PARK CITY, Utah -- The Episcopal Church Building Fund (ECBF) is planning a third congregational growth seminar this year as leaders focus on bringing new people into their churches.
"Congregations are discovering that familiar models are not producing desired results," said the Rev. Charles Fulton, ECBF's president.
The ECBF has presented similar seminars twice a year for 18 years, but only recently have church leaders expressed real interest in church growth, according to the Episcopal News Service. The conferences address diversity within communities and churches, using the media, incorporating new members and dealing with authority and conflict, Fulton said.
This year's third seminar is planned for Nov. 11-15 in San Diego.
"We say we want new people (in the church) but we send the opposite message in subliminal ways," said Carol Branco, a lay leader at St. John the Baptist in Sanbornville, N.H. Branco attended a June "Start Up! Start Over!" congregational development seminar in Park City, Utah.
"We either have bad lighting or signs behind bushes or worship that doesn't attract the people we say we want to attract," Branco said. "We need to make some changes that speak to the population we are trying to reach."
