Quote:
Originally Posted by Sherri
We took an old traditional UPC church in 1984 in a small town that had been there for over 50 years. Before we ever went, my husband told the board that he would not preach standards and he would not be a "spiritual cop". If that's what they wanted, they needed to look elsewhere. He has NEVER preached standards and wasn't going to start, but he does preach principles of the Word. They wanted us anyway.
As the church grew, the newer people came in and learned to be good Christians, but he never enforced the legalism on them. The church grew from 35 to about 650 before we left there to move to Jackson. We kept all the older saints except one, and she didn't leave over standards. Some of those older ladies still have the "Pentecostal" look, and I wouldn't change them for anything. It was a tremendously successful experience, but we never got up and made proclamations; it was just a slow change, and we taught the older ones to love the new ones coming in, even if they were different.
When we started the new work in Jackson in 2001, we just went in preaching and teaching as we always had, and these people (by and large) have never heard of UPC. It's a great solid church of sold-out fanatic people who strive to serve God with all their hearts. We had 902 Sunday and are in another building program.
So, Growing Pains, I hope we can qualify as one of your success stories, by the grace of God.
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That certainly qualifies as a success story.
You church planted in Jackson in 2001? In 8 years you have grown that much? The church is hungry for discipleship? Kudos to you! I think you'd be a person to pick on a panel. I'm sure there are some stories regarding that transition with the older church.