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BY MELISSA LAUBER
UMCONNECTION STAFF

As the oldest Methodist African-American church in Washington, D.C., Mount Zion UMC has a history of operating 'outside the box,' beyond expected boundaries.

This legacy, which can be traced back to 1816, continues today as the church begins a new kind of ministry in a new place ? defying conventional wisdom about church growth to start a satellite ministry center in a different county, in a different district, 14 miles from its front door.

On Sept. 10, more than 200 people worshiped at the ministry center?s inaugural worship service at Bells UMC in Camp Springs. In the weeks that followed, the attendance leveled out at around 70, but the new center already shows evidence of bearing Acts 2 fruit, said Mt. Zion?s pastor the Rev. Robert E. Slade.

Two people joined Mt. Zion by profession of faith at the 8:30 a.m. worship service at the new location. A third has expressed interest in becoming part of the congregation.

'We don?t want to wait until 2012 to be an Acts 2 church,' Slade said. 'We want to do it now.'

The opening of this satellite site has been years in coming. Slade became pastor of Mt. Zion in Georgetown in 2000. At that time, the church had 50 people in worship. Today it averages 150.

The renewed congregation has also taken remarkable steps in renovating the church structure, which is 190 years old, including installation of air conditioning.

When the church was built, Georgetown was a black community. Today it is a white community and all but two of Mt. Zion?s members commute in from other parts of the region. Many are from the La Plata, Fort Washington, Waldorf and the Oxon Hill area, near Bells UMC.

When Slade talked with people about why they weren?t coming to church, many spoke of the challenges of commuting to the church.

Slade approached his superintendent, the Rev. David Argo, about the idea of a satellite ministry center site in a school to alleviate these inconveniences.

The Rev. Ianther Mills, superintendent of the Washington East District, raised the idea of locating at Bells, which backs up to Andrews Air Force Base and is, coincidently, on the route between Slade?s home and Mt. Zion.

The Rev. Katie Heflin and the congregation at Bells enthusiastically welcomed the idea of using their facilities to make disciples. Both pastors are certain the relationship will continue to blossom.

While Bells and Mt. Zion remain as autonomous congregations, Slade and members of Mt. Zion will host worship in the 250-seat sanctuary at 8 a.m. each Sunday, in time for Slade?s wife Rhoda to get to Mt. Zion in Georgetown to teach Sunday School at 10 a.m. and for Slade to preach again at 11 a.m.

The challenges are considerable. Mt. Zion is not a wealthy congregation. They recently approved the costs of a music leader for the 8 a.m. worship. 'But it?s a faith walk,' Slade said.

Letting the community know that something new is happening is the other major challenge. Slade is busy going door to door, visiting schools and community groups and spreading the word any way he can. 'We?re cheating God if we don?t give it our all,' he concluded.

While the work is considerable, he is trying to follow the advice of Bishop Forrest Stith (retired) who said, 'Just allow God to be in the midst. Allow each day to unfold as God would have it.'

Following his instincts, Slade has also started a weeknight Bible study at the ministry center and Mount Zion?s liturgical dancers rehearse there.

In his former career as deputy superintendent of schools in Prince George?s County, Slade learned that few things were absolutely impossible. 'In my former life, it became clear to me that if you didn?t try, you?d never know what the outcome would be,' he said.

And so, just as Mt. Zion once committed itself to helping runaway slaves as a station on the Underground Railroad, to providing education to blacks when learning was denied them, and to fighting for equality for all people in the Civil Rights movement, the congregation today is 'bold enough to step outside the box,' Slade said.

In the ministry center?s inaugural sermon, Slade preached on the passage in which Jesus tells his disciples that if they want to catch more fish, they should cast their nets on the other side of the boat.

With this new venture in satellite ministry, Mt. Zion has cast its net out of the other side of the boat. 'It has the potential,' said Slade, 'to grow into something big.'