Unleashing Wesleyan Creativity

“A growing family committed to helping … people … find the Father, a family and a fulfilling future.”

Like the focusing mechanism in a high-powered microscope, the mission statement of Cornerstone Free Methodist Church in Akron, OH, provides an extremely precise lens through which to view the creative, energetic, gifted servant who shepherds this flock with wisdom, courage — and just a touch of reckless abandon.

“Robert Schuller once said, ‘Find a need and fill it,’” Senior Pastor Brenda Young recalls, citing a philosophy that has undergirded her life and ministry since long before she and her husband, Charlie (Ohio Conference superintendent), came to Akron in 1978.

“The Free Methodist Church here dates back to 1901,” she says, “but traditional church people — those who’ve grown up in the denomination — typically aren’t those we attract.” Cornerstone is aggressively New Testament, she says, and its leadership is drawn from the rank and file, often originating with those who’ve gone through something difficult and survived. Now they want to lend a hand to those currently “in the trenches.”

Giving It Away
One of Young’s ministry basics is responding to crisis needs, like weddings and funerals — “necessary” events that mark transitional points in people’s lives. “Those who’ve been through our premarital counseling sessions or cared for by our funeral ministry know that when they face life’s problems, the church is here for them,” she says.

Under Young’s leadership Cornerstone has always offered all its resources at no charge to anyone who needs them. Although she admits this may be inconvenient at times — creating tension among people and stretching resources to the breaking point — this leadership decision continues to bear much fruit. The church hosts a wide variety of activities that bring the unchurched community through its doors: elementary school testing, blood drives, a wide variety of sports programs and more.

“We don’t have a lot of financial resources or the finest facilities,” says Young. But she has never let those things get in the way of people ministering to people. Under her leadership the church reaches out through four distinctly different worship service styles and uses moveable partitions in its fellowship hall to accommodate several ministries at a time. Included are Alcoholics Anonymous (with more than 100 members), grief and divorce care groups and a large Boy Scout troop. A capital fund is under way; a gym is on the wish list.

Saying “Yes” to Creativity
Finding needs is one thing, but how does Young find “qualified” people to head up the many ministries that have sprung to life at Cornerstone? (She says that when she drives by in the evening and notices the parking lot full and all the lights on, she usually doesn’t know specifics about what’s going on. But she’s confident that lives are being impacted for the Lord.)

When approached with an idea for a new ministry, Young usually gives the green light. “When someone who’s walking and growing in the Lord comes and says, ‘I feel God would want me to do this,’ I basically say, ‘Go for it.’

“I tend to think that everything’s a good idea,” she adds. “And I have to be shown that it’s not.” Such an approach works well when coupled with Young’s dedication to developing, equipping and deploying leaders into the ministry.

“We pair up people with those who can lead,” she says. Would-be leaders are put through a one-year cross-training program that includes an overview of the Bible, spiritual-gifts identification, and training in teamwork and leadership skills (much of it drawn from materials created by Willow Creek, John C. Maxwell and others). Then, Cornerstone’s newest leaders meet with a volunteer coordinator who interviews and places them in ministry.

If a person comes to Young with a ministry idea but isn’t quite ready to lead, she’ll pair up that person with someone who’s farther along in the process. “We have made mistakes. Balls have been dropped,” she admits. “But we’re pretty committed to the concept that if it doesn’t fly without them [the originator], we’ll identify other leaders who can step in to help.

“You attract what you legitimize,” says Young. That’s one of the reasons she’s so open to new ministries — and to supporting people’s desire to lead them.

“I want to honor people’s life experiences and in doing so, equip and empower them to lead others through some pretty rugged terrain. The fact that I haven’t been there limits my ability to minister into some of these situations,” she adds. These (would-be) leaders have a deep spiritual commitment to God and the church — and an enthusiasm to minister. Young aims to encourage each and every one.

Coming Alongside
“I think one benefit in our denomination right now is the free reign given to creative, gifted leadership,” Young says. But, she warns, there can be a downside to such freedom. “The system works better for a leader who’s above average in giftedness and creativity. Those without these things are floundering as never before.”
Perhaps the solution is akin to the way things are done at Cornerstone — where creativity is encouraged, leaders are trained up for deployment into the community, and having someone come alongside isn’t viewed as a bad thing at all.

“The church is beginning to say, ‘Let’s be New Testament,’” says Young. “Let’s find out the needs of people we’re attempting to serve and bring into the kingdom. When we do that, we can get incredibly creative.”

Although Cornerstone has occasionally been criticized for not being recognizably “Free Methodist,” Young says that “what announces us as Free Methodist is that we’re finding and meeting needs.

“As Free Methodists we must now find a way — through leadership role models, teaching churches and networking, for example — to close the gap between the thriving and the struggling among our churches and leaders.

“I want to find a way to help,” she says. And just as she says “yes” to would-be ministry leaders in her own congregation, Young would clearly have the denomination lend a hand to those in the pastorate who are definitely called but not necessarily gifted for leadership — those in need of extra help in order to carry out the ministry the Lord’s placed on their hearts.

“My heart goes out to them,” says Young. “I want to see no leader, pastor or church left behind.”