09/06/2013 By Dennis Schick Special Contributor As recently as the summer of 2012, Traskwood United Methodist Church—10 miles southwest of Benton—had an average attendance of half a dozen people each Sunday, and members wondered how much longer the church could stay open. By December—only six months later—it was averaging 25 each Sunday, a 400 percent turnaround. For that and other reasons, Traskwood UMC, now with 34 members on their roll, was named a Church of the Year at the 2013 Arkansas Annual Conference, for their improved measures of congregational vitality. So what did Traskwood do to reverse their downward spiral, and what have they been doing lately? “The simple answer is threefold,” said the Rev. Danny Dunlap, who has spent two years pastoring the church. “Prayer, an open congregation and determination.” Focused prayer Dunlap said that the congregation knew that it needed divine intervention to survive, so they became “prayer warriors.” “I asked my pastor friends to pray for us. We asked to be on every prayer list we could find,” he said. “We even reached out for prayers on our webpage.” Dunlap preached a sermon on Jonah, challenging the core members of the church to become Jonahs in the Traskwood community. “To a person, members listened and were open to new ideas,” he said. “They committed to take action.” One by one, two by two, former members returned and new members arrived. Every member—including new ones—became determined and persistent in inviting others. And when new people came, they felt the love of Christ. The congregation feels and shows love and compassion. If you miss a Sunday, someone will call to see if you are OK. Between such personal attention and their famous potluck lunches, people who visit want to come back. Right coach, right time When Dunlap heard about the Congregational Coaching program of the Arkansas Conference Center for Excellence in Clergy and Lay Leadership, he recognized the potential benefits it might have for Traskwood UMC. He asked that the congregation be matched with a coach. In one of those “God moments,” as she calls it, Marcia Reed found herself assigned to develop a coaching relationship with Traskwood. A recent seminary graduate with a corporate training and coaching background, she had just been trained in the Conference coaching program and was eager to deploy her skills. What’s more, she lived in Benton, just down the road from Traskwood. They needed her; she needed them—a match made in Heaven. Reed began meeting with Dunlap and members of the congregation in March, after church on Sundays, during those popular potluck luncheons. Over the course of seven meetings to date, the group has made considerable progress. Church members currently are completing a Mission Field Self-Assessment. Based on demographic reports generated using Mission Insite, a program available to all Arkansas Conference churches, they identified their mission field. “Then and now,” said Dunlap, “we see our mission field as being beyond our small community [population 518]. We are actively reaching out six miles in every direction—even north to Haskell [population 3,990] and west to Glen Rose. Our people have embraced a mission of building a Kingdom of God, wherever we can.” They will launch the popular Alpha program in the church and community in September, as much for their own members as for non-members. Both Dunlap and Reed have been through the Alpha program, so they are well-prepared to conduct it at Traskwood UMC. Reed will preach at the Sept. 8 service to kick off the program. “We are treating this first Alpha course as a ‘train-the-trainer’ process, as much as a course for new members,” Reed said. “The current members and new members will be better prepared to take it into their mission field the second time through.” Facility improvements Organized in 1887, Traskwood UMC built its first building in 1900, rebuilt in 1910 after a fire and moved into the present building in 1955. The facility features a 75-seat sanctuary, a kitchen, dining area and classrooms in the basement, ample parking and a terrific location in front of a stop sign on a busy corner. They even have a bell in a tower, which they ring by pulling on a rope at 11 a.m. Sunday mornings—a signal to the community that the Methodists have gathered for worship. But some elements of the building can interfere with the atmosphere of hospitality—such as the need to exit the building and go around back to reach the only restroom; a non-wheelchair-accessible entrance; and reliance on a window unit for air conditioning and heat. Construction soon will begin to address those deficiencies. The last two pews in the sanctuary will be removed to allow for a new wall, restrooms and a narthex—major additions that still will leave seating for more than 60 people. Larger gatherings can be held at the city’s community center up the street. (There’s no truth to the rumor that the last two rows of pews are being removed just to get back-row sitters to move forward.) Another resource came with Marcia Reed: her husband, Roger, who has joined her for many of the meetings at Traskwood UMC. The Reeds are members of First UMC Benton, and Roger is an officer in their United Methodist Men’s group. Recognizing the need at Traskwood for construction and carpentry expertise, he proposed that the First UMC Benton United Methodist Men help with the project. They enthusiastically agreed. He also suggested Traskwood to his church’s youth director, Matt Carter, for a service project the youth were hoping to do. This sister-church relationship wasn’t a part of the Congregational Coach plan, but is a natural result of people reaching out to help others. Good things bloom and grow in God’s Kingdom. Hoping to inspire Will what has happened at Traskwood UMC work elsewhere? “Each church and community is different,” says Reed. “We plant seeds. We brainstorm. We use proven principles and practices; we create new solutions. We listen, we pray. Whatever works, we’ll try.” Dunlap agrees, adding that the people of Traskwood UMC love their church and community, and will do almost anything to help them thrive. “We appreciate beyond words what the Conference has done and is doing to help small churches like ours,” he said. “In turn, we hope what we are doing will inspire other churches to ask for help—both from above and from a coach—as we pursue our mission to make disciples.”
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 14:29:01 +0000