"2000 Congregations" Discussed by Division for Outreach Board

LISLE, Ill. (ELCA) -- The board of the Division for Outreach (DO) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) heard a revised plan to start 2,000 ELCA congregations in 20 years, beginning in 2,000.=20
The plan was discussed at the board's spring meeting here March 11-14. =20
When originally proposed, the idea was to start 2,000 congregations over 20 years in addition to DO's normal effort to start about 40 new congregations per year. The revised plan calls for starting a total of 2,000 congregations in the 20-year period.
The Rev. Richard A. Magnus, director of the ELCA Division for Outreach, said the modified plan is the result of concerns expressed by board members at previous meetings and by others in the ELCA. At present, 2,000 Congregations calls for starting 40 congregations each year from the regular budget and 60 more each year with the partnership of sponsoring congregations.
"We've got to go after it with great passion, but we don't want to set ourselves up for any more than we can manage at this point," he said. "If it catches on and exceeds that, that would be wonderful."
Board member, the Rev. Donald Green, Pittsburgh, Pa., urged the division to emphasize ethnic or urban starts and to encourage smaller congregations to form clusters to found new congregations. The plan should emphasize the missionary mandate of the church and not focus on dollars, he said.
The Rev. Gary A. Marshall, Escondido, Calif., expressed disappointment with the revised goal and urged the division to raise its sights higher. "It's no longer a vision," he said. "It's a nice plan." = =20
"This is still an ambitious goal," said Leisha DeHart-Davis, Atlanta. She said reducing the annual goal of new starts to a manageable number was "wise."
There are several challenges in starting congregations, said the Rev. Robert S. Hoyt, director for program and new congregations, ELCA Division for Outreach. They include biblical, missional, developmental and organizational challenges. =20
"Too often we fall into clever ideas, but we have to be about invitation," Hoyt said of the biblical challenge. "We are a nation that no longer knows who Jesus is. There is a great curiosity about Him and awe of His overwhelming capacity for love."
The United States is now the fourth largest mission field in the world, Hoyt said, with about 100 million people who have little or no contact with the church. The strongest areas for growth in the ELCA appears to bsae in the South and Western states, he added.
To achieve 2,000 congregations in 20 years, many new congregations will be formed with the help of established congregations as sponsors, Hoyt said. "Congregations that sponsor new congregations generate excitement," he said.
And, while the church works to establish 2,000 new congregations, Hoyt added as many as 3,000 ELCA congregations may close or merge during the same period.

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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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