Lay-Led Ministry Team Helps Once-Declining Flint Hill UMC Prosper Without a Pastor
by Mike Morgan, Editor, HIRAM
(Reprinted with permission from the Wesleyan Christian Advocate 2/5/99)

Three years ago the congregation of historic Flint Hill United Methodist Church had dwindled to a tiny handful of active members. Seemingly unable to pay both their pastor's salary and their conference apportionments, the faithful remnant at Flint Hill asked the Rev. Ed Tomlinson, superintendent of North Georgia's Rome-Carrollton District, to consider closing the church.

But Tomlinson had a different idea. "I was not pleased at the prospect of the church closing down because of the growth taking place in that area," he said. Recalling that James Smith, district lay leader and a certified UM lay speaker, had offered his services to help a struggling local church if such a need arose, Tomlinson asked the members of Flint Hill if they felt they could pay their apportionments if the conference provided them "a pastor who doesn't cost anything." The Flint Hill members responded affirmatively, and in June 1996 the church's ministry was assigned to a 12-member team of North Georgia United Methodist Men headed by Smith.

Today a revitalized and rapidly growing Flint Hill UMC boasts 110 members -- with new visitors attending every Sunday. And the church pays its conference apportionments in full every January.

Although the church is now in its third year without a paid pastor, Tomlinson is tickled pink. "We've taken these lay folk and turned them loose," he said. "Here was an opportunity to get a church functional again."

Smith credits Flint Hill's turnaround to the willingness of the church's members to reach out to the surrounding community in the name of Christ. "When I met with the church leaders for the first time, I told them, when we knock on the doors, whoever answers the door will be invited." "When the church members agreed, Smith said, "I knew their hearts were right."

Less than a month after assuming charge of Flint Hill's ministry, Smith invited conference evangelist the Rev. Jim Hollis to conduct a training seminar in Lifestyle Relational Evangelism (LRE) that served as a catalyst for the church's evangelistic outreach. "In the first seven weeks, we had 10 new members," Smith said.

Shortly thereafter a series of revival services conducted by the Rev. Steve Wood filled the church's sanctuary to overflowing with first-time visitors. "The real crux of the invitations came from church members' contacts and their visiting," Smith said. "Husbands came who hadn't been to church with their wives in 40 years." As the church's membership began to grow, so did the level of spiritual energy and enthusiasm. "We've gotten a lot of folks who are first-time believers," said Smith. "They're really on fire for the Lord."

One of those recent converts to the faith is Dave Couey, a former drug addict and "Outlaws" motorcycle gang member who was led to Christ by his teenage son, Harley. A tall, 350-pound bear of a man with numerous tattoos and a long white beard, "Big Dave," as he is affectionately known, cuts an imposing figure in the Flint Hill church and elsewhere. One of several new church members baptized in nearby Gray's Mill Creek, Couey himself is now in demand as a revival speaker throughout the area. "I was an I.V. drug user for several years," Couey testifies, "but Jesus helped me quit just like that."

Smith views this zeal for outreach as a sign of genuine receptivity to God's presence among the congregation. "The spirit of the Lord is moving so powerfully here," he said. "When an altar call is given, the altar rail fills up so fast you might get run over."

Smith isn't alone in sensing the nearness of God's presence among the congregation at Flint Hill. Michael Brown, who first attended the church during revival in 1996, said he felt the spirit's tangible presence the moment he walked through the door. "When I walked in the door, it covered me like a warn blanket," he said. "I've never been anywhere else that felt like that."

One of the most gratifying developments of Flint Hill's revitalization, according to many members, has been the addition of several young faces to the congregation. On a recent Sunday morning, nearly 20 youngsters crowded around the altar rail for the children's sermon.

"Two and a half years ago, when we wanted to start a vacation Bible school, they thought we were crazy," said new member Mike Dunbar. "There were no children here." Dunbar recently spent a day laying new carpet in a previously unused room that is now being readied to accommodate children and youth activities.

On Feb. 14 Flint Hill hosted a special youth Sunday for teenagers throughout the area -- featuring former Green Bay Packers player Mike McCoy, who now serves as a chaplain for the Atlanta Braves.

Flint Hill's music ministry also received a jump start recently when first-time visitor Terry Eberle volunteered to work with the choir. "She sings like an angel and has brought a lot of discipline to the choir," Smith said.

Flint Hill's high level of activity makes for a busy schedule for Smith, who continues to hold offices in the district and conference and runs a business in Carroll County. "This is a moving-up church," Smith said. "When they were at 50 members, they were doing the ministry and evangelism of a 500-member church."

Although Smith now does most of the preaching at Flint Hill and also conducts revivals at other churches, he is quick to point out that he is not an ordained pastor. "I'm an evangelist," said Smith, who received North Georgia's Denman Award for lay evangelism in 1997. "If I've got to preach to do it, I will."

Tomlinson does not view Smith's lack of ministerial credentials as an obstacle. In fact he attributes the rapid growth of Flint Hill's membership at least partly to the down-to-earth approach to ministry practiced by Smith and his team. "The people who are coming in relate extremely well to lay people who don't use a lot of 'churchy' jargon," said Tomlinson.

Tomlinson views the unique arrangement for ministry at Flint Hill as a bold experiment that could be successfully repeated in other small churches. "We've broken the mold in a lot of ways to make this happen," he said. "Flint Hill is a story I think the whole denomination can gain from. It says we can trust our lay people to be in ministry -- even in areas we have traditionally reserved for clergy.