Interview with Ed Stauffer, An Old Church Starts Growing
An Old Church Starts Growing
Used in Conjuction with Free Video by download
(10 minutes)
Roy Stauffer, Pastor, Lindenwood Christian Church, Memphis
The key to this session is for you to ask why would Ron change his basic style of ministry after 27 years in the same church and what can that mean to your ministry.
Ron was a pastor of 27 years in a church that was 157 years old (2002). After all that time, Ron decided that enough was enough. It was time for the church to begin making disciples. He instituted radical changes for a church of that age.
The big change that underscored all of the tactical changes was the shift from trying to get people to support the institutional church to encouraging them to grow spiritually. He looked around at some other pastors whom he admired and begin to ask what are they doing that he wasn’t doing.
Lesson; what do you do to put yourself in a places where you will see what God is doing?
Make a list of the things Ron changed, dropped, or added in the turnaround of lindenwood church.
1. A contemporary worship service
2. Less church structure with less committees. From a Board of 150 to 9.
3. Begin small groups
4. Began to encourage service ministries for the laity.
The result is that Lindenwood began to grow and grow.
The last section details some of the things that were done to begin the contemporary service.