Report of the
Executive Director of the
Church Extension Department
Daniel G. Ziegler
JUST THE FACTS, MA’AM
Once upon a time there was a weekly TV program called “Dragnet” (dum-de-dum-dum). It was about two police detectives, Sergeant Joe Friday and his sidekick, who would investigate and solve homicides and other felonies.
In the course of their work, the officers would hunt out people who could provide information that might lead them toward solutions of the crimes. In every episode, they would engage in a conversation with a woman who would begin to tell them what she had seen. Invariably, she would go off on a tangent of hearsay, gossip or opinion. Friday would always stop her with, “Just the facts, ma’am!”
In this opening of my twenty-seventh report to Annual Conference, I want to cite some facts. I shall give “just the facts,” but the documentation is available to anyone who will ask for it.
FACT: By any criteria and in most people’s estimations, the spiritual climate in the United States is at its lowest ebb in the memory and life of all of us now living.
Strong united commitment to the MISSION AMERICA plan will enable the Bible Fellowship Church to do its share in reaching a pagan nation – one of the world’s neediest mission fields.
FACT: In the United States there are multitudes of communities that are under-churched, many totally without a gospel witness.
The MISSION AMERICA plan will direct and enable the Bible Fellowship Church to reach many needy neighborhoods.
FACT: We are seeing an incredible flow of diverse peoples into the US. Within 20-30 years, caucasian English speakers will be a minority of US population.
MISSION AMERICA sets bold goals for planting new ethnic and multi-cultural churches in North America.
FACT: The proportion of people in the US population who identify themselves as born again Christians was the same in 1994 as it was 20 years earlier.
Vigorous pursuit of the MISSION AMERICA goals will, by God’s grace, enable the BFC to evangelize in a way that will raise that proportion.
FACT: In 30 years (1960-1990) BFC growth (39.2%) was just about exactly the same as total population growth of the US (38.7%). Our efforts at evangelism/church growth did almost nothing to raise the Christian population of our nation.
A serious corporate commitment to MISSION AMERICA will, through faith, allow the BFC to accelerate our growth and do our part to advance the greater Body of Christ in the USA.
FACT: In the US, denominations that are netting new church plants are growing, while those who are not forming new congregations are declining.
MISSION AMERICA sets bold faith goals for new church starts that should, in the providence of God, lead the BFC into wholesome, vigorous growth.
FACT: Regional leaders of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Conservative Baptist Churches and the Evangelical Free Church state that their denominations have made deliberate decisions to grow by new church planting. The Bible Fellowship Church has not yet come to such a decision.
Wholehearted ownership of the MISSION AMERICA plan will be our commitment to grow by new church formation.
FACT: A survey of over 20,000 churches documents that young and small churches make and baptize up to four times as many disciples of Christ, per capita, as do older and larger churches.
Achievement of MISSION AMERICA goals will give the BFC many little young churches to fuel its growth in future years.
FACT: With few exceptions, churches stop growing or grow more slowly after their first 12 to 15 years of existence than they did earlier.
Through MISSION AMERICA we may have many new, rapidly growing churches between now and the year 2015, should our Lord tarry.
FACT: In the last five years, the BFC has seen five congregations die and only four be born.
If we vigorously reach for our MISSION AMERICA goals, we shall probably still see some congregations die, but the new baby churches will far outnumber them.
FACT: In 21 years (1974-1995) Annual Conference will have recognized that 17 missions have become fully formed and received as particular churches into conference membership – nearly one per year.
The accomplishment by 1999 of the MISSION AMERICA goals should lead to doubling or tripling the rate of new church receptions in the first decade of the twenty-first century.
FACT: In the twelve months of 1994, the churches gave $4,528 less for church extension than they did in the 1992-93 fiscal year.
If most of the churches take part in seeking to meet the five-year financial support goals, such a decline in support will not happen in the MISSION AMERICA years.
FACT: Gift income for church extension in the last quarter of 1994 was $84,778 – the highest quarter in our history.
There is a lot of interest in, and excitement about, MISSION AMERICA, which may, at least in part, account for this upsurge in giving. May it be a harbinger of what is to come!
FACT: Bible Fellowship Churches give about three times the financial support for missions that are not part of the BFC (“other missions”) than they give for extending our Church by church-planting evangelism.
Proactive five-year financial plans for their church extension offerings will go a long way toward enabling the churches to correct this inequity by 1999.
FACT: The vigorous growing world mission thrust of the BFC will run out of steam and grind to a halt without a growing Church to support it.
MISSION AMERICA will establish those new churches that will create the giving constituency that will support world mission growth.
FACT: The various ministries of the BFC cannot grow and flourish without an enlarging constituency in the denomination.
If we wholeheartedly and faithfully embrace the MISSION AMERICA plan, we should, in the power of the Holy Spirit, bring a host of new believers into the Bible Fellowship Church who will become a giving constituency for our ministries.
FACT: “Two are better than one . . . a cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9, 12).
The MISSION AMERICA plan will launch many more teams of able evangelists and church planters to form clusters of new Bible Fellowship Churches for the glory of God.
This collection of the facts underscores the timeliness and urgency of MISSION AMERICA. It focuses for us what we can accomplish by faith if we set our hearts on it. Now it’s time for MISSION AMERICA.
A PRAYER
Sovereign Lord, we have labored hard and long on this plan that we call MISSION AMERICA. We have prayed much for Your mind and have asked for the fullness and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Now we present it to our and Your churches and people.
We recognize that this plan is bold. It will not be easy to achieve. It will take faith and sacrifice and hard work on our part. And we shall need Your grace and power to reach these goals for without You we can do nothing. We confess our utter need of You. We don’t want to go through these coming years producing little when You desire to do much through us. May we not lack because we do not ask or do not believe.
We are a needy people in the midst of a needy nation. Father, unite us in mind, purpose, will and work to attempt and accomplish great things for Your sake, O Lord, for You are worthy! Amen
THE WORK GOES ON
This report is being written less than four months after the 111th Annual Conference, as we move from a fall to a spring Conference. There have been, however, some significant developments in the Department since October, which ought to be recounted to the brotherhood.
Pleasant Valley
It is with great satisfaction and delight that we present to this Conference the Pleasant Valley, NY, Bible Fellowship Church for recognition as a particular church and reception into Conference membership.
The mission at Pleasant Valley began public worship in April 1988 as a daughter of Valley Church, Poughquag, NY. In 1990, it came under care of the Board of Church Extension. Pleasant Valley is a textbook example of a successful bivocational church plant. After serving bivocationally for four years, pastor David Way had the opportunity early in 1993 to devote his full time and energy to the Pleasant Valley pastorate. A retrospective look indicates that that was a strategic time, for the development of the congregation progressed rapidly from then on. The timing was providential, precipitated by a downsizing of Brother Way’s employer that, through a buy-out, has provided a modest continuing stipend.
A “double assessment” was held at Pleasant Valley on October 29, 30, 1994. The assessors were Robert W. Smock and Robert Zentz of the Board of Church Extension and elders Robert Davies of Bethel Church, Emmaus, PA, and Thomas Ward of Valley Church, Poughquag, NY. Assessments were made of both the committed families and the candidates for eldership.
Assessments are inspiring. The Assessors hear and see how God has worked in and through the young congregation. The members learn new things about the spiritual lives of their brothers and sisters.
The positive impact of an assessment on the new church is demonstrated in an unsolicited letter from two members of Pleasant Valley a few days after the assessment:
Dear Dan:
This “thank you” is extended to you and the Zentz’, Smocks and Davies for the encouragement and support you gave us as a fledgling church this past weekend.
Thank you for helping us to take a good look at ourselves and see where we stand, where we’re headed and what potentially lies ahead for us in Pleasant Valley BFC. Yes, we’re excited about God’s work here and how He faithfully supplies every need.
We weren’t sure what to expect from this meeting of minds, but the friendship and common bond in Christ removed all fears and blessed our hearts. And thank you for the added singing support during our worship service – even the young people commented on how they liked it.
Thank you all; perhaps we’ll meet again – here or there.
In Christ,
Peggy and John Dillinger
P.S. Thank you for what you do, we do pray for you and your work in the Lord.
On Sunday, February 12, Wayne Chadwell and Mark Peterson were installed as elders at Pleasant Valley.
Now, on its seventh birthday, the Pleasant Valley Bible Fellowship Church takes its place among us, fully formed and fully self-supporting. We believe the denomination should expect to contribute $117,000 in appropriations to establish a church with a bivocational pastor (see MISSION AMERICA plan, Appendix C, page 39). In Pleasant Valley’s early stages of development, Valley Church of Poughquag may have contributed a modest amount to the daughter church. In addition, Pleasant Valley received $1,270 in designated contributions through Church Extension Department – all of this came from sources other than Bible Fellowship Churches. Since this church start cost at least $117,000, we know then that most of that came from the faithful giving of the members of the young congregations and through the dedication and sacrifice of a committed bivocational church planter.
Thompson
The mission at Thompson, CT, enjoyed a double celebration on Saturday, November 19, 1994, when it dedicated its building, a former bar and restaurant, to the Lord and received its first 26 members.
After twelve years of bivocational ministry, Dennis Spinney began giving his full time to shepherding and organizing the congregation in Thompson as of January 1, 1995. The Board of Church Extension believes that because of the workload at Thompson, and the substantial recent progress of the work and the prospects for future growth and development, now is the strategic time for full-time ministry.
The Thompson congregation carries heavy financial responsibility for the mortgage payments on its building plus heat, utilities and maintenance and the cost of operating its program. It has committed $100.00 per month to pastor’s support in its 1995 budget. We have appealed to the churches to provide support now for the Spinney family and there has been response of about $600.00 per month in new giving. To provide the full support package, there is still need for $1800-1900 per month for 1995 and 1996. At the end of these two years, we shall assess the situation as to whether full-time support can continue on, whether a return to part-time, bivocational support will be needed. I beg the churches to join together to meet this strategic need now!
Gilbertsville and Bayshore
Our newest congregations have made good starts. The mission in Gilbertsville (Hope Community Church) is reaching and gathering many into the body. Worship attendance is averaging near 200. A board of surrogate elders for Gilbertsville has been appointed to work with the pastoral staff and the congregation.
In the Aberdeen-Keyport area of New Jersey, Bayshore Bible Fellowship Church had its grand opening on Sunday, November 6, 1994, with 125 in attendance. As seems to be usual with a start through a phone campaign, attendance generally drifts downward from opening day through several months and then settles down. At Bayshore, attendance has “bottomed out” at about 40 and recently begun to climb slowly. It seems as if there is a good basic core group. The mission has an active mailing list of nearly 800 and some interesting outreach plans for spring and early summer. Several adults professed faith in Christ in early February.
Walnutport and Somers Point, Scranton and Staten Island, Edison
The missions at Walnutport and Somers Point are in need of organizing pastors. One of our ministerial candidates, who is nearing the end of his testing program, may fill the need at Somers Point.
The missions at Scranton and Staten Island are progressing. Last year’s emphasis on growing the Sunday School produced a 25% increase in average attendance in Scranton. This year, Pastor Roger Reitz is leading an emphasis on evangelism outside the walls of the church building. Last year offerings at Staten Island surpassed budget; there has been a recent encouraging increase in numbers involved in the Awana program.
Christ Community Church in Edison has done some redistributing of leadership work to free Associate Pastor Rick Ravis for more time in evangelism and discipleship. Small groups are doing well and worship attendance has increased recently.
Mission America
We are pleased to introduce our MISSION AMERICA video at this Conference. We are giving a copy to each church requesting that it be shown to all of your people if possible. We have revised the MISSION AMERICA plan, taking into consideration the comments and suggestions that we received in response to the earlier draft. The five-year plan has been moved back one year, covering 1995-1999. Copies are available at the MISSION AMERICA display table here at Conference.
During 1995 and 1996 I hope to meet with the key and/or final decision makers in the budget processes of most of the churches. I hope each church will give me an opportunity to talk about support needs for MISSION AMERICA. I shall plan to come with a specific proposal for a five-year financial plan for each church’s support for the Department – specifically tailored for each congregation. I believe it is possible for a church in a relatively painless way, over a five to ten year span, to bring its support up to or near the five percent of total offerings that are needed for a credible church extension program in our needy nation. I am eager to show this to each church.
I doubt that I could get to all the churches in 1995. I should like, therefore, to met this year with folks from churches that are open to consider ways to increase support. Please contact me if your church is open – or I’ll call you to seek an appointment. I’ll try to get to the less open or later opening churches next year.
Exciting new churches, expanding Gospel impact on needy pagan America, endearing ethnic congregations, encouraging growth can be ours if we can believe it, if we will ask God for it, if we will plan for it. That’s what MISSION AMERICA is all about. And now it’s time for MISSION AMERICA.