By RJ Walters
“…the more we get together the happier we’ll be.”
Kids sing it, and intrinsically most people realize it — but it seems like churches could always put that famous verse into action more effectively.
At the 2008 General Conference of the United Methodist Church cooperative ministries were a hot topic, with various resolutions passed to encourage the growth of cooperative parishes, projects and ministry initiatives. But applauding what has been accomplished through co-ops and convincing churches to initiate discussions about them has proven to be two very different things.
According to the 2009 Conference Journals, the Detroit Conference is home to five official cooperative parishes, while the West Michigan Conference has none officially recognized.
In a time of economic turmoil and diminishing membership numbers, more churches could benefit from looking at creating united fronts with the resources around them, and some Michigan Area UMC leaders are glad to vouch for the benefits of cooperative ministry.
“We do need to do a lot more of it,” said Detroit East District Superintendent Duane Miller, who is overseeing the development of a new cooperative parish startup in Oakland County. “A cooperative doesn’t force anything on anybody, it gives them an opportunity to explore things.”
A single match can start a fire
There’s no complicated jargon or overarching boundaries to hold churches back from considering the possibility of forming or joining a co-op.
Rev. George Covintree of Berkley First UMC simply sent out a letter to nine area churches to get the ball rolling for the Southeast Oakland Cooperative, which is still in its infancy, and the Eastside Cooperative Parish was born out of the prayers and dreams of a small group of pastors from the city and suburbs.
Miller was part of an official cooperative parish earlier in his ministry career, and he believes the best way to get people on board is to have church leaders reach out on a personal level.
“I’m in a position where I can sow the seed, but often the minute I call a meeting there’s resistance because ‘the District Superintendent is telling us what to do,’” he said. “I’ve been able to sit in on all these meetings, and I do contribute, but I don’t speak a whole lot…but their own initiatives and concerns are moving them forward rapidly.”
Covintree, who was part of the now-defunct Pontiac United Methodist Association co-op in the mid-90s, said a good place to start is to identify churches of similar size with similar needs, because then there can be a sympathetic, symbiotic approach going forward.
Don’t forget the purpose
As the wheels start turning for a cooperative it is essential that the members agree on what it should look like and whom it should serve.
“A cooperative parish needs a reason to exist —to save money, missional reasons, to do ministry that individual churches can't do by themselves, etc.,” said Seven Church United Group Ministry Parish Director Wayne Thomas.
Five churches remain in that parish, but they focus on several combined worship services each year and not a whole lot else, Thomas said.
Covintree and Miller both emphasize a call to unity among cooperative congregations, to the point they recommend calling member churches “campuses” to remind people that no one church is above any other.
If a co-op believes in the foundation it can set by becoming an official parish, it is smart for the leaders to make that happen as soon as possible.
Becoming an official parish involves formally making church members aware of the new partnership and shared calendar they will be a part of, as well as a letter of intent by the co-op that is presented to the District Superintendent and eventually the Full Cabinet.
“From that point that it would allow (a parish) to make use of funds that would be available for cooperative ministry, and one of the things cooperative ministry is able to seek is staffing help via the US-2s,” Covintree said.
Progress equals promise
With leaders from different churches joining the same fight for expanded ministries the possibilities have proven to be endless.
The Southeast Cooperative Ministry takes what would be four small Bible School groups and creates a weeklong cooperative VBS event serving 175 youth each summer, while also sharing prayer requests and congregational concerns year-round; the eight churches of the Eastside Cooperative Parish form mission teams together, collaborate on picnics and special services and continue to find new ways to bond.
God’s Country Cooperative Parish, consisting of seven churches in the Upper Peninsula spanning 2,500 square miles, shares in everything from training and leadership events to supporting missionaries.
But as Miller will attest, the benefits of a cooperative are not only spiritual and communal —they can also be financial.
He has seen smaller churches share a secretary who may have otherwise been out of a job and he said each congregation has its own unique gifts to share with others.
“One of the churches has someone who works for a supplier who provides ‘green’ cleaning supplies, and paper towel and soaps and things like that,” he said. “And the supplier will supply electronic dispensers for the soap and towels so you don’t touch with your hands and stuff like that for free. And churches can get big discounts, especially if they buy materials as a group.”
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