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2 inner-city United Methodist churches merge in Akron
Creating a Family of Faith

Congregation to sell Good Shepherd site

By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal religion writer

Published on Saturday, Jul 04, 2009

Akron's Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist and Church of the Master United Methodist were born out of mergers between two churches more than 35 years ago.

Now, the two inner-city congregations are coming together to create a stronger presence as Family of Faith United Methodist Church. The first service of the new congregation will be 10:45 a.m. Sunday at Church of the Master, 800 E. Market St.

''Both congregations wanted desperately to stay in the city and minister, but we were both experiencing declining and aging memberships,'' said Mike Doney, who chaired the merger committee. ''Fortunately, the lay people in both congregations had enough foresight to come together before either congregation got to a place where it might need to consider closing.''

Discussions between the two congregations began in 2006, when they joined three other local United Methodist congregations to explore mutual support, joint programs and combined missions and ministries. The next year, the congregations began having joint services to build relationships.

By the spring of 2008, the congregations of Good Shepherd and Church of the Master decided they were interested in exploring a merger. The strategic planning committees of each congregation began to meet and eventually, a formal merger committee was created.

On Jan. 25, the members of both congregations voted to accept the committee's recommendation to merge as a new church and use the Church of the Master site as the worship center and church building.

By joining forces, the new congregation will nearly double and will pool talents and resources that once belonged to two separate entities. Its hope is to be able to expand its reach into the community through programs like the free lunch ministry that is offered twice a month at the church.

Members at Church of the Master agreed to give up their name and create a new identity. Those at Good Shepherd gave up their building; the new congregation plans to sell that property.

Church of the Master was formed in 1972 when Grace United Methodist and St. James United Methodist churches merged.

Church of the Good Shepherd, at 785 S. Main St., was established in 1973 when Main Street United Methodist and Calvary United Methodist joined together. The last service was held Sunday at that building, where OPEN M was founded and housed before the urban ministry moved to its own building.

''There have been some tears because it's not easy to give up your church building and the church family that you have been with for years,'' said Bob Bauch, who joined Good Shepherd when it was Main Street, more than 48 years ago. ''But most of us have come to the realization that the building is not the church. The church is the people, and now we will have a bigger family to work with to fulfill our mission to serve.''

The Rev. Valerie Stultz, superintendent who oversees the Canal District in the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, said she is inspired by the decision of the congregations. The district includes United Methodist churches in Summit, Portage, Medina and Wayne counties.

''This was driven by the laity. The people asked to do this because they experienced Christ's call to do more effective ministry in the city instead of spending their money on maintaining buildings,'' Stultz said. ''They have decided to focus their efforts and resources on ministry, increasing their effectiveness and their outreach ministries to the community.''

Stultz said the merger could become a model for other struggling congregations and set an example of how churches can work together to be more effective. She said that, like the merger between Good Shepherd and Church of the Master, any mergers in the district or conference must be led by the laity.

''The people in our congregations, not the district superintendent or the bishop, will decide if there are ways for them to come together to be stronger. And they will decide what that coming together looks like,'' Stultz said. ''We're excited that Good Shepherd and Church of the Master decided to come together before they were destined to die. This has great promise!''

Akron's Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist and Church of the Master United Methodist were born out of mergers between two churches more than 35 years ago.

Get the full article here.



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