Success in Three Churches: Diversity and Originality
Tom Minnery reports on three churches that are radically different from one another, yet successful in light of their view of mission.
Tom Minnery
January 1, 1981
In light of this issue's theme on success, we asked veteran news reporter Tom Minnery to take an assignment Visit three widely-diverse churches considered "successful" by many. "Ask questions," we told Tom. "Listen and evaluate; then give us your impressions."
We selected three congregations thoroughly different in methods, setting, and philosophy, yet all showing unique marks of achievement. Tom's report follows.
The Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C., reached a crisis about five years ago, the same one many churches face. The congregation was getting too big, and its leaders felt the intimacy of the early days was ebbing away because of it. The church decided to split into smaller bodies to regain that sense of closeness. The Church of the Saviour had 110 members; they split into, not two, or three, but six smaller churches.
This church is not your usual place of worship.,In fact, it looks more like a restaurant than a church. The Potter's House, where much of the church life goes on, is indeed a restaurant, a cozy, friendly eating place on a slightly shabby block of Columbia Road, far from the glitter of federal Washington. There is also a more conventional church building on Massachusetts Avenue. The church's founder and spiritual shepherd is Gordon Cosby, and his vision is for a Christian community that nurtures its members in an ever-deepening walk with Christ through strong friendships, the discovery and use of spiritual gifts, and the belief that every Christian is called to a specific mission for the Lord.
Cosby was trained at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, but his vision didn't really come into focus until after his seminary days, when he enlisted in the Army and was assigned as a chaplain ...
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