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Associate pastors offer another avenue for growth

By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

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In 2010, the Baltimore-Washington Conference took what it considered to be a calculated risk, thinking that assigning associate pastors to black churches that seemed to be stuck in stagnancy, would prompt growth. That bet is beginning to pay off .

In announcing the initiative, conference leaders lamented that more than 30 churches, many of them with primarily African-American congregations, had been closed in the city of Baltimore in the past 30 years, and that very few black churches in the conference reported having more than 300 people in worship on Sunday.

The conference agreed to pay the salaries of four associate pastors, confi dent that the boost in leadership resources would have a positive impact.

Dubbing the new ministry, the “Strategic Growth Initiative,” the Baltimore-Washington Conference provided funds to hire associate pastors at John Wesley UMC and Epworth Chapel in Baltimore, Asbury UMC in Shepherdstown, W.Va., and Westphalia UMC in Upper Marlboro.

The budget for the six-year initiative was $963,645, or a typical outlay of $321,215 per church, with the funds received decreasing over time.

In Oct. 2011, Westphalia UMC excused itself from the program. However, during the period it participated, membership rose 2 percent and worship attendance rose 14 percent.

At John Wesley UMC, membership went up 5 percent (although attendance went down 12 percent), and at Epworth Chapel UMC, membership went up 2 percent and worship attendance rose 11 percent.

These figures are especially noteworthy given that conferencewide, both worship attendance and membership saw a 2 percent decrease in 2012, during the same period the Strategic Growth Initiative churches saw the increases.

The statistics from Asbury UMC do not easily fit into this analysis because during this time, Asbury merged with Mt. Zion in Shepherdstown. However, the fact that the church is now in the midst of a building campaign and is starting Hezekiah’s House, a satellite church, in Ranson, W.Va., signals growth and possibility.

While there is no direct cause and effect, the fact that each of the churches had such growth is significant, said David Schoeller, the conference business data analyst.

Schoeller also noted that the four churches that received associate pastors experienced a significant increase in giving to the church.

Westphalia UMC saw a 35 percent increase in giving by non-pledging but identified givers and a 56 percent increase from unidentified givers; John Wesley had a 27 percent increase in the amount it received from pledges and a 16 percent increase in money received from nonpledging, but identified givers; and Epworth Chapel’s pledges went up by 5 percent and its gifts from nonpledging, identified givers went up 166 percent.

While Epworth Chapel brought in 32 new members last year, Rev. Kelly Grimes, the associate pastor, believes her presence has been most felt in the field of community ministries.

Grimes, who works as a partner with senior pastor, the Rev. C. Anthony Hunt, is primarily in charge of agelevel ministries, working with youth, young adults and discipleship.

The community around Epworth is undergoing a transition and Grimes believes the church is doing an outstanding job of community outreach. However, more could be done, she said.

“The way we’re growing, this church could probably use two associates,” said Grimes. “I could see us having someone whose job would be making more community connections so that the church and community would work together even more. There is so much possibility.”

The Rev. Twanda Prioleau is serving as an associate pastor at John Wesley UMC, where the Rev. Bruce Haskins is senior pastor. Haskins has encouraged Prioleau to share in the preaching ministries of the church as well as marrying and baptizing members of the church. But her primary responsibilities are in the areas of hospitality, mission and service.

Having a partner in ministry helps “the overall wellbeing of a pastor and the congregation,” she said. It also enables the church to move into the community to share the Gospel in new ways.

For the Rev. Tommy Murray of Asbury UMC in Shepherdstown, W.Va., building relationships with new people and drawing them into worship is one of the most important roles he plays. Murray is responsible for the church’s youth ministry and witness ministry, which includes all of the congregation’s multi-media ministry. Working with senior pastor, the Rev. Rudy Bropleh, his goal is to have 500 in worship each week.

With Murray’s assistance, the church, which is already in the midst of a building program for a multiplex facility, has decided to further expand its outreach efforts, and is starting a new satellite ministry, called Hezekiah’s House, in Ranson, W.Va.

Having an associate pastor “can bring a tremendous amount of growth over time,” Bropleh said, “but we must continue to be patient.”

The success of the Strategic Growth Initiative has prompted conference leaders to expand the number of participants and add a multicultural dimension.

This year, Asbury UMC, an historic black church in Washington, has brought on the Rev. Adam Bridell, a white pastor, who will work with the Rev. Ianther Mills, Asbury’s new lead pastor. Epworth UMC in Gaithersburg has a new associate pastor, Carlos Ramos-Graulau, who will join the Rev. Jennifer Fenner in leading the church’s developing Hispanic ministries.

And in Baltimore, four part-time associates will join the Rev. William Chaney at West Baltimore UMC. That team will utilize property from a closed United Methodist church on Johnnycake Road to create a new intentionally multi-cultural faith community along the Route 40 corridor.