news article
From the Advocate: One church, many locations
March 1, 2016 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Click below to read the full Advocate online.
The Rev. Bill Vallet, lead pastor at the Pennsylvania Avenue United Methodist Church (PAUMC) in Pine City, first heard the term “multi-site” at a church growth workshop 10 years ago in California. He learned that a church with a healthy DNA can take that DNA and transplant it in another location.
The seed was planted, and Rev. Vallet set to work.
Five years ago, he applied to start a new “campus” at PAUMC, a contemporary service on Saturday evenings. He worked with approximately 50 people who committed for six months to establishing this new service. This taught those involved how to start a new faith community. The Saturday worship now averages attendance of more than 100 people each week.
Since then, PAUMC has grown to include six campuses, including Fresh Start and LifeTree Café. PAUMC utilizes a leadership core of church members that consists of 14 coaches who not only help run the current campuses, but help establish future campuses.
“We have additional campuses that have been developed over the years, and it all hinges on discipleship and developing people who are really being transformed by Jesus Christ so that we have something to offer as people come by, and we’re able to take what we hope is a healthy DNA, a healthy culture, and transplant it repeatedly,” he said.
Fresh Start
In 2012, an opportunity arose at Regal Cinemas at the Arnot Mall in Horseheads. At the same time, the Upper New York Conference’s New Faith Communities Ministry Area was looking for ministries to fund. The PAUMC set up an arrangement with Regal Cinemas to use one of its theaters each Sunday morning, where it would show a pre-recorded sermon from the Saturday evening worship service at PAUMC.
Thus, Fresh Start mall campus became the first new faith community in the UNY Conference.
Rev. Vallet asked Susan Dunlap – former Fresh Start campus leader and member of the PAUMC leadership core – to lead the new faith community. She then chose 15-20 people from PAUMC to be a part of her team. The planting team mentality has been a growing trend in the UNY Conference.
“We were all one church in one location down in Pine City, and we all really were pretty comfortable being one body of Christ in Pine City, but we knew we had to keep reaching out to a world that needs Jesus,” said Peter Wood, Fresh Start campus leader. “And part of that reaching out meant some of us leaving Pine City and coming into the mall and it was a tough transition, but the purpose was more important: To share the love of Christ, to have another place where there’s a doorway for people to come in and to hear about Christ and to know about Christ’s love.”
Theresa Butler, the Fresh Start outreach coordinator, has been a part of the campus since its inception. She moved from PAUMC to Fresh Start because she liked the idea of something new.
“I really thought it would be just an awesome thing to bring it (church) to where my kids and I shop, bring church to anybody and everybody in the mall,” she said.
In addition to listening to Rev. Vallet’s message, participants at Fresh Start enjoy worship music from a live band, communion, and fellowship. Fresh Start started out with attendance of 15 people and is currently attended by more than 60 people.
Wood feels Fresh Start offers a non-threatening atmosphere.
“They feel like they’ve come home; people feel welcomed when they come to Fresh Start and also our Pine City campus,” he said. “It’s the same DNA from Pine City campus to Fresh Start campus, and we all come in with the belief that we are all greeters and we want to make everyone feel welcomed here.”
Penny Nunn, who is becoming a member at Fresh Start, came to the campus after her mother passed away and she moved to the Horseheads area.
“I’ve never been more comfortable in any place where there is God involved than I am here. The outpouring of love you feel in this place is amazing,” she said.
To establish a presence at the mall, Fresh Start also rents a storefront space called Fresh Start Corner, a space for mall-goers to stop, chat, and grab a free cup of coffee or tea that also plays host to LifeTree Café.
Watch a video about Fresh Start at https://vimeo.com/153365008.
LifeTree Café
LifeTree Café is a one-hour Monday night program that serves as a way for PAUMC to explain God and Jesus in a basic, engaging way. It features content from Group Publishing and small group discussion guided by six or seven moderators. The main focus of LifeTree Café is to establish a low-level entry point for people to build connections, and God is always brought into the conversation.
“We know that God is at work in everyone’s life all the time, and we want to be a help to that and not a hindrance,” Dunlap said. “And so, rather than crossing the threshold of a well-established church, this offers sort of a testing ground. It allows people to make connections, just on a friend-basis. The whole point is to help them in their next step to grow closer to God, no matter what their faith.”
Rev. Vallet said one of the greatest strengths of this new faith community is the hospitality of those who run it.
“They’re like Velcro: Once you rub against them, you stick, you just want to be part of that,” he said.
Watch a video about LifeTree Café at: https://vimeo.com/154619724.
LifeTree Cafe from Upper New York Conference on Vimeo.
Rev. Vallet advises those who feel called to plant to “go slowly and learn, walking slowly through the crowd, hearing where people are, and listening to the heart of the community.”
“Sometimes it feels like you’re taking a step into the darkness, but when you really sense God is leading, obey, listen, do what God’s telling you to do,” he said.