Direct Mail Draws Prospects to Grace Church
Three-Year-Old Congregation Grows to 180

Grace Community Church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, after a launch on April 20, 1997, has grown to a monthly worship average of 180. From the start, the new church has worshiped at St. Maria Goretti Elementary School in Northwest Calgary. Pastor Jerry Clonch is the founding pastor.

After graduation from Nazarene Theological Seminary, Jerry and Larra Clonch served an established church but soon sensed divine direction to offer themselves as potential church planters. They were invited to a church planters' assessment center sponsored by the Evangelism & Church Growth Division where experienced leaders recognized and affirmed their gifts for church planting.

At the assessment center, they became friends with Pastor Bryan Roller, who in June 1989 planted Calgary New Life Fellowship. Roller encouraged the Clonchs to consider starting a church in Calgary. The Canada West District sponsored the new work. The results is an inspiring example of God's blessing on these efforts.

New Life Community and Calgary Grace churches helped address 20,000 pieces of mail before the launch of Grace Community. Several of the original core group came from New Life Fellowship but soon moved on to other churches.

Mass mailings have been used eight ties in the new congregation's brief history. The first mailing announcing the opening of the church was hand addressed and mailed to thousands of homes near the school where Grace Community meets.

Subsequent mailings have been sent to between 25,000 and 30,000 families. When asked about results, Clonch said their response rate has been one-half to one percent, so "on average over a three-week period we will typically see 140 to 175 visitors."

When asked how often mailings are planned, Clonch responded: "The graduated approach has been intentional since we take seriously the stewardship of the lives the Lord is giving us in these guests and new converts. We are convinced that their response to our invitation to come and check out the truths of Christianity and their presence tell us they are open to, perhaps even hungry for, God."

Clonch continued with a serious word from his heart: "I'll never forget what a new convert told me. As I was getting acquainted following the first service he attended, I asked, 'Why did you come to GCC?' He replied, 'I'm here hoping you can show me that God has a lot more relevance to my life than I've given Him credit for over the last ten years.' That man is now committed to Christ and serves on the hospitality team with the expressed purpose of helping other men find what he has found."

Grace Community Church has discovered four key seasons work best in direct mailing in Calgary: (1) back to school; (2) early November about the time winter sets in; (3) New year's when people are thinking about new beginnings; and (4) Mother's Day when people are thinking about family. The mailings are then designed to speak to a felt need that corresponds with the season.

As the mailings are planned, every effort is made to get ready for company. Every ministry intentionally focuses on newcomers. The three Sundays following the mailings, guest artists are featured in the service. A seven-minute extended greeting period is planned for the middle of the service where refreshments are served to visitors and everyone makes an extra effort to get acquainted with one or more newcomers. Twice during each service an appeal is made for everyone to fill out a communication; Clonch believes visitors are more likely to complete a card if they see everyone else doing it. The date on the communication cards produces the engine that drives follow-up and assimilation.

GROW offers thanks to God and congratulations to Grace Community Church for their splendid progress.

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Cajon Shares Facilities With Hispanic Newstart Church
Church Grows to 60 in One Year

The El Cajon (California) church facility serves two congregations cooperatively and provides a model for hundreds of other Nazarene churches. The newer fellowship, a Hispanic church, was started in September 1999 by the Western Latin American District. Pastor Salomon Barboza and his family have served as a team to plant the new church and to help it grow to a present worship attendance of 60.

As with most new churches, this baby congregation came into being through the efforts of many people. Those who helped make it happen include three church member pioneer families from San Diego Hispanic First Church, the established El Cajon church led by Pastor Ted Hambrick, the support of the sponsoring district, and the dedicated efforts of pastor Barboza. Even before the first public church service, three families in the original core group were trained as cell leaders, a ministry that continues to stimulate the fledgling church's development. The strategy is to start cells with eight persons and divide into new cells as each group grows to 20. Spiritual components for a healthy church are also evident in the congregation's commitment to prayer and fasting. Each of the cell groups have fasting times pledged to pray for the future of the church. Intercession is emphasized. Home visitation to friends and families of present attenders is done on a weekly basis. And a system of assigning new converts to a cell group is firmly in place.

Congratulations to this strong NewStart congregation. God is doing a special work through it, and its future looks bright.

A similar cooperative use of facilities with a language or culture group could be started in thousands of our churches across Canada and the United States. God's call to be a missional people includes a heart nudge from Him to make better use of our facilities and win new people in the process. The hours each week that Nazarene church buildings are empty provide ready-made opportunities for impacting more new people for Christ. Isn't this the time to ask, "What is the Spirit saying to the churches?"

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