Traditional New Church Start (Parachute Drop)
A pastor moves into an area to recruit and develop a "core group which will then develop a new church. Supervision and accountability is provided by the District Superintendent. This is the most isolated and independent model of starting a new church. It is also the most expensive and statistically the most likely to fail. However with the right person and a patient Cabinet, this model may be desirable in certain circumstances.
Parent Church Model
A healthy, existing church sends an associate pastor and other volunteers to start a new church in a new area. Supervision and accountability is provided by the "mother church and the Sr. Pastor. At some point the new church will become self-sufficient and charter in its own name. This model is the least expensive and has a much higher rate of success. The Start Up Grant is a matching grant in order to encourage the financial "buy in of the parent church.
2nd Campus
A healthy, existing church creates a second campus and develops a new congregation and discipleship system. The two congregations will operate as one church under the accountability and supervision of the Sr. Pastor. There is no expectation in this model that the new congregation will ever charter or separate from the original church. One church may serve multiple campuses. The Start Up Grant is a matching grant in order to encourage the financial "buy in of the parent church.
New Faith Community
A healthy, existing church reaches out to a new demographic of people by starting a new worship service with its own discipleship system. This new faith community may use the facilities of the existing church. Three things differentiate this model from simply starting a "2nd worship service": 1) New people, 2) New worship, 3) New discipleship system. A high standard of accountability will be required to justify financial support for this model but it does have potential for creating a new church. This model might appeal to churches in smaller towns or with fewer resources or churches trying to reach economically disadvantaged demographic groups. The Start Up Grant is a matching grant in order to encourage the financial "buy in of the parent church.
Mission Fellowship
This model takes advantage of new language in the 2004 Discipline. A Mission Fellowship may be started by a local church with the permission of the District Superintendent and may be led by a layperson. The leader of a Mission Fellowship is under the supervision of another pastor or the District Superintendent. A Mission Fellowship is NOT chartered and therefore must related to another Charge Conference. The purpose of a Mission Fellowship is to create a faith community that is committed to reaching out to un-churched people. It exists as a faith community that provides a way for people of faith and seekers to worship, study, reach out in mission and ministry and receive the sacrament.
When a Mission Fellowship consistently averages 120/week they may apply for full Financial Support as a New Church Start.
