The establishment of new churches, with the goal of their becoming chartered, is one of the most effective means of evangelization in the twenty-first century. This has been true in United Methodism since the time of John Wesley. The role of the district superintendent is vital in fulfilling the mandate to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

The district superintendent's responsibility for starting new churches is made clear in the 2004 Book of Discipline. Paragraph 260, Section VII, "The Method of Organizing a New Church" states the following:

A new local church or mission congregation shall be established only with the consent of the bishop in charge and the cabinet and with due consideration of the conference entity assigned the responsibility for congregational development. . . . The district superintendent of that district, or his or her designee, shall be the agent in charge of the project and shall recommend to the district board of church location and building the method of organization, and whether a specific site shall be selected or an area of organization be designated. The district superintendent shall avail him/herself of existing demographic, lifestyle and ethnographic information in the process of establishing a new congregation and its location, or shall recommend to the board of trustees of a selected local church that they share their facility with the proposed congregation. If there is a city or district missionary organization, or if funds for the project are anticipated from a conference organization, those bodies shall also be asked to approve the method of organization and location for a new congregation.
(From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church — 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.)

Therefore, the district superintendent is the main supervisory person for any new church start and for the pastor who is appointed.

More and more annual conferences are designating a staff person to provide leadership to congregational development and new church starts. It is necessary for the district superintendent and the new church start staff person to work together to identify, train, equip, support, and strategically place people who are being asked to start new faith communities. However, the Discipline is clear that the district superintendent is responsible for supervising the new church start pastor. The new church start staff person can be very helpful in the mentoring process.

An important aspect in helping district superintendents to start new churches is the development of a strategic plan for the entire annual conference. An intentional and coordinated effort involving all the districts will both focus and maximize the resources that are needed. If the annual conference does not have a strategic plan for beginning new faith communities, the district superintendent — with the support of the bishop — can be a catalyst for the development of such a plan.

It is also imperative that the district superintendent take the initiative in developing a district strategic plan for starting new churches. This means there is a vital need for passion for beginning new faith communities. Clay Jacobs, director for the Office of Church Development of the North Georgia Conference, has said, "If you don't have a passion for starting new churches, you need to get it!" Beginning new faith communities is the most effective method today of making new disciples for Jesus Christ. The district superintendent knows where the need is. Nobody knows the district better than the district superintendent. He or she knows where the growth is taking place and where the emerging ethnic, language, generational, and cultural groups are located that need to be reached in fresh, new, creative, and exciting ways. The district superintendent must develop a keen eye when looking at these areas to see where a new faith community might be planted. He or she should then study those areas with the district board of church location and building committee and together form a plan.

It is critical that the district superintendent provide leadership and inspiration for any new church start. To be sure, there will be pastors and churches within the district who feel that no new churches are needed in their area. However, it is difficult for new churches to survive without the total support of every church in the district. District support for a new church start can come in a variety of ways. Cash is always helpful and is usually the most needed. The new fellowships need dollars to rent facilities, advertise, hire staff, and develop missions. Laity serving as "missionaries" can be helpful in the launch of a new church start. Usually these folks are sent out from other existing churches from within the district for six months to a year. A new video projector with a computer, screen, and new sound system can make all the difference in the world to a new church start. Making the new church start a District Advance and Mission Special greatly improves the new church start's chance of success.

The most important factor in the success of a new church start is leadership. Appointing the very best pastors to these new churches is imperative. Starting a new church is about the hardest task we ask our pastors to do. Therefore, only the most talented pastors should be invited to serve new church starts. Perhaps only ten percent of the pastors in any given district are able to grow a new church through their gifts, graces, and passions. The mission field surrounds us. For the sake of the Kingdom, identifying pastors and training them to start new churches must be a top priority.

The district superintendent needs to understand that there are several models available for starting new churches. Some people may indicate that there is only one way to start new churches successfully. This is not true. New models are being discovered every day, and there is a high learning curve when it comes to talking about how we start new faith communities and how we develop them into chartered churches.

Finally, the district superintendent must be willing to energetically encourage new church start pastors. While the Book of Discipline states that the district superintendent is the primary supervisor of this pastor, he or she also needs to be that pastor's biggest cheerleader! Giving birth to a new faith community is one of the loneliest tasks in all of ministry. The district superintendent should keep in close contact with the new church pastors to make sure they take care of themselves and their families. It is also the district superintendent's task to make sure that the new church pastor remains United Methodist and that he or she has a mentor and/or a coach.

It is gratifying to watch each district grow and become stronger because the district superintendent is willing to start new churches with the best leaders in areas where the good news of Jesus Christ is most needed.

The Rev. Tom Butcher is the senior pastor of University United Methodist Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, contact Tom at: ellenumc@sprintmail.com or 702-733-7155.