Pastor: From Heritage to Outreach – Focus Must Shift

TUCSON, AZ (July 26, 2004) - The first time Dan Johnson served as an Evangelical Covenant Church pastor in Tucson, Arizona, he was planting Grace Community Covenant Church in the mid-1980s.

Johnson's second time doing ministry in Tucson is a different story. Last November, Johnson became pastor of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Tucson, a 39-year-old congregation desiring to broaden the impact of its ministry to its community. So far, Johnson says he has enjoyed the challenge.

A recent Friend to Friend Sunday worship service drew 159 people, tripling the congregation's average attendance. The Evangelical Covenant Church of Tucson hopes to officially rename itself in the coming months, but the remaking of the church seems to have already begun.

"One of the things we have to shift is our emphasis from heritage to outreach and service," said Johnson as he assessed the future of his new congregation. "We need to think about the past, but when we think about it, we often don't think about the right things. Our Covenant forebearers were profoundly evangelistic and mission-minded. We need to remember the continuation of the (original) call. We have about 40 to 50 people, and two-thirds are over 70 years old. But it's exciting – they're willing to try things – and we have changed some things here."

The Evangelical Covenant Church of Tucson has recently tried community building projects to improve its visibility in the neighborhood, Johnson said. The "Passion of the Christ" movie last spring helped serve as a catalyst for a six-week outreach-based sermon series. A mailing was sent to 5,000 homes as a precursor to the event. Later, the church hosted a few service projects, including breakfast for 100 students at the nearby high school during finals week. The church also gave out free water and parking to those using the church's parking lot for the local high school's graduation event. "A shift in the culture of the church has pervaded the congregation and we're trying to see the assets of the church as something to give away," Johnson said.

After beginning his pastoral ministry at Stoneridge Covenant Church in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, Johnson became a church planter in Tucson at Grace Community Covenant Church, beginning in 1985. He left in 1992 to pastor Hope Evangelical Covenant Church in Indianapolis, a congregation of more than 150 that recently helped plant a Hispanic church. Last year Johnson took a sabbatical – an extended mission trip in Latin America - and reassessed his call to ministry. He and his wife, Susan (a school teacher), have enjoyed being back in Tucson and seeing the older Tucson congregation re-energize.

The process has not translated into a "rags to riches" megachurch, but a handful of people will be part of membership classes and the church is considering adopting a new constitution, along with changing its name. Some positive changes have already occurred and the church has benefited from some new and established personnel and tools, including:

• A group of talented high school students that play trumpet and baritone as they participate in Sunday morning worship
• PowerPoint slides used for sermons, prayer times and song-leading during worship services
• The 25-year-old Sunshine preschool and childcare program under director Cathy Wysopal that currently serves around 100 people
• A youth ministry under Jal Atkielski that has attracted many teens through FOG (Followers of God), a Wednesday afternoon high school ministry that meets in the youth room (Atkielski also leads a young adult discipleship group on Monday nights and has been organizing sports programs for area junior high students)
• Church chair Bob Lofgren, who is among many longtime members giving of themselves to others in practical ways

Johnson said that valuable help from outside the congregation has also been integral to the church's evolution. Doug Stevens of the California-based Renewal Project (an organization often used by the Pacific Southwest Conference) visited the church two summers ago and helped the congregation assess whether a turnaround would be possible.

John Reed, a longtime military chaplain, served as interim pastor for a time and challenged the church to begin the process of reforming itself. Johnson said that the efforts of Stevens, Reed and other interim pastors readied the congregation for changes he has attempted to implement.

"That outside consultation and help has made a huge difference," says Johnson. "Some churches are too proud to go outside the church and make an honest assessment because it's a massive dose of reality humility. I give this church a lot of credit for doing this."

Grace Community Covenant Church under pastor Scot Gillan has also been a valuable ally. The congregation of more than 200 has supplied resources, particularly in morning worship. Charlie Lehardy, who also has assisted with sound system technology, and Adele Lindquist and Jack Chittum have used their musical skills in morning worship at Johnson's church. Johnson hopes that the momentum built in the past seven months will continue to excite the congregation as it readies for its 40th anniversary celebration November 7 and in the months thereafter.

"In Nehemiah 2:18 it says, 'Let us start rebuilding,' and we have a banner in our church with those words," said Johnson as he assessed another type of rebuilding taking place in the church. "But it's only God that can do this and I'm hopeful He can. The church is needed in this community. Only the church deals with heart transformation. And the church has to have the conviction that 'my church must flourish - and God wants my church to flourish,' because only the church makes disciples. Only the church can take people who are bored and broken and turn them into saints and stewards and workers and worshipers."

The Evangelical Covenant Church of Tucson will host its second Friend to Friend Sunday on September 12 as it builds toward its 40th anniversary. For more about the church and its ministries, call Johnson at 520-885-3192.

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