After a decade and a half of an intentional focus for starting new churches across the USA and Canada, the NewStart strategy has experienced much of the same paradigm shifts as other denominations serious about new church evangelism. As the NewStart strategy has grown over these initial years, it has continued to morph into multiple new expressions in multi-congregational and multi-cultural new churches, multi-site congregations, urban ministry centers for compassionate ministries, suburban seeker churches, emerging new churches, as well as home cell ministries and other fascinating new styles of mission.

The strength and health of the new churches has little to do with a particular ministry style, greater levels of funding or even the worship sizes of the new congregations. But further refinements have developed in each of these missional styles to assist sponsors and new church pastors in launching strong new churches the right way.

For the most part, our denominational experiences mirror the conclusions found in other churches serious about new church evangelism. In some cases, the distinctions are even more pronounced for the Church of the Nazarene. Here are at least six significant missional lessons we are learning.

The Missional Focus for Evangelism

The missional purpose remains at the very heart of starting new churches and renewing existing ones: reaching others from all the various people groups for Jesus Christ and discipling them into the Church of the Nazarene. While many good motivations exist for starting new churches, there remains one primary motivation that rises above all the rest. In fact, only the missional motivation will keep a new church on course through the challenges of growth and ministry development. It’s all about our mission and our message.

One of the areas NewStart pastors have been learning to evaluate carefully involves the motivations of the initial launch team members volunteering in a new church effort. The stronger new churches are now assessing not only the new church pastor, but also the key potential lay leaders and members of the initial launch team. Agenda harmony on the missional priority is crucial.

This launch team assessment is completed with the sponsor pastor and new church pastor, to better discern authentic missional priorities. Clarity of purpose and missional intent only strengthen the purpose and unity, in both new and sponsoring churches. Mixed agendas negatively impact every church fellowship, no matter how bright and promising the situation.

This missional focus is bringing about significant new fruit through evangelism. For the last three years our denomination set near record numbers of new Nazarenes received by profession of faith across the USA and Canada, with over 30,000 new members being added each year by new professions of faith. The Research Department has linked these increased numbers of new members by profession of faith directly to the new Nazarene churches added since 1994.

Once again, we are reminded the greatest method for reaching new people for Christ is starting new churches. We are thankful to God and the growing ranks of faithful leaders across our church for this incredible achievement.

A New Calling for Collaboration

The NewStart strategy has not only impacted every new church, but has also reinforced a new partnership of cooperation and collaboration among existing sister congregations. Rather than new churches becoming a threat to existing churches (by trying to recruit a limited number of displaced Nazarenes into their fellowship) the exact opposite dynamic has occurred. These new churches have a focus for reaching – not displaced Nazarenes – but people who are not even believers, bringing them to faith in Christ and discipling them into the Church of the Nazarene.

In the best situations across the USA and Canada, each new congregation strategically positions for ministry in the community to impact particular segments of the unchurched population. They serve as referrals to each other, raising the visibility of the Church of the Nazarene in every community where multiple congregations serve. Where isolated congregations exist, they struggle more than places where multiple Church of the Nazarene congregations minister near each other – even when their communities are the same size.

Missional congregations in the same communities are learning they are partners – not competitors – with a new church in reaching the unchurched in their ministry area. A new day is dawning in ministry collaboration among missional congregations all across the Church of the Nazarene. The research clearly shows, as new churches are started in the same area to reach new people, all of the Nazarene congregations become stronger.

A New Farming System for Future Leaders

New leaders are being called into ministry where districts are serious about starting new churches to fulfill the Great Commission. The new collaboration by existing churches is also being accompanied by a search for and selection of new leaders for fulfilling this mission through new church evangelism. New churches create a demand – and a system – for new leaders.

One of the basic components of the NewStart strategy from the very beginning has been the assessment and training of all potential leaders. Other denominations have used assessments effectively for a number of years, based on the research of the 13 characteristics of new church pastors by Charles Ridley. Their research compares to our own experience as a denominational family, that pastoral candidates for new churches that are assessed experience a much greater success rate than those who are not evaluated. Simply stated, we’re finding the right leaders for new churches.

Today, after new church leaders have been assessed, over 90% of the new churches being started are surviving and healthy. It should be noted, this comparison is not a true “apples to apples,” since the previous research compared four decades to just one and a half decades of the NewStart strategy. But most believe these leadership assessments will stand the test of time. The results are still encouraging, moving from less than 10% success rate to over 90% in the new churches healthy and surviving in just 15 years.

We continue to rediscover the greatest question to answer for a new church is “Who will the founding pastor be?” And, we’re learning the best way to discern the gifts and graces of potential new church leaders is in the week-long NewStart Assessment Center. And as we start strong new churches the right way, new leaders continue to emerge.

Today there are more ministers in the process of receiving their ordination in the USA and Canada than in any other time in our church’s history – over 6,000 presently. Interesting that upsurge of new future leaders comes at the same time we’re starting more new churches in our recent history. Missional leaders emerge from churches serious in fulfilling the missional mandate.

Multiplying Local Church Sponsors

Another key to the effectiveness of new churches since 1994 has been the shift in new church sponsors, from the district sponsorships to local church sponsorships. Not only can local churches sponsor more new churches, they can mother new churches better than their district is able to do.

Local church sponsorship remains one of the key focal points for future new church evangelism. This is one of the reasons for the fifth consecutive year, over a hundred new churches have been started in the USA and Canada. Eighty districts could never have sponsored over 1,400 new churches since 1994.

But today, we are surpassing the 100 mark of new churches annually being started – for five years in a row! Just a decade ago, this level of new churches in one year was hailed as a major achievement. But now for five years in a row, the USA and Canada have started over 100 new churches. This past year set a new record high, with 179 new churches registered, and more than 100 other NewStarts underway that have yet to officially register.

Denominational Partnership on Multiple Levels

Since its inception in 1994, over 1,400 new Nazarene churches have been registered with the NewStart office - with projections of 2,008 new churches by the Centennial Celebration in 2008. This dramatic turnaround reflects the combined efforts of the Church of the Nazarene on multiple organizational levels to achieve such a dramatic accomplishment.

Sponsoring pastors and churches, supportive district leadership, our educational institutions and a wide range of General Church resources have all united to help make this significant milestone a reality. As much as sponsoring these new churches in the USA and Canada is a cause for rejoicing, we also want to celebrate the unity of purpose and mission to achieve this common goal. These are new days for new church evangelism. God is doing something very special across our denomination.

Multiple Styles in New Churches

Another lesson learned involves the unique ministry styles and approaches new churches can develop. Just as children in the same family can be different, so sister congregations have their own strengths and abilities to serve Christ and their community in unique ways.

The tagline for NewStart has been “starting healthy new churches the right way.” At first, some confusion developed thinking “the right way” meant a cookie cutter approach or an assembly line for the mass production of new churches. But nothing could be further from the truth. “The right way” doesn’t mean the same way. Each new church is a unique expression of God’s Spirit breathing life into a new fellowship, as unique as siblings in the same family.

In fact, as new churches continue to launch across the USA and Canada, varied and diverse expressions continue to occur. In addition to sponsor churches launching daughter congregations, just over half of our new churches are multicultural, most with sponsors that do not represent the culture of the new church. This becomes another reflection of our missional value system, intentionally sponsoring a new church that reaches an entirely new target group or culture.

Some ministry models are developing in predictable demographic situations. Multi-congregational churches share church properties to house more than one congregation. Multi-site churches are generating renewed interest as they share staff and other ministry resources to launch a range of worship venues designed to impact different unchurched groups in their ministry area. One approach shares their building to sponsor a congregation; another shares their staff to sponsor a congregation.

Some new ministries are intentionally launching with a focus on the compassionate ministries needed in a given community. Some intend to become communities of faith from the very beginning, while others develop a ministry that may never become a congregation. Rather than become too restrictive in our definitions in the early stages, leaders are learning to allow time to develop each new ministry to its full potential. Eventually, as it becomes self-funding, self-governing and self-propagating, the new ministry may choose to formally organize as a separate congregation. Others prefer to stay connected to the mother church, for a variety of reasons. Either way, a new church has started to reach new people with the Good News.

While no one knows where all these new expressions of congregational life may take us, we are encouraged to see new people coming to faith in these emerging ministries. As God’s Spirit continues to do a new thing, we celebrate His work among us.

All of these new church expressions add to the impact and influence of the Church of the Nazarene across the North American continent. The Evangelism Ministries and NewStart strategy seeks to encourage and equip existing Nazarene churches in their missional passion and purpose across the USA and Canada. For further details, go to the Website at www.NewStartUSA.org or call the toll free number at 1-800-306-8294 for free materials on new church evangelism.

—Evangelism Ministries Church of the Nazarene in the USA and Canada