1 WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

DUBUQUE, IOWA

Missional Community Formation Report

BUILDING AND REBUILDING:

WESTMINSTER’S CONTEXT AND CALL IN DUBUQUE, IOWA

by

REV. LINDSAY BEALS JAMES

In coordination with Dr. Susan Forshey and Professor Christopher James

November 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4!

An Ecclesiological Framework: What is Church? ......................................................... 4!

A Missiological Framework: Paying Attention and Joining God .................................. 5!

QUESTION ONE: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM OUR MISSIONAL CONTEXT? ............ 6!

Understanding the Unchurched ...................................................................................... 6!

Religious Service Attendance ................................................................................................. 6!

The Rise of the Unaffiliated .................................................................................................... 6!

Religious Affiliation by Age ................................................................................................... 7!

Regional Differences .............................................................................................................. 8!

Ethnic Representation ............................................................................................................. 9!

Defining the “Nones,” “Dones,” and “SBNRs” ............................................................ 9!

The “Nones” ............................................................................................................................ 9!

The Spiritual-But-Not-Religious (SBNRs): .......................................................................... 10!

The “Dones” .......................................................................................................................... 11!

Perceptions of Christianity ........................................................................................... 13!

Understanding Iowa and the City of Dubuque ............................................................. 13!

Dubuque Stories .................................................................................................................... 14!

Implications and Call .................................................................................................... 16!

QUESTION TWO: WHAT IS THE UNIQUE NATURE OF A NEW COMMUNITY WPC IS

CALLED TO FORM? .................................................................................................................. 18!

3 Examples of Unique Christian Communities in the United States ............................... 18!

Examples of Unique Christian Communities in Dubuque ............................................ 19!

Westminster Presbyterian Church: A Two-Fold Proposal ........................................... 21!

What is a Missional Community? ......................................................................................... 21!

What will be the rhythms of life together? ........................................................................... 22!

Who would lead the Missional Community? ........................................................................ 22!

What would the Missional Community cost? ....................................................................... 23!

Where would the funds for the Missional Community come from? .................................... 23!

How would the Missional Community Participate in Westminster Pres.? ........................... 23!

A Timeline of Goals and Objectives .............................................................................. 25!

Next Steps ...................................................................................................................... 26!

*This is a shortened version of the full report. The full report includes responses to the

following questions: How might the missional community serve the city? What other financial

supports are available? How might be a teaching learning community? What other

connections such as University of Dubuque might we serve? Are there

including response to the following. See Pastor Hal or Pastor Lindsay for a copy of the full

report.

4 INTRODUCTION

You have in your hands a conversation; a conversation between observations, theology, and specific proposals. Although, it will take some stamina to read through it all, my hope is that somewhere in the midst of its pages you will encounter God. However, before we enter into specifics, let’s first form a shared understanding of “church” and “mission.”

An Ecclesiological Framework: What is Church?

When discerning “new forms” of church, it is helpful to think about what “church” is. The term “ecclesia” refers to those people that God has called together into a new relationship with Godself and into a new way of living in relationship to one another and to the world.

You may have heard many metaphors to describe the relationship between God and God’s people, and the relationship between one another, such as: Body of Christ, People of God, Temple of the Holy Spirit, Bride of Christ, brother and sister, household, beloved community, and new humanity…

While there are many rich meanings in these and the other metaphors of Scripture, it can be helpful to boil down the basic relationships between the church and God, one another, and the world as relationships of love. The people of the are church are loved by God, and love God; the people of the church love one another; the people of the church love the world. Each of the church’s basic “loves” shape what the church does.

•! The church loves God in worship not just Sunday morning, but in offering their whole, daily lives as “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

•! The church loves one another in its practice of fellowship: relating to one another as brothers and sisters in God’s family.

•! The church loves the world in its practice of mission: loving our neighbors and joining God in the renewal of all things.

These three practices—worship, fellowship, and mission—are the way of life that demonstrate that a church is, in fact, a church.

5 While churches don’t all look the same, these are the common practices that are

supposed to characterize all churches and Christian communities. To put it another way, the church is the people who strive to find ways to live shared lives of worship, fellowship, and mission.

Traditionally, churches have invited new people to join them by inviting them to church

services (which are one important way that Christians practice worship). This can be a helpful practice for connecting with those people who have positive associations with ‘church’ but are not currently attending. However, these days, fewer and fewer people fit into this group. Fewer and fewer people are interested in or open to attending church services, especially as a ‘first-step’ on their spiritual journey. Some changes can usually be made to church services that help to make them more welcoming to the unchurched. These sometimes include changing styles of music and preaching, or the use of technology and new liturgies. But regardless of whatever changes might be made, there are still many, many people who will never step foot in a church as a first step. Making church services “contemporary” or “relevant” with style changes or a big screen may not help churches to connect with this growing slice of the population.

It is with these people in mind that we explore what it might look like for Westminster

Presbyterian Church to form “new” ways of being church.

A Missiological Framework: Paying Attention and Joining God

The mission of the church is not, as we sometimes think, to do something for God like saving souls or fixing the broken world. The mission of the church is to pay attention to what God is already doing and to join in this work. So, the mission of the church is not to do something for God, but to do all things with God. But in order to join in what God is doing, the church has to put some serious spiritual energy and time into discerning just what it is that God is doing. In fact, this isn’t just a one-time project every now and then, but a never-ending process of discernment that takes place not only in prayer and study and committee meetings, but through the church’s engagement with the world and their prayerful reflections on what these experiences might mean.

For the past three months I have been intentionally paying attention, with hopes of discerning, just what it is that God is up to in the city of Dubuque, and the life of Westminster Presbyterian Church. Through the asking the series of questions outlined for me in my job contract, I have discovered that God is on the move! Below are my observations and insights to each of these questions.

6 QUESTION ONE: WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM OUR MISSIONAL CONTEXT?

Understanding the Unchurched

For some time, the church in North America has been in steady decline. Many churches have been forced to close their doors and sell their properties. What looks like a church on the outside may now be an apartment complex, a community center or a yoga studio. Recent decades have seen nationwide declines in religious participation and religious affiliation. Below are several graphs that help us identify the changing religious landscape:

Religious Service Attendance

The General Social Survey done in 2010 describes church attendance. When looking through this pie chart, the important sections to notice are 0-1-2. These are individuals who describe their attendance as “0) Never,” “1) Less than once a year,” and “2) About once or twice a year.” When adding these three categories together, we face a sobering statistic: 40% of the population attends a religious service no more than once or twice/year.

The Rise of the Unaffiliated

The Pew Research Center and the The Gallup Poll help us identify the rise in the percentage of unaffiliated population that began in the 1990s.

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The Gallup Poll identifies a steady increase in U.S. adults who identify with no religion since the mid-to-late 1990s. The Pew Research identifies a steep increase in U.S. adults who identify with no religion between 2004-2014. The most convincing sociological explanations link this rise to the perceived alliance of (evangelical) Christianity with “right-wing” conservative politics; that induced many to disaffiliate from Christianity altogether lest they be associated with conservative politics.

Religious Affiliation by Age

Here the Pew Research Center offers religious affiliation by age. The importance of this chart is found in the dramatic differences between generations. Younger generational cohorts have increasing percentages of “unaffiliated” status. Younger people are increasingly likely to be unaffiliated.

8 Regional Differences

In the graph below the Pew Research Center provides a snap shot of the regional differences for those who are not affiliated with organized religion.

The important fact to note here is that the unaffiliated are present in all four major geographic regions of the country. Moreover, their numbers are in the rise in all regions, as well. The religiously unaffiliated now constitute 19% of the adult population in the South (up from 13% in 2007), 22% of the population in the Midwest (up from 16%), 25% of the population in the Northeast (up from 16%) and 28% of the population in the West (up from 21%). In the West, the religiously unaffiliated are more numerous than Catholics (23%), evangelicals (22%) and every other religious group.

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Ethnic Representation

The graph below breaks down the religiously unaffiliated into different ethnic groups.

Most of the unaffiliated are Anglo. The representation loosely corresponds to the demographic percentages of the nation as a whole (White, 62%; Latino, 17%, Black, 13%; Asian, 5%). It is important note that the unaffiliated are rising among all ethnic groups.

Defining the “Nones,” “Dones,” and “SBNRs”

These numbers and implications are a lot to absorb. But together they give us a clear picture that the religious landscape in America is changing. With this changing landscape observers have offered new terminology to help us better understand these shifts in culture. When discussing these shifts, there are three key groups to familiarize ourselves with: the “Nones”, the “Dones”, and the “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR). These concepts are new ways to categorize and understand the identity of those disconnected from the church.

The “Nones”

A Definition: The Nones are the unaffiliated described above; they have no religious affiliation with organized religion. On a survey, when it came to checking a box for religious affiliation they would identify with “nothing in particular,” “atheist,” or “agnostic” rather than a religious tradition.

Demographic Profile: The Nones are more prevalent among men than women (27% v. 19%), but are increasing in both men and women. They are mostly politically progressive. More than six-in-ten religiously unaffiliated registered voters are Democrats (39%) or lean toward the Democratic Party (24%). They are about twice as likely to describe themselves as political liberals than as conservatives, and solid majorities support legal abortion (72%) and same-sex marriage (73%). In the last five years, the unaffiliated have risen from 17% to 24% of all

10 registered voters who are Democrats or lean Democratic. (See religious groupings in pie chart below.)

Religious Identity: 31% identify as atheist or agnostic. 69% identify as “nothing in particular.” Only 10% are looking for a religion/religious identity that fits. Beliefs and Practices: 68% believe God exists, 28% don’t believe God exists. 27% attend church at least once a year. 14% say religion is “very important” in their life, 66% say religion is not at all important.

This table identifies the percentage of adults who remain in the religious tradition in which they were raised. Note that only 37% of millenials (those born 1981-1996) who were raised in Mainline Protestant churches retain that affiliation. Only half of millenials raised as Catholic still identify as Catholic.

The Spiritual-But-Not-Religious

(SBNRs):

A Definition: The “Spiritual But Not Religious” are a population that overlap with the “Nones” in their motivations for distancing themselves from religion, though their category derives from a different set of survey questions. They identify themselves as “spiritual” but not “religious” largely out of a desire to distance themselves from the perceived evils perpetrated by organized religion.

Some who don’t practice or affiliate with a religion consider themselves “spiritual.” Interestingly, some who do practice religion identify as SBNR.

Spiritual Profile: Although an individual may have put together a patchwork of various religious beliefs, more often than not, the SBNR’s hold recognizably Christian beliefs. They may actually be involved in a local Christian community or engage in central Christian practices, all the while eschewing self-identification as a religious person. 19% of SBNRs attend church weekly, 34% attend monthly/yearly, 47% never/seldom, 44% pray daily or more, 25% weekly/monthly, 31% never/seldom.

11 The “Dones”

A Definition: The Dones can best be understood as those who are “done with church, but not their faith.” There are about 30 million Dones in the U.S. and they make up nearly half of the “de-churched” – a broader category of those that once participated in church but no longer do. That is, half of those who have left the church have not given up on their faith, but have given up on the traditional church. Some participate in informal Christian communities like ‘house churches.’ Their orientation toward organized religion is one of disillusionment or disinterest in conventional expressions of faith

commitments.

Demographic Profile: The most salient fact in the pie chart to the left is that the largest percentage of those who have left the church (while still maintaining their faith) are 35-54 years old. The Dones are present among all generational cohorts, not merely found among millenials or Gen-Xers.

It is important to understand that the Dones were not “casual Christians” or occasional attendees. They were committed and active participants in church life, weekly attenders, committee members, and tithers. They did not leave on a whim or after just one bad experience. They struggled over a prolonged period of time before deciding to leave. Some are angry, but mostly they are uninterested. A majority of Dones are mainly white, well-educated, financially stable, and married.

Why they Left: When asked about why they left they often described the dichotomies below:

They wanted community…but felt judgment. They sought to affect the life of the church…but ran into bureaucracy. They longed for conversation…but were taught doctrine. They yearned to engage the world in meaningful ways…but were given moral prescriptions.

12 Below, these same concerns are evident in the dissatisfaction of those who report

almost being ready to give up on participation in church.

13 Perceptions of Christianity

Research from the Barna Group provides some interesting research into the perceptions of the church from young “outsiders” in the book UnChristian.

The three most common perceptions of present-day Christianity among outsiders in the age range of 16-29yrs is that the church is:

1)! Anti-homosexual (91%) 2)! Judgmental (87%) 3)! Hypocritical (85%)

Other perceptions included: Too old-fashioned (78%), too involved in politics (75%), out

of touch with reality (72%), insensitive to others (70%), boring (68%), not accepting of other faiths (64%), confusing (61%). Some positive perceptions included: teaches same basic idea as other religions (82%), has good values and principles (76%), friendly (71%).

Understanding Iowa and the City of Dubuque

The national trends in declining attendance and the rise of the “Nones,” “Dones,” and “SBNRs” are also playing out here in the Iowa and Dubuque contexts.

The Association of Religion Data Archives identified that between the years 2000-2010 the Catholic Church in Dubuque has lost 7,912 participants, a 13.7% drop. The PC(USA) lost 488 individuals, a 36.9% drop. Roughly 30,000 people in Dubuque are not claimed by any religious group. Below are the numbers of people within the city limits and greater Dubuque area that in 2010 associated with various traditions.

Iowa Religion Data from Pew’s Religion Landscape Study, offer some interesting numbers as well:

•! The PC(USA) claims only 1% of Iowans. •! 21% of Iowans are Unaffiliated (“Nones”).

14 Multiple data points suggest a decline in traditional religiosity among Iowans between

2007 and 2014. The percentage of those attending weekly dropped from 40% to 36% while the percentage of those never attending rose from 28% to 30%. The percentage of those who view the Bible as God’s Word to be taken literally dropped from 30% to 25% while those who view it as the Word of God but not to be taken literally rose from 28% to 36%.

This decline in religious affiliation and practice does not mean that significant numbers are becoming atheists. Several statistics suggest the ongoing and, in some cases, rising significance of spirituality among Iowans. Eighty-three percent of Iowans are at least “fairly certain” that God exists. Between 2007-2014 the percentage of those who reported feeling wonder about the universe rose from 38% to 40% while those who reported never experiencing wonder dropped from 29% to 24%. Similarly, the percentage of those reporting “feeling spiritual peace and wellbeing” each week rose from 48% to 54%. More than a third of Iowans report meditating at least weekly. You can find more information on Iowa on the following link: http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/iowa/

Dubuque Stories

The stories that emerged from my Dubuque field research are in harmony with these local and national trends.

At the beginning of this process I asked those who attended Westminster’s “State of the Church” meeting to tell me about individuals they knew that are not a part of the church. I asked the following questions about these relationships: How would you describe what he/she cares about? What are their hopes and dreams? What are the painful circumstances that keep them awake at night?! I received 37 cards from the congregation. You can see your descriptions on Appendix A.*

In the course of my fieldwork, I heard many stories about the religious experiences,

identity, and practice of Dubuque residents. Below are four representative profiles.*

Karen (“Done”): Karen is in her mid-thirties, married, one child, grew up in Dubuque. She comes from a Protestant background but has since given up on religious observance due to a loss of interest and frustration with the congregation being “unaccepting.” Karen identifies her desire to participate in authentic conversation that gets at life’s real importance while avoiding ‘religiosity.’

Jessica (“SBNR”): Jessica is in her early forties, married, one child, and has lived in Dubuque for 7 years. She comes from a non-church background with some exposure to a “spiritualist” world view. She identifies as “Spiritual” but is not interested in organized religion because of religiously-motivated violence. However, she is interested in how to have religious conversations with her child.

* Names and significant identifying details are changed to protect identity.

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Charles (“None”): Charles is in his mid-forties, re-married with one step-child and two biological children from his previous wife. He grew up in a protestant church but is no longer affiliated with organized religion and describes himself as an atheist. He regularly engages me in theological discussion and process his anger with “closed minded judgmental Christians.” He refuses to believe there is meaning in life beyond the pursuit of happiness but continues to initiate religious conversations.

Karla (“Dubuquer”): Karla is a life-time Dubuquer in her late seventies. She married

high-school sweetheart right after graduation, lived in the same house for 45 years, and has kids and grandkids in the area. She commented to me at the block party that the last time the neighbors had gathered was 25 years ago—and at that time only three other people showed up. She expressed excitement to finally get to know her neighbors and the desire to form a neighborhood association and stay connected. Themes in our Dubuque stories:

1)! “Dubuquers” are experiencing a deep longing for authentic community

As a newcomer to Dubuque, I was under the assumption that Dubuquers who had lived here all their lives were surrounded by generations of family and lifetime of building friends and various networks (social, work, etc.), and that they, therefore, would be anything but lonely. Yet, I discovered a consistent longing for a deeper experience of community.

2)! Discovering and living out one’s “calling”

Consistently individuals identified a need for further discovery of their “calling.” They expressed a desire to understand their purpose in life, unpack life’s meaning, and do this in a way that engaged meaningful relationships, educational experiences and artistic expression.

3)! Barriers to church

Some barriers had to do with painful past experiences, disinterest in current forms of church life and worship, and fear of conflict. More frequent, however, were the the challenges facing young families managing life with young kids in terms of busyness and exhaustion.

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Implications and Call

As you can see, between statistics and stories, there is great need for the church to rethink how it participates in God’s mission in the world. It is in this great need, that a call for Westminster Presbyterian Church emerges. This call resonates with a pair of parables from Luke 15:1-10.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus].2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the

ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

I believe these two parables may be seen as issuing a two-fold call to Westminster Presbyterian Church: 1) That we seek to reach those who are disconnected from church, and also, 2) renew our congregational life.

1)! Reaching the disconnected calls us to:

Leave the ninety-nine. It is easy for churches to spend their time, energy and efforts on the “ninety-nine”—those who are already present among us—and to allocate all available resources for their benefit. Joining the God who loves and seeks the one lost sheep will mean redirecting substantial energy and resources toward the search.

Go after the one…until you find it. Luke 15 requires us to leave the safety and comfort

of the open field and embark on the quest searching for what is beloved in a vast and uncertain landscape. God is, right now, seeking out those who do not know him. And God does not and will not abandon the search. God’s tenacity invites us to make an unwavering commitment to

17 the goal of connecting the gospel with those in our context, through a process of experimentation that is sure to be full of trial and error, joy and disappointment.

2)! Renewing our congregational life calls us to:

Light a lamp. Sweep the house. “Lighting a lamp” can serve as a metaphor for two important elements of congregational renewal: coming to terms with reality and clarifying our guiding vision. “Sweeping the house” directs our attention to address the dirty, dusty, and forgotten parts of our common life. A “well-lit and clean” environment will help us to find and follow God’s call.

Seek diligently…until you find it. Renewing our life as the people of God will require a shared commitment to “seeking diligently” and paying attention to what God is doing among and within us, as well as around us. God is at work in the lives of those connected to Westminster, at home, at work, in relationships, and—yes—in the church. We are called to make an unwavering and ongoing commitment to help the people of Westminster to discover God in all of life, and to shape the common life and practices of the church toward this end. Our shared worship, fellowship opportunities, educational offerings, and committee structures can be re-formed to better help people experience God and join in what God us up to.

Rejoice! God likes to celebrate, and God’s people are invited to do the same, with full joy and gratitude. There is nothing more empowering in this world that partnering with God in the healing, and reconciling work of Jesus Christ. Westminster Presbyterian Church, you are doing the hard hard work of living out your calling… so let’s not forget to rejoice along the way!

18 QUESTION TWO: WHAT IS THE UNIQUE NATURE OF A NEW COMMUNITY

WPC IS CALLED TO FORM?

This question, of all those considered in this report, is the most complex to answer. It

requires a special amount of focus on God’s movement outside the walls of the WPC congregation. The statistics presented in question one, and the call from God to seek, light and sweep requires us to think about “new” ways of being church. To spark our imagination, let’s first look to examples of unique or “new” Christian communities in both the US and in the city of Dubuque.

Examples of Unique Christian Communities in the United States

Seattle, Washington

Despite the rain, for the past seven years Westminster Community Church in Seattle Washington has gathered in an unconventional way. Westminster Community Church, like many others had noticed that their Sunday crowd started to slim. So they began asking themselves, what if we did church like the first church ever…eating, drinking, and discussing God…church as community dinners?

For this community, their “church” moved from the pews and into a dining hall. Their liturgy became a meal with a brief message, and their “building” moved from one neighborhood to the next each night. It started with one meal per week, but quickly grew, to five meals per week each in a different neighborhood.

Now with the buffet line as church, attendance spiked from 250 people on a Sunday to 900 each week. Incredible growth despite a national trend away from church! Boise, Idaho

Surrounded by a large Mormon population, a dwindling Christan church in Idaho decides it would pursue creative entrepreneurial efforts that would fund a shelter for homeless families. Taking the little money that remained in their operating budget, combined with the money they would earn from selling off their property, they purchased a local coffee shop. Every day of the week the coffee shop would open its doors for the general public, except on Sunday morning when it become their new place of worship. The coffee shop became a popular place for stay-at-home moms and children to play games and drink warm beverages in the winter, a place for college students to study, for artsts to display their work, and a creative and intimate venue for musicians to introduce their music. All proceeds were given toward the establishment of a shelter for homeless families. Churches across America are investing in “third spaces,” neutral, community-accesible venues that provide a safe environment for everyday life. The space is

19 easily converted to function as a worship space, but serves primarily as a blessing to the residents of the neighborhood and city. Dubuque, IA

Radius Church and the Dream Center. This community of believers focuses their efforts and energy toward African American youth in Dubuque. The Dubuque Dream Center is a ministry of the church community and provides tutoring, life-skills, and sports as a way to keep youth off the street. Although it is a religious community, it has strong ties to the larger Dubuque community, and positive reputation among city officials. The relationship between the two organizations are not understood as separate entities partnering together, they are an extension of each other and an intentional joining with God in the city of Dubuqe.

These are just a few of the many churches in the U.S. that are exploring unorthodox locations and forms of life together. Some of these emerging forms are more modest; the incorporation of art, poetry, contemporary music into an existing worship service. Some of these emerging forms are more bold; leaving the pews to worship in local bars or coffee shops or the formation of missional and intentional communities, embedding church life in neighborhood associations or dinner groups.

Examples of Unique Christian Communities in Dubuque

These new forms of being together may seem exciting, but the question remains: Is Dubuque, Iowa ready for this kind of Christian expression? Church Visitations

On the Sundays when I was not gathering with WPC, I was exploring contemporary worship exerpiences here within Dubuque. My visits to various churches was in the interest of learning about other churches so that I would not make recommendations in this report for WPC that would “duplicate” the same efforts of another congregation. The visits included Word of Life Church, Hope Church, and Radius Church.

With each visit I asked a series of questions around the worshiping experience and their missional identity.You can read my detailed field notes and observations of these communities in Appendix B. However, provided here is my summary of these observations:

All three churches are consciously attempting to connect with those disconnected from

church. All are having some success at connecting with younger demographics. However, the efforts of Hope Church and Word of Life Church are concentrated in their Sunday-morning worship experiences. As such, their efforts can be understood as classic examples of the attractional model of ministry.

20 An attractional model of minstiry is one that is centered on attracting people to a

church build or church program, with the worship gathering being the centerpiece and most important activity of the week. Authors and practioners, Elaine A Heath and Larry Duggins, help us identify when our ministries might be leaning toward attractional: “In an attractional church the assumption is that discipleship happens when people are faithful participants in programs that take place in the church building. Ministry is led by professionals. It is important to make the church as likeable as possible so that as many outsiders as possible will come in. So the musicians need to be excellent, the preacher a dynamic speaker who can connect with people emotionally, and the children’s ministry entertaining and informative.”1

Radius Church, on the other hand, is an example of a community gathering in unique ways, with a clear understanding of its missional identity and clear understanding of the way in which God is calling it to participate in God’s mission in the Washington neighborhood and city.

In my assessment of the current forms of church life in Dubuque and the population demographics and qualitative themes, I believe there is room (and need) for Christian churches to explore new ways of being church in and for our city. The following proposal is my recommendation for how this might take shape.

1 Missional. Monastic. Mainline.: A Guide to Starting Missional Micro-communities in Historically Mainline

Traditions. Elaine A. Heath and Larry Duggins.

21 Westminster Presbyterian Church: A Two-Fold Proposal

With a shared understanding of church, mission, and current trends in demographics, I propose that Westminster Presbyterian Church direct its effort toward: 1) The formation of a new way of being church together called a missional community, in coordination with, 2) efforts to revitalize the existing WPC community in keeping with its mission and vision statement. Simply put, I propose coordinated efforts of building and rebuilding. Let’s unpack this further. Unpacking the proposal: 1) The formation of a new way of being church together called a missional community.

What is a Missional Community?

A missional community is a Christian community that is developed with the intention of connecting to those who are not connected with an existing church, and who are not likely to accept an invitation to a traditional church service or ‘church event.’ Missional communities, like churches, practice worship, fellowship, and mission, but do so in non-traditional ways in order to connect with those who traditional churches are not reaching, and will not be able to reach through style or programming changes.

One way to understand how missional communities practice worship, fellowship, and

mission is to think of them as expanding church practices to make room for people who are:

•! not ready for Christian worship but interested in spiritual experiences and conversations •! not ready for Christian fellowship but interested in experiencing real community •! not ready for Christian mission but interested in serving the common good

Missional communities do worship in

Christian ways—they engage Word and Sacrament—but their way of life prioritizes making space for non-Christians to explore spirituality alongside them, in settings like a meditation retreat or theology conversation in a pub.

Missional communities do fellowship in

uniquely Christian ways—like practicing forgiveness and connectionality in the wider church—but their way of life prioritizes fostering spaces for non-Christians to experience authentic community along side them, in settings like neighborhood associations and dinner parties.

22 Missional communities do engage in mission in uniquely Christian ways like sharing

their faith when appropriate but their way of life prioritizes fostering spaces for Christians and non-Christians to serve the common good together, like school partnerships and volunteering opportunities. This work of prioritizing spaces for interaction with non-Christians can be called “missional hospitality.” A priority on practicing missional hospitality shapes how missional communities do church.

As may be apparent, a missional community can be a church in its own right. At the same time, it can also be an expression of an existing church such as Westminster. This later option is the vision proposed in this report; for the formation of a new missional community as an expression of Westminster Presbyterian Church.

To summarize: A church is a Christian community that practices worship, community and mission. A missional community is a Christian community that practices worship, community, and mission with a way of life that prioritizes fostering spaces for those who may not be ready to leap straight into a Sunday morning worship experience.

What will be the rhythms of life together?

A missional community is a small, diverse community bound together by agreed upon rhythms of life that include the common interest of justice, prayer and hospitality.

This is not your traditional prayer group or bible study or fellowship group, but at the same it is a group that prays, engages the bible, and practices hospitality. These practices are a reflection of millennia old Christian practices but are uniquely tailored to this moment in history, woven in to a common life shaped with the purpose of engaging the hearts, minds, and imaginations of the unchurched.

Who would lead the Missional Community?

Staff: My recommendation is that the new Missional Community be overseen by the head pastor of WPC or another member of the pastoral staff team. If a designated pastor cannot be secured for this leadership role, then my recommendation is to designate a volunteer leader or elder with substantial theological training or experience.

Core Team: In addition to pastoral leadership, I recommend a core team of 3-7 people to provide primarily guidance for the work of the missional community and who will participate in the larger life of the Westminster Presbyterian Church community.

Interns: The Missional Community may want to explore further partnership with the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in the development of internship possibilities.

23 What would the Missional Community cost?

Missional Communities are an inexpensive way of doing church but they do not typically generate sufficient receipts to fund staff positions. Those the MC intends to connect with are unlikely to make substantial contributions beyond what is necessary to support the community practices though they may direct charitable giving directly to service partners. It is not likely that many would contribute to WPC to fund staff salaries or contribute significantly to the church operating budget. This is especially to be expected given that less than 20% of residents of Dubuque give more than $200/year to religious institutions.

Primary costs would include: •! Staff salary (if staff position is created) •! Food/Hospitality •! Childcare •! Educational Resources

Where would the funds for the Missional Community come from?

I propose that the costs of supporting a new Missional Community be included within the budget of Westminster Presbyterian Church for up to 5 years. After five years—or at the discernment of the core leadership team—the growing community would be encouraged to take responsibility and provide for the financial needs of the community.

How would the Missional Community Participate in Westminster Pres.?

Participants: Because the missional community would be created with the sole purpose of engaging those whose first step in their journey might not be a Sunday worship service or traditional church program, participants in the MC would be given space to decide if and how they want to gather with the larger community.

Core Leadership Team: However, members of core team will be participants in the worship life of WPC, and as needed in relationship to coordinated efforts of revitalizing, thus offering a natural bridge, and entry point to the larger WPC community. Participation in worship at the 9:30a.m. service would continue until substantial growth or desires call for the creation of an alternative worship service, open to all. My recommendation would be for substantial growth in the Missional Community before moving in the direction of forming a new worship experience. And that this service would be a complement to, and not in competition with the current Sunday morning worship experience. For example, the Missional Community may grow and desire to create a “contemporary/experiential” worship experience in Fellowship Hall at the 11a.m. or 7p.m. hour.

24 How would the leadership of the MC relate to pastoral staff and Session?

Core leadership members or the designated pastoral staff will report to and maintain

collegial relationships with the head of staff and session. Although there should be substantial freedom in the leading and shaping of this community, it will not operate in isolation but strive to embody the best of Presbyterian connectionality. Unpacking the proposal: 2) efforts to revitalize the existing WPC community in keeping with its mission and vision statement

As you know, revitalization efforts are already underway. The new Mission and Vision Statement and—more recently—the Transformation Team hope to lead Westminster into greater vitality. These are promising efforts.

According to Pastor Hal, revitalization entails the mobilization and empowerment of the

congregation for the purpose of transforming our lives, our community, and our world for Christ. The transformation team has begun discussions about four processes that might help the congregation be more effective in the work of transformation.

Invite -- Our goal is to raise awareness in the congregation about one of the most profound changes in North American Christianity in our lifetime. People don't come to church on their own anymore. Now they must be invited to church by a friend, relative, neighbor, or co-worker. As this process develops, we will feel encouraged and empowered to invite others to Westminster. Connect -- We want to become better at making meaningful connections with those whom God sends to us. We hope to connect with them through meaningful worship. We need to evaluate and improve our hospitality and develop systems of consistent follow-up that communicate our welcome on behalf of Christ. Formation -- We know that increasingly newcomers arrive with little knowledge of the Christian faith or Presbyterian tradition. Identifying and training mentors for faith and leadership development and creating small groups for faith formation is part of our vision. Send -- Over time, we hope to develop "backyard missionaries" whose faith is deepened by meaningful ministry outside the church. I have confidence in the leadership of Pastor Hal and the Transformation Team as they

“diligently seek” for God’s presence and guidance and as they “light a lamp” and “sweep the house” so that the congregation may greatly “rejoice” (see Luke 15).

25 A Timeline of Goals and Objectives

Concrete goals and objectives are helpful to give a sense of what would be involved in the formation of a “new way of being church.” Below is a proposed timeline for the formation of a missional community. Keep in mind that new initiatives are organic experiments; the process of formation will involve surprises and setbacks and is not likely follow a prescribed timeline. Nonetheless, the following set of objectives provide a sense of the envisioned process.

3-6 Month objectives:

1.! Establish a core group of 3-7 leaders to serve as the core MC leadership team community

2.! Establish a rhythm of core group gatherings for community building, prayer, discernment, and vision-formation.

3.! Infrequent experiments in missional hospitality (spirituality, community, & service).

6-12 Month objectives:

4.! Begin a small missional community with regular rhythms of community, spiritual formation, and praxis. The rhythms will be established by the core leadership team with a focus on prayer, justice, and hospitality.

5.! Launch public rhythms: These will be informal, enthusiastic, and safe entry points for individuals who might not see a church service as the “next-step” in their faith journey.

6.! Decide upon a partnership with a local non-profit or for-benefit initiative.

7.! Evaluation: Evaluate rhythms and overall community life. Evaluate next-steps.

Consult with WPC for further connectedness.

12-15! Month objectives:

8.! Secure a contemporary worship leader to be paid for 5/hours week.

9.! Experiment with a new worshiping experience at WPC (separate from the existing service).

10.!Evaluation: Evaluate rhythms and overall community life. Evaluate next-steps. Evaluate relationship with WPC for further connectedness.

26

24-Beyond Month objective:

11.!Establish additional missional communities in additional homes, neighborhoods, and networks.

Next Steps

Simply put, prayer and thoughtful consideration are the next steps for WPC and its leadership. If the decision to go forward with recommendations provided in this report the next logical step would be the designation of leadership for both the new missional community and the WPC revitalization efforts. This leadership may come in the form of additional hired pastoral staff or in the form of designated un-paid leadership.

Once leadership is determined and designated, a fearless inventory of areas for WPC revitalization must ensue alongside collaborative efforts in the establishment of a new Missional Community. Now is the time to join with God in new efforts to build and rebuild Westminster Presbyterian Church! Therefore the question that has to be asked about the Church and about every congregation is

not: How big is it? How fast is it growing? How rich is it?

It is: What difference is it making to that bit of the world in which it is placed? Is it actually

functioning as a firstfruit, sign, and instrument of God’s new creation

for that bit of the world?

May God bless Westminster as we journey toward becoming ever-more a firstfruit, sign, and instrument of God’s new creation in Dubuque, IA! *1