More on church growth

The Reverend Reporter has gone through my notes once again and found scrawls that contain more of the candidate's answers to the question how can the Episcopal Church grow in Nevada?

Eric Funston related that when he moved away from the diocese nearly 13 years ago there were 6,000 Episcopalians in Nevada and that he was disappointed to read that these numbers hadn't changed. He believes that it is important for us to re-direct our energies away from fighting amongst ourselves and make an effort to spread the Gospel in our communities. Eric also noted that in his experience, the local church grows through vibrancy of worship and a focus on mission.

Update: Eric and his family left Nevada over 14 years ago, not the "nearly 13 years" stated above. The Reverend Reporter regrets the error.

Susan Burns stated that "there must be at least 1,000 people in Nevada who want to be Episcopalian," but they might never find out about us if we don't create excitement around who we are and the good news we have to offer. Susan believes that the larger church grows as parishes grow, and that the best evangelism is the direct invitation: invite your friends and neighbors to church! She further stated that we must treat our church's commitment to tolerance and diversity of views as an asset.

Al Keeney observed that our churches have little visibility beyond our small blue "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You" signs. He believes that the Episcopal Church in Nevada needs more visibility and that we must be clearer in getting our message out. The bishop, according to Al, needs to take a leading role in promoting evangelism.

Dan Edwards believes in the importance of direct evangelism - there is no substitute for going out into the community. The church in Nevada must embrace a spirit of abundance, not scarcity, a trait that he sees as contributing to static numbers. A church which is always worried about it itself is not a church people want to join.

Jeff Paul advocates for a leading role for the bishop in the field of evangelism. Knocking on doors, inviting people to church, inviting back those who have left, and taking time to be in residence in different parts of the diocese building up the church are all things that the bishop needs to both do, and teach others to do.

Cathy Deats observed that the heart of evangelism is mission, and that each local church needs to find out what there unique mission is in the communities they find themselves in so that they can serve the needs of the people in their midst. The role of the bishop is to help congregations find this "big picture" and to assist them in figuring out the most effective use of their resources.