Church 2.0

By April A. Morris  

APRIL 26, 2012 12:33 p.m. (1)

When leaders at North Hills Community Church in Taylors discovered that some people were traveling from Spartanburg to attend services there, they began work on a plan to serve those worshippers closer to home.

Rev. Matt Nestberg is not a newcomer to the Upstate, but his congregation, CrossLife Church in Spartanburg, is a new kid on the block. The new church was planted this spring by North Hills Community Church. Nestberg, the worship pastor at North Hills for 13 years, is now leading the congregation that meets in Fairforest Elementary’s auditorium.

The church is literally weeks old. The first service was on April 8, Easter Sunday, and Nestberg says they are averaging about 60 attendees at each service. The worshippers meet in the auditorium for services and set up in the school’s hallways for classes.

Nestberg said planting this new church grew from a convergence of the need he saw for Bible-based preaching churches, his family’s faith walk and his own growing desire to start new churches. Many people are seeking a relationship with God rather than a form of religion, he said.

Searching for a different relationship with God seems to be a nationwide trend.

According to a 2008 survey of more than 35,000 Americans by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, people are seeking religious connection, often changing affiliations from their childhood religious association.

The survey reports that one in four adults said that they have switched religious affiliation from their childhood faith, either to a specific faith or away from a religious tradition. In addition, 16.1 percent of respondents reported no religious affiliation, more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children.

Millennials, ages 18 to 29, were less religious than older Americans, with one in four reporting that they are unaffiliated with a particular faith.

However, South Carolina may be bucking that trend. Only 10 percent of Palmetto State residents surveyed reported “no affiliation” to the Pew Forum survey. And according to a 2009 Gallup poll, South Carolinians ranked the third highest in church attendance, with 56 percent reporting they attend worship weekly or almost every week, behind only Alabama and Mississippi.

In the Upstate, the trend is increasingly toward the nontraditional. A variety of fledgling, more unorthodox churches are appearing, while more mainstream churches are offering contemporary worship in addition to their traditional services.

Pastor Mark Pangel, a former student pastor and one of the founders of 4 Points Church in Duncan, said, “I would definitely say there is a trend away from traditional toward contemporary.”

Founders specifically designed 4 Points Church to target those who would never normally visit a traditional church, said Pangel. “We want to reach out to the least, lost and lonely.” Even so, “we’re on the same team” with mainstream churches, he hastened to add. “We’re not competing with a traditional church.”

Certainly, 4 Points does not sport a steeple; its meeting space since September 2011 has been the Pizza Inn in Duncan. The restaurant space was offered by the owner, who is a friend of Pangel’s and part of the church’s launch team. In July, the congregation hopes to move into a storefront location off Highway 101.

The goal for 4 Points is also to be an international church, to reach out to the Hispanic population in the area and offer translation for worship, Pangel said. “We’re excited about what God is doing.”

Over in Greenville, Rev. T. Brown (short for Thomas) said a call from God brought him to the Upstate from his Pawleys Island home to plant a new Anglican church: St. Paul’s. The new church is a mission of All Saints Church in Pawleys Island, where Brown was formerly assistant rector.

“People are not looking to ‘do’ church anymore, but are genuinely searching for an authentic encounter with the living God,” Brown said. “Just punching the church card that the parents punched no longer fills the thirst of knowing Jesus and developing a real relationship with Him.”

Nestberg agrees, saying he thinks the trend of people moving between religious affiliations has something to do with a natural rebellion away from parents’ tradition.

Another factor is the prevailing consumer culture, he said. Worshippers had few choices in the past for church-going experiences. “Now there’s the Burger King model of ‘Have it Your Way.’ People can shop for church the way they shop for hamburgers,” he said.

On the other hand, many people are examining the rules and behaviors they were taught from childhood and discovering that they aren’t always based on biblical teaching, Nestberg said. “And that’s a great thing.”

He said he is seeing a growing attraction to liturgy among the Millennials. “Twenty years ago there was a swing away from liturgy toward ‘being hip.’ Now it’s coming back,” he said. “However, as long as we keep pursuing forms, the result will always be emptiness. Christ should be the center of the pursuit.”

CrossLife’s worship is a blend of tradition and contemporary. The congregation takes communion every week, Nestberg said, but “I’ll wear jeans and a collared shirt to preach. That’s not so traditional.”

Neither is worshipping at Spill the Beans coffeehouse, where the new Origins Church gathers every Sunday in downtown Greenville. Pastor John David Mangrum agrees people are looking for connection.

“People aren’t as loyal to a church brand or denomination. They want to connect with God, connect with other people and connect with a mission.” Mangrum said he understands the fluid nature of religion in America. “It takes all kinds of churches for all kinds of people.”

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