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At 5:30pm on August 1, 2008, Robert Portier said…: Terry,
As a member of the east tennessee learning community I did a case study which is a summey of all we have done since I got here. so what follows is that case study to answer your question with more than you probubly wanted.

A Case Study of
Saint Paul Lutheran Church Sevierville TN

As the 4 questions asked seem to apply to a setting where a new set of ideas and processed are being put into practice and the situation at Saint Paul is about a year and a half into a process that I started about 6 months into my vicarage I will follow Doug’s lead and review our progress and the process I used.

The process I used is one I developed while in my “Evangelism in the Congregation” Class at the Sem. Dr. Rutt gave us a basic format for an assignment to develop a program tailored to our field work congregations. The process which follows is a result of that project (designed for Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne) formulated as a combination of my business training, my theological training and my 20 years as an adult parishioner. What follows is that process tailored to Saint Paul in Sevierville.

Three thoughts that should precede this process and inform its application:

1. A sick lion does not hunt well; we can not motivate parishioners to invite people to a church family they are ashamed of because of bickering and dissention. We must exercise pastoral care and help our parish and our parishioners to become healthy before we start “out reach processes”, so they can be excited about the prospect of inviting some one they know to church. Something that has helped me in this is a personal practice I have developed, allow them full freedom in all things that I can so that if and when I must make a stand it is not me against them but us seeking God’s will.

2. This is an anti-program program, one size does not fit all, every congregation has a unique personality we must look for “processes” that play to their strengths and not try to force any program that worked great some where else on the current location and people.

3. Do not underestimate the power to the self fulfilling prophecy. The only time I speak Law is from the pulpit and when it is extremely clear that it is needed in a one on one setting. The rest of the time you should be a spreader of good cheer. If you take every opportunity to thank people for their work, tell them how loving, caring, and generous they are in both formal and informal settings. I have seen this have 3 positive effects in my life in many settings besides this one. First people start to act that way more, second it positively affects how you see people, and third this actually has a sort of contagious affect, causing more of the actions and activities that are praised and encouraged.

With all that in mind here is the process I used:

Integrated Evangelism Project designed for Saint Paul Lutheran Church Sevierville Tennessee

Outline:
A A summary of the demographic surrounding Saint Paul
B Summary of Saint Paul’s current evangelistic efforts
C A reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of
the current evangelistic efforts at Saint Paul Lutheran Church.
D The theological rational for the evangelistic program I envision
E The proposed program
F Success or Failure
G A growing attitude

I would like to briefly review with you briefly the implementation of item
“E. The proposed program”

Phase I
This program was produced on November of 06, proposed and adopted by the council just before Christmas of 06, after much preaching and promotion the ground work was laid for phase II

Phase II
We had a vision session one Saturday morning last spring.

-Resulting in a new Mission statement:
In grateful response to God’s Grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament, the mission of Saint Paul Lutheran Church is to fulfill the Great Commission by sharing the love of Christ though word and deed within our church and community
Mission phrase: Blessed to share the Blessing in the Smoky Mountains.
All that we do is informed by this statement.
(Note on letter head and logo)

- A new committee was formed “discipleship” containing Evangelism, Stewardship, & Fellowship.
- A church name committee was formed to examine if our name helped or hindered our mission.
- A planning retreat was scheduled for this past January of 08.
- A group of People attended the LHM Equipping to Share program at Bethlehem in Johnson City.

Phase III

- I conducted a lifestyle evangelism bible study this past spring
- New member class, change in thinking….
- Class is always in session
- bring class to student

Some results….

During this process Saint Paul has:

We have transferred out or released from our roles 28 people.

Baptized 2 infants
3 children
3 adults

Received into membership 48 people

Visited of their own accord 34 (YP, Web, Location)
(this accounts for about 60% of our in town guest and about 35% or our total visitors)
Came with family 9
Invited by friends 5

Transfers 14, Children 5, Adult confirmation 31

What follows is the project as presented to the congretation

Integrated Evangelism Project
Designed for Saint Paul Lutheran Church
Sevierville Tennessee

Project Theme verse

1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect

A summary of the demographic surrounding Saint Paul
Saint Paul Lutheran Church was established in May of 1994. The community in which the congregation is located is rural and suburban. In the past 12 years the community has grown drastically, in some areas as much as 38% between 1990 and 2000. Saint Paul is slightly east the centers of Sevierville (pop est.15000) and Pigeon Forge (pop. est. 6000), current estimates for the area surrounding the church are around 53000 at 10 miles and 93000 at 15 miles; for further data on the population of this area see attachment #1. In order for Saint Paul to make the most of its God given Time, Talents and Treasures it would be prudent to take an inventory of what the community that surrounds it needs and what we have as a congregation, that might meet those needs and provide a healthy and supportive Christian environment in which a sound confessional Lutheran congregation can effectively reach out to its community and fulfill the Great Commission.
This Sevier County community has all the basic needs and concerns of a community this size. Research into these could reveal some social or civic need in this community that is not already being addressed by some church or civic organization. Furthermore in conducting a personal inventory the congregation may discover a skill or desire that it has that could fill that need of the community. This could provide for a regular interface with the community to make clear who we are and that we stand for the revealed truth of the Gospel contained in God’s Word.
This community is a relatively safe place to live, with a relatively low crime rate that is slightly above the national average for a city this size because of a large transient population that comes with the tourist industry. The Unemployment rate @ 4.3% is below the national average with the bulk of employment either directly in, or supported by the tourist industry which sees 10 to 12 million visitors a year. It is clear to see why this is such an attractive place for relocation, not to mention the beautiful mountains and weather patterns. There are however some sad statistics about the area according to a 2000 ARDA (association of religious data archives) a study out of Princeton University. In Sevier county over 35,480 people claim no church affiliation at all. This is a little bit higher than the national average and many of these people may go to some church. However since the national average for church attendance is 25% to 35% of registered members the probability of any large group who claims no church affiliation actually going to church regularly is very low. This means that the Sevier county area with its current estimated population of 78,645 people probably has around 35,000 to 58,000 people with little to no real church affiliation. A population this size certainly exists in all social and economic areas of the community. Therefore this could and should be the target group for an evangelism effort that will be explained later. Other points that kind of stand out within the statistical data are as follows:
1. The cost of living in Sevier County is approximately 12% lower than the national average.
2. While Sevier county is part of a state that has low grades for education (in the lower 25% nationally), this school district has a better track record than the state in some areas but not in others. On the positive side with a total of 25 schools and a student population of 13,787 they have a student to teacher ratio of 15.9 to 1 which is much better than the state or national average of 25 to 30 to 1.
3. There is a significant education gap in this area however. Sevier County is 2% below the state average and 6% below the national average in High School graduates above the age of 25 @ 74.6%. The Bachelor degree rate is even a bigger gap at 6% below the state average and almost 11% below the national average at 13.5%. This education level can be directly tied to a large number of low paying jobs in the area.
4. One other significant education statistic is that there are only seven private schools in this entire county serving less than 600 students. This could be an area of great mission potential.
5. A significant disabled population exists in this area as well, with an estimated population of 17,726 that puts us @ 9.1% over the national average in this category as a percentage of our population. This could account for the disparity in our education statistics and depending on the make-up of this population as far as their disability and how they are being served, this could also be an area of great mission potential.
6. Ranking information can help us compare ourselves to others in similar circumstances. On a list of 3,141 counties nation wide, Sevier County held the following standings as of 27 August 2006. Category Ranking Percentage
Population 668th Upper 21%
Growth 185th Upper 06%
Unemployment rate 898th Upper 27%
Per Capita personal Income 1134th Upper 36%
Poverty rate 1621st Lower 48%
High school Grad 25+ yrs 2049th Lower 35%

A Summary of Saint Paul’s current evangelistic efforts
Saint Paul has 125 members, and as a group of Christians is doing a number of things which are both directly and indirectly evangelical in nature. A monthly outreach service is conducted on Wednesday evenings where a community leader is invited to speak and the community is invited for a meal and discussion on pertinent civic topics. The Pastor currently manages efforts for an appropriate level of advertising in the News Paper, radio and Local Phone book and yellow pages. Whenever the congregation has an event it is approached as an outreach event and the local community is notified through signage, and advertising.
The Congregation has a woman’s bible study that meets on Friday mornings and currently has four Sunday school classes with a varying attendance of 15 to 30 adults and children. The congregation has and active LWML and is very active in a number of community service ministries.

A reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of the current evangelistic efforts a Saint Paul Lutheran Church.
This congregation has no official evangelism program in place right now; however they have a very friendly atmosphere that is very warm and welcoming to visitors. It would be unfair to say that the programs I have just listed, and others which I have not, are not directly or indirectly evangelistic in nature. Many running and functioning activities of Gods people through Saint Paul are a strength that can and should be used in any program that might be developed and implemented.
The only weakness that I see in this congregation with regards to evangelism is a reality that I think all churches suffer from, some seem to think that “evangelism is the Pastors job” or they don’t think evangelism is their thing. Follow-up is an important part of any evangelism program and as such it would be good to make a visiting follow-up team a part of any program the congregation decided to embark on.

The theological rational for the evangelistic program I envision.
The rationale for the evangelistic program that I am proposing takes advantage of the realities of Saint Paul and the Sevier County area. When you compare the size of our congregation to the size of the population within a 10 to 15 mile radius around the church, you will find it to be less that ½ of 1 percent of the population. This may be a small part of the population but we are all living, working, going to school with, and socializing with people in most of the social economic groups throughout this community.
Because of this I think Saint Paul is adequately equipped to reach out to that half of the Sevier County which is not affiliated with any church, we all have exposure to these people as we go about our daily lives. At the same time we have a solid Word and Sacrament based ministry for anyone who responds to an invitation from a member to become involved in. If through these invitations visitors become interested in membership, a new member class will be scheduled around their availability. Any individual who expresses an interest could become a part of a new member class. 80% of all people currently in churches today say they joined a church because a friend or family member, coworker or neighbor invited them. We should take advantage of that reality.

The proposed program
This program is really a “no program”, program. I feel one of the problems with programs is that they have a beginning and an end. It is the end part that I do not like. I would hope that we could produce a paradigm shift that would help every member of Saint Paul realize how important their part is in accomplishing God’s Great Commission. As a continuous life style of living and sharing the Gospel with everyone we come in contact with for the rest of our lives, not until we meet the goal of some man made program.
This uses all that Saint Paul already has and is, in order to reach out in the community where the members of Saint Paul work, study, and play every day. The focus being on reaching out to “make disciples for Christ” which is part of Saint Paul’s Mission statement. I see this “non program”, program, as having three parts or phases. The planning of this program could be carried out by a standing committee or an ad-hoc committee that was put together specifically for this purpose.
Phase I
The first part would be an effort to get the congregation excited about the Idea so that they would all become interested in the program, and how they could become a part of it. Saint Paul has a Mission Statement which is “The mission of St. Paul Lutheran Church is to fulfill the great commission of our lord Jesus Christ as He leads and guides us by His Holy Spirit. We shall endeavor, by any means available to us to 1. Preach Gods Word to everyone, 2. Administer the sacraments to those in fellowship with us and 3. To make disciples for Christ of all who desire to be in Christian fellowship with us.” This mission statement could be used in a sermon series focusing on each of its elements. This would be done with the goal of getting a large number within the congregation interested in becoming part of a one day “vision session”. This session would be used to review things like the church name, and Mission statement for the purpose of refining them, mulling over their meaning and developing a sense of ownership and focus amongst the membership.
Phase II
To ensure as many of the congregations members as possible has the opportunity to be a part of the vision session (or sessions if it is determined that more than one is needed) the date or dates should be carefully chosen and heavily advertised and promoted. These sessions would serve a number of purposes with the stated final target of deciding on goals for, and the direction of future efforts within the congregation for its outreach to the community. These sessions would meet the stated objectives in the following ways;
1. Help the congregation review and take ownership of its mission statement. Through brainstorming and other group discussion and decision making activities to help them apply all aspects of the mission statement to this project and/or any other projects that may come out of these sessions. (The congregations name could be considered in this process)
2. The congregation would realize that they are truly poised to reach out to all the people in their daily lives. It would also point out that over 80% of people who join congregations do so because a friend, coworker, or neighbor has invited them.
3. Finally when it came time to devise a plan to equip the congregation to do this, as they would be part of the plan and see its value. They would choose a window of time to conduct “life style evangelism training” for the congregation. They would not just attend the training themselves but they would be excited about the program and share it with others and encourage them to participate.
4. I would produce a letter to collect information from the congregation in preparation of these sessions. This letter would also collect some other information to help us better serve the congregation. Things like; Emergency contact information, Favorite Hymns, How and why they joined the church, Worship time and setting preferences, Bible study preferences, etc. The organizing body of this project (We will hopefully have recruited a small committee of 2 or 3 to do this) would compile all the data from the letters and the sessions and publish it for the congregation. This would show those who participated that they did not give up a Saturday for nothing, and those who were not able to participate would still be involved in the process.
5. Once all of the data has been collected, collated, processed and decided upon by the congregation. Any significant changes should be used to encourage the congregation to take an outreach attitude, and that attitude should be projected out into the community with much enthusiasm by advertising in as many community avenues of communication as possible.

Phase III
The third and final Phase would be to provide the training. The theme of the training would be from 1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. There are a number of lifestyle evangelism resources to choose from. The committee with Pastoral support should choose, make or modify an existing curriculum with the following things in mind. 1) It should give the parishioners the tools they need to feel comfortable sharing their faith and their church with the people in their realm of influence. 2) It should teach them to seek out and identify those in the target group namely the unchurched. We want to teach the parishioners to invite people who have no church home or who are not attending church at all. 3) We of course want to encourage and help the parishioners live their faith out in front of those they might have an opportunity to witness to, peaking the interest of those to whom we want to witness by living a life that is attractive and inviting and shows Christ in our lives. 4) Finally in accordance with the theme verse, they should always be ready to give an answer, so that this program concludes when every Sunday is a friendship Sunday at Saint Paul Lutheran Church. In essence you would have 125 people in the Sevier County community looking for ways to share the Gospel and invite unchurched people to their church home. A place where they receive and become excited to share the Love of Christ.

Success or Failure
We do not claim to know what God’s plan is for Saint Paul Lutheran Church, However with the idea that God helps those who help themselves; we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, must be proactive about evangelism. This being said if we seek to do God’s will we must not decide for him what His will is, so we can not measure success or failure with preconceived notions of increased attendance or some other gauge that we determine is a sign of success. Maybe God has in mind for us things we could never imagine and an increase or decrease in membership may be part of God’s plan. We are successful when we do what God calls us to do, how he blesses our efforts is up to Him not us.

A growing attitude
Just as we should consider our selves blessed even if our numbers do not go up as we might hope they would, we must also prepare ourselves to be flexible if He does make us affective witnesses. With many new members come many new ideas and many new challenges. Overcrowding is a good problem to have, but if we find ourselves in that situation we should be thankful and patient as we grow in spirit and number.

Summary
We can not fathom the depth of just how great the love of God is. In the same way we can not really hope to know what God has in store for us, however if we seek to do His will in a prayerful and deliberate way, blessings are sure to follow. What and how we are to be blessed as we follow God’s direction by doing the Great commission In accordance with His precepts contained in Matthews Gospel, is in His almighty, all knowing, ever present hands. So let’s press forward together seeking to do things God’s way and patiently wait to see what happens in His perfect timing in accordance with His perfect will.

Soli Deo Gloria

At 11:08am on August 1, 2008, Terry Tieman said…: Welcome to the team, Robert! Ken tells me good things are happening at St. Paul. I would love to hear from you what you are doing and where you believe God is leading you in the transformation process.

You are in my prayers!