Louisville's Peace and Second Presbyterian Churches
are in Partnership that Follows Missional Church Idea
Promoted by Mid-Kentucky's General Presbyter Betty Meadows

by Ray Waddle

Two Presbyterian churches in Louisville, 15 miles apart and long oblivious to each other, have discovered that God has other plans for them.

Second Presbyterian is predominantly white, Peace Presbyterian mostly black, but now they're becoming friends, praying together, sharing mission projects, stirring excitement, showing what Christian fellowship can really look like.

This is just what Betty Meadows had in mind.

Meadows, general presbyter for the Presbytery of Mid-Kentucky, is overturning business-as-usual attitudes in church life, urging congregations to think boldly about their purpose as Christian outposts in a needy world.

Is your church "missional"?

"I wondered out loud — what would a presbytery look like that's missional?" she says. "That is, we are called to be co-creators with God in transforming the world. It forces us to ask questions: What are we here for? What does God want from us? Why do we gather? Is church just a club, a clique, only a comfort zone? I didn't want same ol' same ol'. I don't think God wants that either."

Two churches, Second Presbyterian (about 1,300 members) and Peace Presbyterian (membership 83), found their own way of leaving their comfort zones for a more adventurous faith.

Three years ago, they started a partnership with help from a Second Presbyterian anonymous donation. The two congregations set up a task force of about 14 people to explore ways to build friendships and do community outreach together.

As a small group, task force members took their time to get to know each other. They did diversity training, a picnic, retreats. They planned a joint worship service at the city zoo for the two congregations, and 440 people attended. The experiences built momentum for more ideas, more points of contact.

At left, Rose Packer, member of Peace Presbyterian Church,
and Jean Groskreutz, member of Second

With the donation from Second Presbyterian, Peace Presbyterian was able to renovate its kitchen and create a Kids Cafe, a local edition of a national program sponsored by Second Harvest. Kids Cafe is designed to provide free meals and other services to low-income youngsters.

At Peace church, Kids Cafe is open twice a week, attracting some 30 young people from the neighborhood for an after-school meal, tutoring and homework help. The donation also provided computers and other materials.

"The partnership brings to mind what Presbyterianism is all about — connectionalism, churches getting together to make a difference," says the Rev. Wayne Steele, minister of Peace church.
The two churches continue to convene and dream together. They've sponsored pulpit exchanges, choir visits, a second big communal worship at the zoo. Recently the churches' sessions met for further planning. Leaders envision getting the youth groups together; perhaps some day the youth will tackle a Habitat for Humanity construction project together or travel to the Gulf Coast to pitch in on hurricane relief.

"Anytime two churches of different ethnicities get together and do things, that's mission," says Jean Groskreutz, a member of Second Presbyterian active in the partnership.

"Doing things together, we become friends. There's more unity than difference. It has expanded my ability to worship. Coming to Peace to worship is exhilarating. There is such enthusiasm and vibrancy in the service, a whole new dimension to worship. This has been great for me. Peace is now my other church."

An active member at Peace said the partnership has enriched both sides.

"I thought I knew about them, but I've come to appreciate who they are," says Rose Packer of Peace church. "It's amazing what I didn't know about Second - the music, the sermons. ... To us, mission means fulfilling what Christ had to offer, the Good News. We're not doing that if we stay on our own turf or go to other countries and not even get to know people across town."

They offered advice to other churches who want to reach across ethnic or economic lines and think missionally.

"Go to presbytery and find another church that is open to change," Groskreutz says. "Start small, start with a core group and really get to know each other. Do some fun things, do some thoughtful things."

At the presbytery, Betty Meadows points to the Peace-Second partnership as one creative way two churches are answering the gospel call. A growing handful of other congregations are starting their own partnerships across the Mid-Kentucky presbytery, which has 57 churches and about 11,000 members. God is waiting for others to step forward, she says.

"God is already out there, birthing relationships and new ways of being," she says. "Birth is chaotic and messy and not always on time. But God is asking us to midwife it. God is way ahead of us, asking us to join."

(Ray Waddle, a Nashville writer and columnist, is author of Against the Grain: Unconventional Wisdom from Ecclesiastes.)