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| The Rev. Matt Bistayi (left) interacting with young adults at Valley Church. |
The Rev. Matt Bistayi is the kind of guy who isn’t afraid to say he’s wrong and you’re right.
He’s the type of team player every coach would pick first.
And he’s thrilled to be spreading the gospel in a place where he finds people “searching for something more” as they endure the struggles of everyday life.
Based on the community being built at the Valley Church in Allendale less than 20 months into the new church start, the fruits of his engaging labor are evident.
The West Michigan Conference church plant is averaging 120-140 adults in worship each week, with 30-40 kids tagging along each Sunday.
Valley Church is comfortably meeting benchmarks set forth by the conference with the counsel of their Director of New Church Development Barb Flory and Bistayi said the church has high hopes of being self-sufficient and accommodating 150-200 regular worshippers by year’s end.
District Superintendent Laurie Haller said the 39-year old Bistayi not only has a certain “It” quality needed to succeed as a church planter, he is also extremely teachable.
“That is a great gift because if something doesn’t work Matt will try something else,” she said. “If I see something or Barb Flory sees something or (the Rev.) Brad Kalajainen (of Cornerstone Church) sees something that he’s not doing that maybe he should (Matt) isn’t defensive, he doesn’t say he knows it all and he’s very open.”
Haller said his out-going personality draws in young families and young adults and he is committed to studying new church techniques and taking risks.
Bistayi has leaned on the spiritual influence of small ‘house churches’ — groups of churchgoers who meet regularly and engage in service opportunities together — and he has attempted to cater to the college students at Grand Valley State, while trying to stay transparent about where the church is financially and what the future may hold.
“The word that pops into my head (through this experience) is ‘humble’, you’ve just got to learn to stay humble. For me that means just continuing to be real and authentic through this process,” he said. “(When something doesn’t go right) you’ve got to have the courage to say, ‘Well, that didn’t work out so,’ so let’s try it a different way next time or simply not try it again.”
He said some of his greatest moments have been connecting with new people who have eventually become energizers and leaders of his young congregation.
“There are a lot of families and college students that are just trying to make it week-by-week, day-by-day in their busy lives; I think that’s huge in this area, I hear about it all the time,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a struggle to get from one day to the next with everything that life demands from you.”
He said the support and encouragement of Flory, the love and support of his family and the “collegial” conversations with his father who is a retired United Methodist pastor cannot be overlooked in the church’s development.
The next step for Valley Church is figuring out how much longer their home next to Byron Bank will be large enough to meet its needs.
“If we want to grow beyond 150 or so we’re going to need to consider either adding a third worship service or moving to a different location,” he said. “It’s always about encouraging people to bring friends with them to worship and to be sharing our journey with others. You never want to stop doing that — it’s a church-long and lifelong journey.”
Haller said success is never guaranteed for new church planters and one of Bistayi’s biggest challenges will be to re-define his role as his congregation expands.
“(Right now) it probably still feels like it’s all on his shoulders, but as the church grows and there’s more money to perhaps spend on staff his role is going to be different,” she said. “He will spend more of his time supervising the other staff and giving up some of the one-on-one time with people that is absolutely necessary to start a new church.”
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