How Do You Revive A Church?
How do you revitalize a 140-year-old urban church facing the stark possibility of closure? In 2021, Abbott Memorial Presbyterian Church faced this question.
Abbott has been a faithful witness to the city since 1882. Many early attendees were immigrants, and services were in both Welsh and English. Over the decades, new immigrants came: from Germany, Poland, Greece, and more recently, Central America.
But after peaking at 500 attendees in the 1960s, many members left the city and Abbott declined. Following a traumatic pastoral crisis and departure in 2021, two-thirds of the leaders and congregation left, leaving 20 or 30 faithful worshippers, many of whom were in their 60s or 70s. Yet this faithful remnant wanted renewal.
BALM and Abbott’s leaders crafted an agreement to forge a path for revitalization. BALM provided preaching, leadership support, and coaching. Dr. Ben Taylor of Kainos Ministries provided counsel and support to wounded church members. To repair broken trust, elders' meetings were opened to members. BALM provided regular updates to the congregation.
Demographic research provided insights on Abbott’s diverse neighborhood. BALM introduced missional practices to help Abbott “pray and play” that included solid preaching in the gospel of grace; an online Wednesday prayer meeting; monthly outreach events (dubbed “Party in the Park” because of Abbott’s spacious corner lot), and monthly fellowship meals. Women were deployed in more active ministry roles. Services included an expanded role for Abbott’s music minister and elder, Julius Fischer, Jr.
The Spirit was stirring. New officers were trained, and membership classes excited visitors and long-time attenders with Abbott’s renewed mission. Reformed University Fellowship at the University of Maryland, led by Chris Garriott, held a Spring Break outreach in the community. Outreach to immigrants through the nearby Salaam Center and other mercy ministries expanded. The pulpit committee interviewed several candidates, but unanimously called Rev. Chris Garriott as pastor.
BALM trained several leaders in Discovery Bible Studies, and two new studies--including one at the library--began reaching unchurched city residents. Attendee Blanca Tapahuasco began offering free English lessons for children and basic Spanish lessons for English speakers. All these have been life-giving to the church.
Having started with a typical attendance of 25, growth has been steady, with a recent attendance of 65. Commenting on Abbott’s outreach in the area, Blanca said, “God is working! I feel like this corner is shining!”
Julius Fischer, who has served Abbott for 25 years, knows Jesus has a mission for the church. “The Lord has sustained Abbott, with a congregation of less than 30, in a 140-year-old building, through COVID, through a traumatic pastoral crisis, with a full-time Minister of Music. Now He has provided a gifted full-time pastor who is living in the manse adjacent to the church. With all of that, the church is not merely surviving, but flourishing."
May the Light of Christ continue to shine from Abbott’s facility at the corner of Highland Avenue and Bank Street.
