Growing together at Faithbridge

At  Faithbridge, a northwest Houston United Methodist church that celebrated its fifth birthday in March 2004, more than 1,000 adults, youth, and children gather for weekly worship. Why? Paula Kuykendall says it is due to the sermons she has heard and the open arms she has felt from the beginning. Brought with her husband at the hand of a friend five months ago, she looks forward to her baptism, soon to occur. "I nearly jump out of my skin just thinking of that night and how excited I am to finally be at that point in my life!" she says.

The Faithbridge ball began rolling in March, 1998, when Pastor Ken Werlein took a trip to Seoul, Korea. He and his colleagues, traveling with Asbury Seminary's Beeson Pastor program, were staying for a week at Methodist pastor Sundo Kim's "Prayer Mountain." Unable to sleep at 4:00 a.m., and surrounded by praying Koreans, Ken felt challenged. He wrote in his journal: "Lord, I am convicted of my prayerlessness. I give more a tip of the hat to prayer than an earnest, prioritized, blood-sweating commitment to it. I do all the work-and you let me. I then carry all the burdens, and you let me. But you offer more. And I want to enlist myself now for more. I want to become a pastor, husband, father, and friend who prays so fervently and deliberately that others know me for, and associate me, with my prayer life."

A few moments later he felt the impression of the Lord saying, "I am going to call you to start a new work when you get home." The first night upon his return to Wilmore, Kentucky, his district superintendent in Texas called and said, "When you come home this summer, we want you to start a new church in Northwest Houston."

When Ken Werlein and six other people met in his apartment to discuss the new, then-unnamed church, they agreed that before every decision the church made, it would go to its knees in prayer. But those six pioneers didn't fully realize that the prayer model had already begun: Werlein already had 40 prayer partners from around the country praying for him and for the new church, even before Faithbridge was birthed.

Five years later, people from all over know Faithbridge as a praying church that sponsors a variety of different prayer teams. Faithbridge's prayer center is known as its "engine room," prominently displayed in the church's rented 5000 square foot office space. Staffed by volunteers who pray there for an hour or more per week, Faithbridge's prayer center is accessible by a separate combination code-locked door for volunteers to come and go any hour of the day. A smaller prayer room, large enough for one, is also available 24 hours a day for Faithbridgers and the general public.

Congregational prayer requests are gathered through "Connect Cards" each Sunday and prayed over by teams throughout the week. Prayer teams pass through the church's rented sanctuary (a school gymnasium) laying hands on all chairs, anointing them with oil and praying for all who will sit in them before Sunday morning attendees ever arrive. Each Sunday a group prays over Werlein before he preaches. They also pray in the wings while he preaches. Faithbridge worship services each week include prayers for another church in the community and an altar prayer response time at the end of worship in which worshipers are invited forward to talk with the Lord alone or with prayer partners.

Faithbridge's ministry includes a "pager" prayer ministry in which hospitalized adults and children are prayed for and simultaneously notified of these prayers by partners who beep the pager every time they finish interceding. Special prayer teams cover youth and children's ministries, a 24-hour phone prayer line, and email prayer chains. Several times throughout the year teams meet for all-night prayer gatherings. The congregation enters into several seasonal "40 Days of Prayer and Fasting" at Faithbridge, and the month of March finds Faithbridge at its high point each year when it hosts its growing, regional weekend prayer conference with hundreds attending.

Future home
The most unusual intercessory sequence involves the young church's quest to find the right property to become its permanent home. When a certain pair of side-by-side farm parcels, totaling 73 acres, became available to the congregation, all Faithbridgers were invited to a series of seven prayer walks on the land. Together and individually, they sought God's leading as to whether or not they ought to purchase the land. The most intriguing point of confirmation came when a jogger stopped by and said that God had given him a word to pass along to the church. He offered a three-fold prediction, saying that "this land would become a house of prayer for all the nations, that God is seeking to build our faith like never before, and that we would face giants not unlike those Moses' ten doubting spies saw, but not to shrink back." His words unfolded accurately, yet no one in the church had ever met this man before.

The congregation's leaders decided to commit to purchasing the properties even before taking a pledge to see if they could come up with the money. More than enough was subsequently pledged, and today Faithbridge is in its final year of collecting $2.7 million in a three-year land campaign. Soon it will begin building its first permanent facilities for approximately $5-6 million.

Outreach
Ever wary of becoming ingrown, Faithbridge's continual prayer has been to become an outwardly focused church, working to reach the lost and serve the least in order to glorify God through Jesus Christ. For six weeks in the fall of 2003, Faithbridge engaged in a campaign entitled "Across the Street, Across the Sea," designed to strengthen all congregants' understanding of the fact that every Christian is a missionary, regardless of whether that mission field is across the street or across the sea.

Local mission efforts were emphasized, including Faithbridge's thriving restorative justice ministry, ministry to battered women, Care Net crisis pregnancy center, a nearby low-income elementary school, the Seaport of Houston, and monthly servant evangelism projects, among others. Global mission efforts were highlighted too, including Faithbridge's partnerships in Quito, Ecuador, Appalachia, and a half-dozen other sites.

On top of its apportioned United Methodist benevolences, an additional missions "faith-promise" commitment was pledged in late 2003, totaling $281,000 to be given directly to missions in 2004.

Membership
Early on, Ken gave careful study to Jesus' ministry here on earth. He noted that Jesus said to everyone, "Come, follow me," but not everyone followed with the same eagerness, commitment, or maturity rate. As a result, Jesus worked with different discipleship layers, such as the 72 (Luke 10:1-20), the twelve (6:12-16; 9:1-6), and the inner three (8:51; 9:28, 54).

Jesus' model helped Werlein think in different categories as people expressed interest in the church. He always invited everyone to come, but he did not invite everyone to come to the same thing, anticipating they would come at different levels of maturity and readiness.

Following that idea, Werlein began thinking in three different categories, which he later named:

. Those who sign in pencil lead. They're gung ho now, but they lack any signs of spiritual moldability. They'll likely move on to the next exciting thing that comes along.

. Those who sign in ink. They show a measure of spiritual maturity, and with some intentional discipleship training, perhaps they would sign on for the long haul.

. Those who sign in blood. They have many evidences of spiritual maturity. They will most likely go the long haul and make the journey with you.

Werlein consistently invited "pencil lead" people to the church's public launch day. He didn't ask more of them than to be part of the crowd and excitement of that day which was, in many instances, still several months ahead. Though eager for them to develop a deeper level of discipleship, he did not pour a lot of pre-launch energy into them. He knew there would be too many uncertainties if he tried to build upon this group.

"Ink" people were funneled into a discipleship group that Werlein met with on Tuesday evenings, for they wanted to learn more about the Bible and Faithbridge's pastor. Two from that "ink" group are now on Faithbridge's full-time staff.

"Blood" people got moved to the inner core group. Werlein looked for spiritually healthy people to be part of this foundation-building experience. For this group he did not want people who were angry or bitter at a previous church or pastor, nor could he take spiritual seekers into this group. He tried to discern people who felt called and were teachable, low-maintenance and demonstrated a reasonable level of spiritual maturity. If their spirit was right and they had a sense of calling that matched the vision of the church, Werlein welcomed them to the "sign in blood" group, explaining that they would be expected to be the staff of the church until staff could be hired.

Werlein still places a strong emphasis on commitment-both to Jesus Christ and to Faithbridge. All prospective members pass through "New Connections," a membership process comprised of lecture and group discussion. In this class, newcomers hear a simple explanation of the Christian gospel and learn more about the sacraments, tithing, and denominational structure. They also come to understand the church's mission, vision, and core values. Once a newcomer has completed the class, embraced the "Worship + 2" strategy (a commitment to worshiping regularly + serving steadily + growing faithfully), and connected into one of the church's many small groups, the membership process culminates in a memorable celebration.

New Connections Celebrations occur roughly every other month in a designated area home. Excitement fills the air. Mexican food, a Houston staple, is plentiful. A time of musical worship follows. Newcomers' testimonies are shared. A brief exhortation from the pastor follows. Existing members return to experience the excitement with steady predictability. The evening culminates with new Christians being baptized in the swimming pool and all new members signing their new member covenants, in which a pledge is made to support the church with one's prayers, presence, gifts, service, and loyalty-always protecting Faithbridge as a "gossip-free zone."

Discipleship in small groups
Faithbridge utilizes the free-market model of small groups, popularized by Ted Haggard's New Life Church in Colorado Springs. The church offers 125 small groups, most of which run on a semester-based system (January-May; June-August; September-December). This rhythm of three predetermined starting and stopping dates per year encourages a new influx of participants and leaders into small groups. From semester-to-semester, participants have the freedom to gravitate to a new group or remain in their current group. Groups that desire to continue into a succeeding semester may re-launch, while groups that have served their purpose to completion may terminate at the end of a semester.

Every new semester is launched with a church-wide, momentum-building "Rally Day," in which Werlein preaches about the importance of doing life together. All groups set up display booths throughout the rented school facilities. They draw newcomers to their booths in a variety of clever ways, including using music, costumes, banners, snacks, business cards, and other printed material. Newcomers are signed up and called as soon as possible, and the new semester is subsequently launched.

Faithbridge focuses on reaching seekers with the "bait" of shared affinities in small groups revolving around hobbies such as golfing, fishing, jogging, dining, and scrapbooking. Faithbridge works to build believers in groups focused upon prayer, Bible study, discipleship training, business ethics, marriage, and parenting. People gravitate naturally to the sort of group that will best meet their needs each semester.

Other Faithbridge groups are task-related, focusing on office volunteering, newcomer-calling, Sunday morning ushering, greeting, and hospitality. One of Faithbridge's best assimilation groups for men involves its four teams of approximately twenty men each serving monthly rotations to set up and tear down the still-portable church. They arrive at 6:15 a.m. to begin the process of unloading and setting up equipment weighing in excess of 16 tons. After set-up is completed, the group meets together for a devotional and prayer time. Soon after noon, following the second worship hour, they re-gather and serve another two hours, tearing down the portable church and packing it all away for another week.

Worship
Faithbridge has always dreamed of being a church where people leave powerful worship services shaking their heads in wonder at the nearness they felt to God. Faithbridgers regularly attest to this experience. Both services are identical and contemporary in nature. The newest of praise songs, some even written by Faithbridge musicians, are blended together with the great hymns of the faith. Worship is lead by a team of vocalists and a band of volunteer instrumentalists who rotate from week-to-week.

Worship services are planned thematically by the church's five-person "Design Team" which works to always stay 19 days ahead in its preparation. This allows sufficient time for sermons, songs, and sacraments to be planned and "packaged" together in a way which fits naturally, along with prayer times, plugs (announcements), and other props and video pieces.

Werlein preaches approximately 70 percent of the time. He is eager for that percentage to drop still lower as he continues developing a preaching team. He believes the congregation is strengthened by hearing the Word of God through different gifted voices and personalities.

Leadership
A firm believer in the importance of leadership development, Werlein works hard with his staff to ensure that the church's leadership is increasingly strengthened. Staff members submit updated goal sheets every two weeks, read assigned books for continuing education, and attend conferences sponsored by churches like Willow Creek and Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church.

All small group lay leaders, now numbering more than 150, are likewise challenged to continue sharpening their leadership edge. They too attend conferences and read books. They also listen to Werlein's monthly "Leadership Lifter" recording, available on cassette or CD, in which he communicates a focused look at upcoming goals or challenges and then equips leaders with practical ministry tools. Past "Lifter" recordings include training on topics such as "Resolving Conflict in Small Groups," "Setting Healthy Boundaries," "Deepening the Prayer Life of a Leader," and "Understanding Mormonism." Occasionally Werlein interviews other staff members or pastors to help unveil a new ministry in a clear way throughout the church's leadership.

Leaders are also asked to attend one "Faithbridge Seminary" course per semester-another method for aligning and strengthening the leadership component of the church. This semester leaders will be attending the course entitled, "Becoming a Contagious Christian," offered six times throughout the semester for the sake of leader convenience.

New prospective leaders are asked to attend a four-hour leadership orientation, in which, among other things, Werlein explains the expectations of all leaders:

. Serve as a shepherd to your group members for at least one semester;

. Pray for group members and work to lift up each group member;

. Raise up at least one apprentice leader who could eventually lead your group or a new group;

. Honor the church's leadership chain-of-command in which every small group leader is directly supported by a section leader, and every section leader is directly supported by a staff member.

 

Communication
Grateful to have started Faithbridge when the world was well along the way to becoming internet savvy, Werlein has always communicated with his church by use of the internet.

Faithbridge's website (www.faithbridge.org) receives 9,000 hits per month by parishioners and other friends. Werlein and his staff e-mail the weekly "Faithbridge Update" to all parishioners. Leaders receive a "Leadership Update" e-mail each week from Werlein as well.

Faithbridge is in the business of helping people build bridges of faith to Jesus Christ and his life-changing message. It's happening every week, as people regularly attest. Though God's blessings have already been tremendously rich, Faithbridgers young and old have a distinct sense that the best is yet to come!

Dale E. Galloway is dean of Asbury Theological Seminary's Beeson International Center for Biblical Preaching and Church Leadership in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the former pastor of New Hope Community Church in Portland, Oregon, a congregation that he nurtured from a handful of parishioners in a drive-in theater in 1972 to more than 6,000 by the time he left. Dr. Galloway has authored 21 books such as On-Purpose Leadership, Starting a New Church, and Taking Risks in Ministry (Beacon Hill Press).



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