Joining hands on the front-line: The benefits of cooperative ministry and why it's not so hard to start

By RJ Walters, Editor

“…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.

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Unofficial ministry co-op making early waves in Oakland County

By RJ Walters, Editor

Berkley First UMC already knew the benefits of teaming with other churches because its youth group consists of a partnership with the Presbyterian and Lutheran churches in town. So it’s no surprise that they are leading the charge for a new cooperative parish with a collection of United Methodist congregations in Lower Michigan.

Rev. George Covintree said the harsh realities of the economy have been affecting nearby neighborhoods and communities the past couple of years, and partnership seemed like a giant leap in the right direction.

Covintree scripted a letter to nine churches whose membership numbers were between 86 and 300 people, and on Jan. 23 pastors and lay leaders from seven churches joined together to begin making a call to action.

While nothing is official at this point, and with Covintree assigned to a new appointment later this year, the group wrote its mission statement on March 19 and has been making headway ever since.

Its mission statement, which can be found at the emerging co-op’s website (http://se-oakland-cooperative.info/), includes “always re-thinking church,” collaborating on development opportunities for the good of all, and ensuring the strength and vitality of the co-op through prayer.

“As I said in the initiating letter, we can link this with the ‘Rethink Church’ campaign, by just seeing what we can do differently, seeing what vision we can create through the strengths of our churches and connectionalism,” Covintree said. “We can work with the individual gifts and graces we have, rather than each one of us being on our own and having to do everything at each place.”

Shared VBS events are in the works and the idea of people attending different types of services at co-op churches once in a while is being floated around.

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