From a “small happy people” to a Church concerned about growth

Manuel Quintero, SANTIAGO , Chile, May 19, 2004

What does growth mean? Should the emphasis be on quality or quantity? Why and how Taxi Heathrow Airport to grow? These questions were debated on the third and final day of the Second Meeting of Latin American Confessional Families that brought together 65 bishops and Church moderators from 15 countries in the Chilean capital.

This is an issue that demonstrates fundamental changes in Churches that, up until recently,  sang “we are a small, happy people” with great conviction and today are committed to Evangelical efforts that do not neglect numerical growth.  

According to Pastor Hector Petreca, one of the panelists and president of the Christian Biblical Church of Argentina, some answers are more or less obvious. “Strong Churches are not built on programs, personalities or tricks, but on the Salvationist purposes of God,” he said.

In his own Churches these aims focus on five fundamental areas: adoration, ministry, evangelism, communion and discipleship, Evangelism is to simply “go and make disciples,” said Petreca, whose Church, founded in 1973, has extended across the nation and now has a membership of more than 25,000.

He added, “The Church exists to make God’s word known. If someone discovers how to cure cancer, undoubtedly they will make it public. We know what the solution is for man and society’s problems and we must communicate it.”

The emphasis on growth has also been present in the Brazilian Methodist Church under the leadership of Bishop Pablo Lockmann. The result is visible: a qualitative leap that essentially doubled its membership from 83,000 in 1989 to 164,000 in 2004.

In the Rio de Janeiro region, the number of Churches grew from 132 in 1989 to 285 in 2004, as well as 183 missionary points that will likely become Churches in a short period of time, he said.

Some strategies and actions have been key for these results. “We have recovered two fundamental elements of our legacy: the Wesleyan emphasis on preaching and the principle of the universal priesthood of believers, one of the cornerstones of the Reform,” said Lockmann, who is also president of CIEMAL. 

In the Rio de Janeiro region this means 487 lay Evangelists, many trained in different courses, who not only preach and hand out tracts with Biblical verses but offer specific ministries for alcoholics, the sick and children who break the law.

The changes in liturgy have also played an important role in the revival and growth of Brazilian Methodism.

“Twenty years ago, all the worship services in our Churches followed the same model, they did not last more than an hour with a 15-minutes sermon and the organ was the only musical instrument to accompany the liturgy. It was a service that was carried out in the United States or England. This has been transformed and today we have a Brazilian Methodist worship,” he said.

In contrast, according to the Rev. Eileen Lindner, in the United States, major historic Protestant Churches are losing members while the Catholic Church is growing; to a great extent due to significant Latin American migration, as are Evangelical churches.

However, this is also leading to two interesting phenomena. On the one hand, a significant number of Pentecostal Churches begin to involve themselves in social justice, in the battle against hunger and poverty, for example.

Secondly, these denominations that are losing members now have a renewed interest in studying their roots and legacy, whether that is from Wesley, Calvin or Luther. 

“These Churches are struggling and are looking to be faithful to their tradition and identity in a difficult environment,” said the Rev. Lindner, who has been associate secretary general of the National Council of Churches for Christ in the United States for nearly 20 years.

She also warned about developments that threaten to convert Christian faith into another merchandise and said that these religious experiences do not seek God’s glory but personal welfare and comfort.