Pathways of Connection: From Theological Reflection to Engagement

Introduction: A Congregation with a Dream

The Episcopal Church, like many mainline denominations, has faced declining attendance and aging congregations. As an ordained priest serving a congregation in southwest Florida, I have observed this trend firsthand. My church, founded in 1988, was once filled with young families, but today its median age is 72. Despite being surrounded by new gated communities filled with families, our congregation has struggled to connect with these neighbors.

Our initial approach focused on inviting people into our church, assuming they would integrate into our existing traditions. However, this inward-facing perspective failed to acknowledge that God’s transformative work is already happening outside our church walls. This realization led to a re-evaluation of our mission, shifting our focus from institutional survival to genuine community engagement.

Planning the Steps to Meet the Dream

In December 2019, we revised our mission statement to explicitly include God’s role in our work. However, updating a mission statement alone was insufficient. We needed to address an adaptive challenge: how to build relationships with our neighbors and participate in God’s transformation.

The process required three key steps:

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Theological Reflection – Encouraging our congregation to listen to God and connect Sunday worship with daily life.	Small, Faithful Actions – Taking incremental steps toward community engagement rather than waiting for people to come to us.	Taking Risks – Moving outside our comfort zones to meet our neighbors where they are, rather than expecting them to adapt to us.

The pandemic provided time for deep reflection, revealing that while our members were eager to serve, they often lacked an understanding of the theological implications of ministry. We needed to bridge the gap between our faith and our actions.

Engaging the Community

Our approach to engagement centered on building relationships rather than focusing solely on institutional growth. This required shifting away from measuring success in terms of attendance and finances. Instead, we prioritized understanding our community’s needs and identifying how we could participate in God’s ongoing work.

Drawing from authors such as George Hawley and Wendy Cadge, I explored how American religious participation has changed. While church attendance has declined, people still seek spiritual connection. The church’s role, therefore, is to meet people where they are rather than expecting them to return to traditional structures.

Key strategies included:

• Intergenerational Ministry – Encouraging different age groups to learn from and mentor one another.
• Intentional Conversations – Asking neighbors about their lives, needs, and spiritual questions, rather than assuming we already knew what they sought.
• Partnerships Beyond the Church – Collaborating with community organizations to engage in justice work and serve families in meaningful ways.

One of our primary goals was to establish a preschool or daycare, a long-held dream of our congregation. This would provide a tangible way to serve families while fostering relationships.

The Innovation: Pray, Wait, Connect and Pray, Wait, Act

To move from reflection to action, I developed a ten-week small-group study divided into two phases:

Lenten Study (Pray, Wait, Connect)

• Focused on personal faith development.
• Encouraged deep theological reflection using Darrell Guder’s five questions.
  Week 1: Who is Jesus Christ to me? Week 2: Who and/or what is the Church to me? Week 3: How am I a disciple of Jesus? Week 4: What is my understanding or practice of giving and gratitude? Week 5: What is my response to God in what I have heard these last five weeks? Where do I hear my (or the congregation’s) purpose or call?
• Built trust and vulnerability among members.

Easter Study (Pray, Wait, Act)

• Shifted focus to congregational mission and engagement.
• Used Margaret J. Wheatley’s themes of relationships, fear vs. love, quality of thinking, the role of money, and willingness to contribute.
• Led to action steps such as community events, social media outreach, and leadership development.

Through this process, members recognized their call to deeper discipleship and mission. Rather than simply lamenting our aging congregation, we embraced new opportunities to engage families in our area.

Results and Future Steps

The small-group studies resulted in several concrete initiatives:

• Trunk-or-Treat Event – Created an opportunity for neighborhood families to interact with our congregation.
• Community Walks – Plans for volunteers to walk the local neighborhoods to meet new residents.
• Daycare Partnership – A Christian daycare will open on our property in early 2025, fulfilling a long-term congregational dream.

This innovation reinforced that discipleship and leadership development are essential for sustainable ministry. Members moved from passive participation to active engagement, realizing that small steps can lead to transformative change.

Conclusion

This thesis demonstrates that church growth is not about increasing attendance but about engaging in God’s work beyond our walls. By focusing on relationships, listening to our community, and taking faithful risks, we can create new pathways for connection.

The 21st-century church must move beyond institutional preservation and rediscover its mission to seek and serve others. As we step into God’s ongoing transformation, we find new ways to embody Christ’s love in the world.

For Further Reading:
Root, Andrew, and Blair D. Bertrand. When Church Stops Working. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2023.
Wheatley, Margaret J. Who Do We Choose To Be?, Second Edition: Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2023.