Christiana Presbyterian turns members into disciples

by Ray Waddle

Ten years ago, rural Christiana Presbyterian Church had a total of seven members and a future as unpromising as the congregation's sagging old building.

Now it's a force in its Middle Tennessee community and a flagship small congregation with a new church house and a renewed vision of service.

It raises money for worldchanging ministries — tsunami relief, the Heifer Project, the Synod's Living Waters for the World clean-water initiative — and has opened its heart to local families and school children.

"We like to say we’re a 'Resurrection' church," says the Rev. Carole Knight, Christiana Presbyterian's minister.

"The life of this church was rekindled."

In the mid-90s, Christiana church, some five miles south of Murfreesboro, Tenn., was nearly a century old but in decline and facing possible extinction. Then leaders rededicated themselves to the future.

They got a five-year redevelopment grant from the denomination (help came from the Synod of Living Waters, Middle Tennessee Presbytery and General Assembly) and hired a full-time minister, Carole Knight. They bought land and relocated, moving into a new building in Christiana along Highway 231 in 2000. It put them near the center of new residential growth and community life.

Pastor Carol Knight

Membership is now about 100, with 30-50 in regular attendance. "I'll tell you the truth — this is the Lord's doing," says longtime member Iris Parsons Young. "We just keep faith with the Lord."

Most remarkable is the tiny church's ambitious record of giving to broader church causes and the local neighborhood. For instance:

• The church raised $376 in February for the Synod's Living Waters for the World project (see www.livingwatersfortheworld.org). Knight's children-sermon illustration — a simple glass of water — proved powerful.

"I bring a glass of muddy water and I act like I'm going to drink it, and the children say 'No! No!," she says. "But I tell them this is what most of the children of the world face everyday. The glass of water makes a big mental impact. People think, 'We've got to give money to get those children some water!' "

• The church gave $3,500 after the tsunami devastated Asia in December 2004. The church had raised $2,500 (with a goal of $5,000) for the Heifer Project, which sponsors farm animals for poor families throughout the world. When the tsunami hit, they took the $2,500, raised another $1,000 on the spot and turned it all over to Heifer's own tsunami relief effort. A matching grant from Heifer doubled the $3,500, multiplying the Christiana church's impact.

• The church started a preschool in 2000, a program for up to 16 children. They learn Bible stories, sing prayers before snack and lunch time, and learn how to play and share. "This was a calling for us," says Stacey Reed, preschool director and an elder at Christiana church. "We mentally prepare them for school and get their little minds working. And we let them know God loves them and we love them."

• The church is also an active partner with two public schools across the road, Christiana Elementary and Christiana Middle School. The church maintains a food bank for families of children who attend the schools. The church sponsors an angel tree, gathering toys for pupils who might otherwise go empty-handed at Christmas. Members also donate school supplies (pencils, paper, glue) and personal hygiene items (toothpaste, tissue, shampoo) for the school kids.

Knight is on the elementary school's improvement committee, which exposes her to the needs of families; as many as one-quarter to one-third are economically disadvantaged.

"The school sees us as their partner, as a community stake holder," says Knight. "It seems obvious that if you're sitting across the road from the school, you better do something."

Christiana Presbyterian Church's far-flung ministries and compassion stem from a simple focus, the minister says — a passion to be disciples.

"There's a faithful core group here that understands they are the church of Jesus Christ," she says.

"Disciples are messengers for God, trained to be followers and proclaimers. It's something we teach the children; they see themselves as disciples. It happens because of the leadership and movement of the Spirit. People gather here because the Spirit gathers them. I don't do it!"

And it all happened because a small church at a crossroads in its history a decade ago decided its story wasn't done.

"They chose to grow, they chose to relocate," Knight says. "They chose life."