Rural S.C. churches find
strength in numbers
By Edward Terry, The Layman, January 5, 2010
CLINTON, S.C. – A group of 15 Presbyterian churches in rural South Carolina have learned, as the old saying goes, there is strength in numbers.
GLC3 mission activities
Some examples of the ministries and mission work GLC3 has provided as a group:
– Undertaking an annual community service project for incoming freshmen at nearby Presbyterian College.
– Offering an adult ministry program.
– Hosting a summer youth camp (shown in photo above).
– Participation in Christmas International House, which provides homes to foreign college students during holiday breaks.
– Sharing resources, such as buses and study resources.
– Sending a full-time missionary to Albania.
Begun nearly 20 years ago, the Greater Laurens County Cluster of Churches (GLC3) has helped the group of small congregations pool their resources for the greater good in their community and the Kingdom.
“The key is having a vision that reaches beyond yourself and is bigger than any one of the participating congregations,” said the Rev. Herb Codington of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Clinton, S.C. “Some of our small churches would say that the cluster has re-energized them. People started dreaming again at some of our churches.”
Though the 15 congregations have different worship styles and pastors with varying forms of theology, the cluster puts them all together under one missional umbrella. It especially helps those without a full-time pastor or regular pastoral leadership.
GLC3 membership includes: Bethany, Duncan Creek, Grace Covenant, Hartness-Thornwell Memorial, Joanna First, Lisbon, Little River-Dominick, Lydia, Owings, Piedmont, Queens Memorial, Rocky Springs, Shady Grove, Todd Memorial and Whitmire Presbyterian churches. The churches are part of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Presbytery of the Trinity.
Small churches, big impact
In this case, Codington explained, the cluster makes mission work easier through its collective offering of programs and the member congregations can plug in where they want. Yet each congregation has its own significant contributions to the group.
“It makes ministry more effective and more efficient,” Codington said.
One example followed a destructive hurricane in poverty-stricken Haiti. The cluster collected 17 tons of food for the relief effort.
“An individual church would have a tough time pulling that off,” Codington said.
The partnership has helped the Laurens churches move from survival and maintenance modes, to ministry and mission vitality, he added.
Ann Felten, clerk of session at Bethany, grew up in Washington D.C. and lived in Montana before moving to South Carolina. She has personally experienced how the group comes together when needs arise. She particularly appreciates efforts to host a dozen or so foreign college students each year through Christmas International House.
“To see what I see here is pretty amazing,” she said. “And it’s possible because of clustering. That’s what makes the difference.”
How to register
For more information about the “Linking for Ministry” event this summer, go to the Trinity Presbytery Web site.
A model cluster
GLC3 was asked to share its knowledge with other congregations within the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Trinity Presbytery, and also has participated in exchanges with other cluster groups across the country. In June, the GLC3 will host its first clustering conference, “Linking for Ministry,” June 2-4 at the Thornwell Home for Children campus in Clinton, S.C.
GLC3 cluster member Finley Sutton visits one of the schools in Haiti that the rural South Carolina PCUSA congregations support.
Planning to partner with the PCUSA’s Small Church and Community Ministry office, the Outreach Foundation, Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship and Presbyterians for Renewal, the GLC3 will share its model for making small churches more mission-focused.
In addition to existing resources from the Small Church and Community Ministry, the June conference could help other small churches move out of survival mode, said Phil Tom, an associate with the PCUSA’s Small Church and Community Ministry. Though it’s not one-size-fits-all, it is a good example for others to follow, he added.
“The best way churches can learn is from their peers,” Tom said. “We’re trying to use it as a rallying point for a lot of churches that don’t see a future.”
Of course the GLC3 isn’t the only effective cluster in PCUSA. Tom points to similarly successful groups in Maine, New York, Ohio and West Virginia as well.
From the ground up
In the beginning, Codington said there weren’t many resources available on clustering. There have since been many guides and books written on the strategy, both within the PCUSA and other denominations. So, GLC3 literally was built from the ground up, unlike most other clusters that commonly are formed from the top down.
Codington also cites Biblical influences for the GLC3 model. Paul’s form of clustering in the first-century Church – focusing on three kinds of support: leadership sharing, teaching and financial – continues in clusters today.
“Pulpit exchanges, special services for one another, we’ve pitched in with finances for one another’s causes … attending each other’s special services,” Codington said. Yet he warns that clustering must be undertaken in the right spirit.
“There is a danger if we see it as a survival mechanism,” he said. “If my primary motivation for getting together is so we can hang a little longer, we’re probably not accomplishing a lot.
“It has to be missional to ignite people’s passions.”