How A Traditional Church Can Change
Twenty years ago, Mike Freake walked through the doors of Evangel Church in Gander, NL as the new youth pastor. Ralph Benson, the Lead Pastor, hired Mike to lead change together. Today, Mike is the Lead Pastor, and people who would not have darkened the doors of Evangel twenty years ago are serving and leading programs in the church. How did that happen?
Twenty years ago, Evangel was one of the most traditional churches within The Pentecostal Assemblies of Newfoundland and Labrador. The style was late 70’s. The congregation was inward-focused, with a “don’t-try-to-change-us” mindset. The congregation was isolated from the community and quite content to remain that way. They believed they maintained holiness by not being “like the world.” Evangel’s reputation in the community was not good news for the community.
Ralph and Mike spent the first few years talking with their church about their community. They were patient, recognizing the size of the shift they were leading the congregation to make. Sermons focused on God’s grace and love for those outside the church. They spent time with leaders, brought people together, poured into their core team about what the church should be, and inspired them to dream for more. In the early years, they invested a lot of time and energy in hosting leadership meetings, vision nights, and prayer times. Mike remembers how anxious some congregational leaders felt in those meetings as they dreamt about what could be. Leaders agreed with what they needed to become, but they didn’t know if the pastors had the gumption to see the changes through. The congregation needed to know that they could trust them. It took many years of consistent, competent leadership for that trust to build.
In the early years, they changed the church’s motto to “A heart for people.” They plastered the words everywhere they could. Congregants couldn’t avoid even the motto if they tried. That value remains their driving force twenty years later. Change did not come easy. The more they moved ministry outside of the church, the more opposition they faced from within the church. Mike recalls the day an influential congregant came to the church office and made it clear he was not impressed by the direction the church was going. He put an exclamation mark on his declaration by noting that there were many people who felt the same as he did. In those days, according to the denominational system, pastors were voted on every four years. If people didn’t like the pastor, they could endure for four years and then send the pastor packing. Pastor Benson survived the early votes in his tenure, some by a close margin.
When Mike served as a youth pastor, he painted the stage in the youth room black. He wanted to create a theatrical look, like a high school auditorium. The room was also used as a place for prayer. People boycotted the prayer room because they felt black was evil. Pastor Benson, in love, clearly laid out the vision and the why of change and that this was the direction the church was going. Some people left, but many people stayed. They kept reaching youth, serving the community, and helping people in need; as they did, their community profile began to change. Not only did the congregation trust them, but the community also started trusting them.
From the beginning, they celebrated every little win. No matter what. They ensured that the church saw that what they were doing was making a real difference. There was no denying it, and the voices of opposition began to get quieter.
They moved ahead, and people caught on and were excited to be a part of what God was doing. They served dinners in the community, started a furniture ministry, helped hundreds of families a year and saw people come to faith. They launched a television program called “Heart Matters.” Stories of faith were shared from the community and around the province. The show airs on every station in NL and satellite across Canada. Evangel received funding from the government to build 18 affordable housing units for seniors. They have two transitional housing units for those at risk of homelessness. “Ride for Hope,” a motorcycle ride that connects the church with the community, was started. Proceeds from the event funded the construction of community centres, clinics, and schools in Africa and Asia. Most of the funds come from people outside of the church.
Evangel grew through conversions, giving increased, and they realized that for growth to continue, it couldn’t happen in their old building. For continued growth, it was decided to expand and work towards building a 36,000-square foot community-oriented facility.
Along with a place to worship for 650 people, the new facility provides a coffee house setting, a gymnasium with a rock wall, a conference room, and an in-house studio for television broadcast. It took nine years for the project to be completed. Today, Evangel rarely sits empty. They host community events, conferences, blood donor clinics, municipal and provincial events, and car shows. And ironically, nearly everything is painted black.
They recently launched an addictions ministry and hired a full-time addictions coach, helping people in the community through some very dark times in their lives.
In 2021, Pastor Benson was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident. His death was devastating for the church. He was instrumental in leading the congregation to where they are. Mike stepped into the role of Lead Pastor shortly afterwards. Mike says, “What God is doing did not end with Ralph’s death. The vision and the mission were bigger than just one person. And Ralph would be the first to admit that.”
Did they lose people who didn’t appreciate the vision along the way? Of course. In light of the losses, Mike says, “I think… what if we didn’t stay the course? What if we weren’t prepared to take a few hits along the way. I think about all that we would have missed! And I’m so thankful we persevered.”
Can successful change occur in a traditional church? You better believe it can! An inward-focused church can become outbound. The deeper the traditionalism, the longer change will take. Lead with the long view. Be prayerfully patient. Mobilize and deploy the willing. Love everyone, especially the resistant. Commit to a long obedience in the same direction. The Lord of the harvest will favour your purposeful efforts.
Mike Freake will be speaking at Church Vitalization Summit 2022 online event on August 30, 31, September 1. Register for the Summit here for FREE.
Bob Jones is the founder of REVwords.com, an author, blogger, and coach with 39 years of pastoral experience. Bob is also an Advance Coach with the ABNWT Resource Centre. You can connect with Bob here.