Members of the congregation of Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church worship on a Sunday morning. Photo by John Coleman. Herbierto Leon and Miguel Torres. Photo by John Coleman.

Somewhere along the way, many churches forget about their call to exist for nonmembers. They begin focusing their activities, concerns, and ministries inward. Pastors begin functioning as chaplains or caretakers of self-contained congregations. Members want more of their pastors' attention focused on the pews and less on the parish. As inward-looking Christians, they want to have their own needs fulfilled. Eventually, such inward-focused congregations lose their way. They cease to bear fruit and they begin to wither on the vine. Seeking a cure for this all-too-common syndrome can be difficult. But restoring an outward focus is crucial to the health of our churches if we are to carry out Christ's Great Commission to go and make disciples. The Evangelization and Church Growth program area of the General Board of Global Ministries is a resource for church transformation and renewal. It is trying to help in that search by introducing a process of congregational revitalization called "The Discovery Church Journey." This four-part process calls for discernment, discovery, design, and decision. The process helps a church become aware of and responsive to its community. It guides a church in doing ministry from the outside in. Several churches are beginning to test the program this fall.

Getting Involved in Mission Mission is the congregation's ministry, through service and witness, to the community and the world. The church's charge is to proclaim the reign of God both within and outside the circle of the faithful, working through ministries that improve the quality of life for all.

Members of the congregation of Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church worship on a Sunday morning. Photo by John Coleman.

The Discovery Church Model for Congregational Transformation Helps a congregation move from an inward focus to an outward focus. Helps congregations "see" the mission in their midst—using demographic data, insight into trends, and self-assessment. Fosters hospitality and fellowship. Provides opportunities for conversations about faith. Leads people to discover God, their faith, their gifts, and the church's call to ministry.

Seeking Those Outside Jesus talked about seeking and finding those who were outside the faith community. He taught us the importance of finding the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost or prodigal child at all costs (Luke 15:3-32). When questioned about the company he kept, Jesus said that he had "come to call not the righteous but sinners" (Matt. 9:13b). The Discovery Church Journey teaches a church to exist for its nonmembers—to look and learn and live beyond its doors.

This journey engages a leadership team from a local church in a week-to-week process that analyzes what it means to be a church in North America at the present time. The team follows a curriculum of Bible study, prayerful discernment, community analysis, planning, and implementation to discover the mission to which God is calling the church today. Can you imagine what the church would look like if it existed for its nonmembers? Can you imagine being driven by the desire to serve the needs of others rather than having your needs satisfied? What would happen if not only you but the entire church believed that way, lived that way, served Christ that way? How would you act toward a visitor to the church if your whole focus of ministry were geared to nonmembers? How would you view the church's programs, property, and finances?

Passing on the Gift As followers of Christ, we have the most precious gift ever given to human beings: the gift of fellowship with God through Jesus. It is a gift to us that we are meant to give away to others.

Classic Protestant Model of Evangelization Presentation of the Gospel in a large worship service Decision by the hearer soon after the presentation Helping people belong so that they can believe Fellowship

Discovery Church Model of Evangelization Fellowship Conversations and teaching in small groups Inspired belief—then commitment over time Helping people believe so that they can belong

A church in Texas became revitalized through its involvement with relief efforts in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch. A steady stream of volunteer work teams from this church traveled to Central America to rebuild homes. Through the relationships that were built with the Hondurans in this cross-cultural experience, many church members from Texas found their lives transformed. And, thanks to the church's new missional orientation, the attendance at worship quadrupled from 500 to 2000. A church that exists for its nonmembers has a wide focus to its ministry. That focus includes the unchurched people in the community. It encompasses visitors to worship services, Sunday school classes, and community events. It embraces the parents whose children attend the church's preschool but who don't attend worship themselves. It takes in those whom members come to know through outreach to the homeless, the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, the lonely. Members of such a church view almost every ministry they undertake within the church as part of the church's outward mission. The musicians, the Christian educators, the ushers—all feel compelled to take their respective ministries out from the sanctuary into the community. At a middle-sized church in the mid-Atlantic region, transformation occurred when a congregation whose members were of European descent began to welcome all who lived in the church's community. Through a series of church gatherings that celebrated the different cultures in the area, the church learned not only to embrace ethnic diversity but to celebrate it in Bible studies, worship, and youth fellowship. Worship attendance grew by 60 percent. In the Discovery Church Journey, every aspect of ministry is an opportunity for someone to encounter Christ, to discover the abundant life Jesus promised, and to develop a deeper spirituality. Some people are already a part of the Discovery Church revitalization process. If enough others come to embrace this model, the denomination will never again have to be concerned about membership growth, for God will add to its numbers daily. Nor does such a church have to be concerned about finances, for God will provide abundantly. In helping churches turn from an inward to an outward focus, the Discovery Church Journey can lead them to become the kind of missional congregations that God is calling them to be. Deborah E. Bass is an associate general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries, assigned to Evangelization and Church Growth and to Community and Institutional Ministries. Getting to Know the Community Text and photographs copyright 2000 by New World Outlook: The Mission Magazine of The United Methodist Church. Used by Permission. Visit New World Outlook Online at http://gbgm-umc.org/nwo/. For reprint permission, contact New World Outlook by E-mail at nwo@gbgm-umc.org.