January/February 2012 Cover Story
1,001 in 10
The numbers reflect a bold new vision: establishing 1,001 new Presbyterian worshiping communities in the next 10 years
By Jerry L. Van Marter
Over the past four years, Presbyterians have begun to rally around the call to “Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide,” an initiative endorsed by the last two General Assemblies. Now a new challenge has emerged from Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders: a decade-long push to grow the denomination deeper and wider than most members may ever have imagined.
The goal: 1,001 new Presbyterian worshiping communities in the next 10 years. It’s a dramatic proposal for a denomination that has been gradually declining in membership since the mid-1960s. The “1,001 in 10” idea was first floated publicly last spring by Roger Dermody, deputy executive director for mission of the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC).
“I want to acknowledge the obvious,” he says. “In our changing world, as we wrestle with the shape of our common life together, we need to have tough conversations about this critical moment in time, and about our life together as Presbyterians. What I and your other leaders are hearing over and over again … is that it’s all about our congregations.”
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