\t26\t107%\t4 \n7\tEvangelical (EUM)\tGreenville\tOH\tJeff Harper\t2011\t1,214\t107\t82%\t3 \n8\tSun City Center\tSun City Center\tFL\tCharles Rentz\t2014\t1,126\t134\t80%\t\u2014 \n9\tFaithbridge\tSpring\tTX\tKen Werlein\t1999\t3,314\t9\t73%\t5 \n10\tCrosspoint\tNiceville\tFL\tRurel Ausley\t1998\t3,264\t10\t61%\t9 \n11\tFirst\tCoral Springs\tFL\tVance Rains\t2016\t1,085\t145\t58%\t\u2014 \n12\tThe Chapel\tBrunswick\tGA\tJay Hanson\t2004\t1,076\t147\t55%\t\u2014 \n13\tChrist\tFairview Heights\tIL\tShane Bishop\t1997\t2,145\t33\t53%\t7 \n14\tSt. Luke\u2019s\tOklahoma City\tOK\tBob Long\t1991\t1,722\t55\t52%\t13 \n15\tFirst\tMcKinney\tTX\tThomas Brumett\t2008\t1,787\t50\t50%\t11 \n16\tNew Covenant\tThe Villages\tFL\tHarold Hendren\t2011\t2,289\t24\t48%\t16 \n17\tCokesbury\tKnoxville\tTN\tStephen Defur\t1998\t4,157\t7\t48%\t12 \n18\tLive Oak\tWatson\tLA\tMark Crosby\t1996\t1,437\t73\t47%\t19 \n19\tSt. Peter\u2019s\tKaty\tTX\tPatrick Sparks\t2013\t1,453\t71\t43%\t8 \n20\tThe Orchard\tTupelo\tMS\tBryan Collier\t1998\t2,711\t15\t42%\t14 \n21\tChrist\tMemphis\tTN\tShane Stanford\t2011\t1,911\t44\t40%\t25 \n22\tChurch of the Resurrection\tLeawood\tKS\tAdam Hamilton\t1990\t9,441\t1\t39%\t\u2014 \n23\tWoodlawn\tPanama City Beach\tFL\tJoe Lay\t2011\t1,271\t93\t34%\t18 \n24\tGood Shepherd\tCypress\tTX\tBill Haygood\t1993\t1,036\t159\t33%\t\u2014 \n25\tGood Shepherd\tCharlotte\tNC\tTalbot Davis\t1999\t1,998\t40\t30%\t20<\/p>\nWilson\u2019s own website answers questions some may have about his methodology, and offers some worthwhile insights. Among things, Wilson has noted a common thread of rapid growth generally occurring under senior pastors who have been in place for a long time.<\/p>\nIn this year\u2019s list, in only three congregations was the senior pastor listed above in place for less than four years in the 2010-2015 period of Wilson\u2019s measurements. Charles Rentz took the helm of Sun City Center UMC in 2014, while it was previously shepherded by Warren Dexter Langer, Jr. For First UMC in Coral Springs, Florida, the current senior pastor (listed above) took over only in 2016, but Alex Shanks was senior pastor for 2012-2016, while Sara Mckinley was senior pastor there before that. Patrick Sparks has only been senior pastor of St. Peter\u2019s UMC in Katy Texas since 2013, taking the helm from Donald Alan Smith.<\/p>\nWhile this group of United Methodist congregations is certainly not monolithic, there are several noteworthy generalizations that can be made. These observations are consistent with what I found in analyzing Wilson\u2019s similar lists he compiled in 2016 and in 2015.<\/p>\nFirst of all, this is an overwhelmingly Southern group of congregations. Of these 25 congregations, 13 of them (52 percent) are in the UMC\u2019s Southeastern Jurisdiction, which is well-known as the most relatively conservative of our five U.S. jurisdictions. Another eight (32 percent) are in the South Central Jurisdiction. Three more (12 percent) are in the North Central Jurisdiction. Only one is in the liberal-leaning Northeastern Jurisdiction.<\/p>\nNot a single one is within the geographically huge Western Jurisdiction, which encompasses every state with a Pacific coastline in addition to Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here is a positive and helpful article on church growth in the UMC, and where and how it is happening. Note that the majority of these churches are in the Southeast region of the UMC, and a good 40% of the senior pastors of these churches went to Asbury. Of the rest, another 30% or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Treats not Tricks--- The UMC's fasted growing Churches<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here is a positive and helpful article on church growth in the UMC, and where and how it is happening. 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