Research On Religion » church growth

Matt Boswell on Redemption Church, One Year Later

tonygill — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:00:56 +0000

One year ago, we interviewed Pastor Matt Boswell of Redemption Church who was part of a small team that created a church in one week’s time. We return to the scene of our initial interview — Match Coffee and Wine Bar in Duvall, WA — to see what has changed over the course of the year. This is a fascinating interview that provides insights into how churches grow and change. The podcast starts with Pastor Matt getting on Tony for not having attended church in a couple months. Hear your faithful host’s pathetic explanation as he tries to weasel out of responsibility for his spiritual growth. Nonetheless, this exchange opens the door to talk about church attendance and how it may ebb and flow over the course of a year. After a gangbuster opening week back in early October 2011, with standing room only, attendance at Redemption Church (RC) has settled into a typical rhythm. Matt talks about how the Pacific Northwest has a church attendance pattern that is different than other places in the United States with the typical member coming to Sunday services twice a month. We hypothesize about reasons why this might be. The other large issue that comes up early in the podcast deals with the logistics of a church that doesn’t have a “traditional church building.” Whereas RC does have administrative offices located above the local hardware store, the congregation meets in the town’s public high school, a space that is only available to them for a couple hours every weekend. The importance of “space” and “mission” is discussed at length. Whereas many people do like to have, and are comforted by, a stable location that they know they can go to (which is the role of the administrative offices), one of the initial goals of RC was to become a “church without walls,” wherein the pastoral staff has to go out into different parts of the town to work. Matt talks about how he often works on his Sunday sermons in a local bar, often attracting the attention of the patrons who find it odd that a member of the clergy would be hanging out with beer drinkers. This then moves to a discussion of how RC has structured its outreach and the different means with which they seek to attract people to the Word of God. Tony also brings up the issue of weddings and funerals and how these things are managed. After all, not many people like to get married in a high school auditorium, or make their last stop on earth be the same place where the senior class performed “Grease” the night before. Matt gives his take on where the wedding scene is at and how RC manages weddings and (potentially) funeral. (RC has not had the occasion of a funeral in its first year of existence.) He also shares the most unusual place he married a couple. The issue of “space” also brings up one of Tony’s most vexing questions: Has anyone in the “packed tight” high school auditorium ever spilled the sacramental grape juice when it is passed around? And what about those popcorn buckets? After answering this deeply philosophical question, the conversation then skips to a “church tour” that the RC pastoral staff took to Spokane, WA to learn about how other churches operate. This is a fascinating comparative study of different denominations at different points in their life span. Matt discusses how he learned about the importance of a church having a “vision.” This discussion would be of great interest to any clergy member or those interested in what makes for a successful congregation. We finish up with Matt’s reflections on what he learned over the past year, including both the triumphs and the mistakes, and a “lightning round” of questions that I asked to other guests including preaching politics, pacifism, and fighting in the US War of Independence. Recorded with ambient sounds of Match Coffee and Wine Bar: September 19, 2012.

RELATED LINKS

Redemption Church website.

Matt Boswell on Building Redemption Church, Part II.

Scott Thompson on Youth Ministry.

Ryan Habig on Music Ministry (including the soon-to-be hit single “With Us” for free!).

Joe Fuiten on Clergy & Politics.

Should Christians Have Fought in the US War of Independence?

Ron Mock on Pacifism, War, and Terrorism.

Mark Driscoll on the Growth of Mars Hill Church

tonygill — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:00:56 +0000

Welcome new visitors. Please check out our other great podcasts or subscribe to us on iTunes.

How can a small Bible study group in the heart of one of America’s least churched cities grow to be one of the largest mega-churches in just a decade and a half? This is the question we put before Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church based in Seattle, Washington. Pastor Driscoll recounts how he came to take on his pastoral mission and recounts many of the early difficulties he had in setting up his ministry including the challenges of finding adequate space to accomodate a rapidly growing membership. We discuss how Mars Hill developed a multi-campus approach that utilizes modern telecommunication technology to broadcast sermons from the main church in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle to seven other branches in the Puget Sound area and another one in New Mexico. What is perhaps most amazing about Mars Hill is that it attracts a demographic that is not typically known to be regular churchgoers — young single males. Mark relates how a message rooted directdly in Scripture can appeal to youth and to individuals who have been sinned against. We further touch upon the Acts 29 Network aimed at planting churches around the country and how it screens and trains future church leaders in the process. Mark reveals what characteristics he and his staff look for when determining who should lead a new church plant. Finally, Pastor Driscoll offers some reflections on why churches that are theologically conservative are growing whereas mainline Protestant denominations are shrinking. Admittedly, your host was expecting to learn how various organizational innovations have determined the success of Mars Hill. And while the church does rely upon creative organizational techniques, I learned that the content of the pastoral message is really what has been the main driving force in this church’s growth. Recorded: October 12, 2010.

RELATED LINKS

Mars Hill Church.

Acts 29 Network.

Mark Driscoll’s Confessions of a Reformission Rev: Hard Lessons from and Emerging Missional Church (Zondervan Press).

Mark Driscoll’s Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (Crossway Books).

RELATED PODCASTS

James Wellman on Evangelical vs Liberal Christians.

James Wellman on Evangelical vs Liberal Christians

tonygill — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 08:00:48 +0000

Evangelical Christians and liberal mainline Protestants represent distinct religious subcultures in the United States. James Wellman — associate professor of comparative religion and sociology, and director of the Comparative Religion Program at the University of Washington — discusses the core beliefs, organizational structures and pastoral strategies of these two groups. Prof. Wellman’s most recent book Evangelical vs. Liberal, examines these two groups in a most unlikely of environments: the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), arguably one of the least churched region of the United States. We briefly discuss the cultural environment of the Pacific Northwest, with Prof. Wellman (a native Washingtonian) emphasizing the region’s libertarian sensibilities. Jim argues that the evangelical emphasis on personal salvation leads to dramatically different styles of worship, community outreach, and engagement in the political arena. We explore the reasons for these differences in the first half of the podcast. Our discussion also focuses on why evangelical churches are growing at a faster pace than more liberal-oriented mainline churches. Recorded: September 24, 2010.

(Please note that due to a scheduling conflict with our normal recording room, the acoustic environment for this podcast created an echo, particularly with your host’s voice. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause.)

RELATED LINKS

Prof. James Wellman’s website at the University of Washington.

Evangelical vs. Liberal: The Clash of Christian Cultures in the Pacific Northwest by James K. Wellman, Jr. (Oxford University Press).

RELATED PODCASTS

Gordon Melton on Mega-Trends in American Religion.

Brad R.E. Wright on Christian Stereotypes.