"He's a good man. He deserves to be in a good position where even more people can be blessed by his leadership."

Rev. Dennis Hughes
Christian Education Director
NJ Conference

Productive

Church Growth

We are living in what theologians call a "post denominational period" where people no longer join a church primarily for denominational reasons but look for a church that meets the needs of them and their families. If African Methodism is going to grow it will be because we minister to the spiritual, emotional, educational, physical and financial needs of people. This is what Jesus did and as a result people followed Him. The key to church growth is ministry. Look at any growing church and you will see a church that is ministering to people. It is not primarily how well the pastor preaches or the music of the choirs, this will bring people but it will not keep them, what keeps them is that their needs are being met.

As a pastor I have sought to have the church actively engaged in ministry that meets the needs of both church and community. Arriving at St. Matthew we adopted as our motto “the servant church of the Oranges” and designed and implemented ministries to meet the needs of the congregation and the surrounding community. Some of the ministries the church provides are:

• “No D’s” (No Debts, No Deficits, No Delinquencies)- gets people out of financial bondage
• Rites of Passage – helps young males to grow into manhood
• Lillian’s Closet – free children’s clothes boutique
• Manna from Heaven – food pantry opened daily
• Juvenile Detention Center- ministers weekly to juveniles at county detention center
• Physical Fitness Center- fully equipped center open daily at no cost
• HIV/AIDS Ministry – provides education and prevention, assistance to those infected and their families
• Health Ministry – provides testing for prostate, cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, etc…. at no charge to church and community
• G4C – (Generation for Christ) Youth Ministry
• NIDA (Neighborhood Improvement Development Association)-church Community Development Corporation which builds affordable housing, home improvement franchise, utility assistance, job training

The result has been:

• Congregation of 100 grew to 2300
• Was ranked 67th of 105 churches, now 2nd church in New Jersey Conference
• Average age was 67 now 41
• Children and youth grew from 5 to more than 250
• Handful of men grew to 40% men
• Because of growth built two edifices to the glory of God
• Church budget increased from $50,000.00 annually to over $2,000,000.00
• Church Bookstore

As a bishop I will be committed to emphasizing ministry to promote church growth. There are a number of ways I intend to do this.

1. Lifting up and teaching the example of Jesus to pastors and churches under my care.
2. Have the Board of Examiners in annual conferences provide workshops for ministers about church growth and ministering to the needs of people.
3. Working with the Lay Organization and lay people to encourage them to be involved in ministries in their local churches. The Bible teaches us that all of us are ministers or servants of God. Church leaders teach that an effective church is one where at least 60% of the congregation is involved in a ministry. I believe we can and should do better and would ask and seek each church to have at least 75% of the congregation involved in a ministry.
4. Encourage use of demographics and surveys by local churches to determine needs of local churches and communities in designing ministries.
5. Place particular emphasis on youth ministries. I have discovered from my own experience at St. Matthew Church that when we won young people we ended up getting their parents as well.