Major Ministry on Modest Means
James Stobaugh
The trouble with our church or any church is not lack of members or money; it is lack of ingenuity, creativity, and courage.
—James Stobaugh Our collection one week recently was $691.30. We needed $1,300 to meet budget. Standing at the front door of our brownstone church, saying farewell to our eighty congregants, I saw Robert, a street person in our neighborhood. He asked a member for a quarter. We barely have a quarter to give you, I thought. It wasn't always this way. In my closet sits a photograph of our turn-of-the-century congregation. Healthy-looking men and parasol-laden women encircle a whole block. Written in optimistic white ink is "The Church in Friendship." Pittsburgh was thriving, and so was the church. It boasted a huge Sunday school, active youth group, and overflowing morning worship. The softball team won the all-church league! The church's potential seemed unlimited. But the steel industry faltered: our armies won two wars but our businesses lost the import war. Superhighways enticed people to the suburbs. A few stalwart souls continued to commute to our declining church, but their children yearned for modern bathrooms and carpeted nurseries. A popular pastor retired. By 1960 we were a shadow of former glory. By the early eighties, we were only a handful of dazed saints. By now the community hardly knew we existed. Robert and his friends had nothing in common with us. Their world was full of drugs, unemployment, and juvenile delinquency. Our world was quiet afternoons with a Sunday paper. Except for when this community mugged us, raped us, or stole our cars, we were effectively ignoring it. Most of us hoped to escape. To our credit, we felt conviction. God wasn't pleased with our negligence. This was our time ...
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