Twin Oaks Christian Church, Woodhaven, Michigan, has been growing quickly, primarily through baptisms.
Hope on the Road Less Traveled
By Kent E. Fillinger
“Need hope? Find it here.” That is the message on the LED sign at Twin Oaks Christian Church, Woodhaven, Michigan. The message of hope is needed in this southern suburb of Detroit, given the area”s depressed economic condition. Hundreds of new people have found hope at Twin Oaks since it relocated in 2007. The church”s average attendance has grown from 282 to 738 in three years””an increase of 162 percent. Twin Oaks is the fastest-growing large-sized church during this time frame from among the 75 churches profiled.
And most of this growth is the result of baptisms. Twin Oaks baptized 101 people last year, which is more than the average for emerging megachurches (93 baptisms) that are twice Twin Oaks” size. Twin Oaks has baptized 259 people in the last three years.
The church had the best baptism ratio among all of the large-sized churches””13.8 per 100 in attendance last year””more than twice the average of 6.5 baptisms per 100. Additionally, Twin Oaks was the repeat winner of the “Baptism per Buck Award,” spending only $7,204 per baptism last year, compared to the large-sized church average of $26,284 per baptism.
Senior minister Randy Wheeler said about half of the church”s community has a Catholic background, so he preaches a specific message on baptism every fall in addition to offering a weekly invitation for people to experience the “waters of grace” and the “joys of having your sins washed away.” Wheeler also spends about 20 minutes each month discussing baptism in the church”s “101” membership class.
A Difficult Road
The road to growth has not been smooth or straight over the last 20 years, however. The church has encountered repeated significant challenges, including a tumultuous leadership transition, a divided congregation, an ugly church split, more than one moral failure among staff members, contaminated property, increased building expenses, and an areawide economic collapse.
In spite of these challenges, Wheeler and the elders of Twin Oaks have held on to hope and persevered over the last two decades, and the fruit of their faithfulness is now being realized.
Wheeler said when he interviewed with the elders in 1990, he asked the right questions and they gave honest answers. When Wheeler started, he knew the church had been in a gradual decline for almost 20 years, but he quickly discovered the church had two coalitions with contrasting visions. For the first five years, Wheeler and the elders wrestled with a church that was headed in two different directions. The result was an extremely difficult church split and the loss of about one-third of the church.
One of Wheeler”s interview questions regarded relocating the church. The elders agreed relocation would be a necessary step to growth. But when the congregation voted on relocation in 1995, the two competing factions collided and the relocation idea was stifled.
The church voted on relocation again a year later and 98 percent voted in favor. Wheeler and his family lived in Woodhaven, but the church was located in another suburb. Every day he drove past a 9-acre corner lot he thought would be a great location for a church. The church eventually purchased that property in 1997, but soon discovered there were environmental issues that would force the church to spend much more money than initially anticipated.
After three capital campaigns, construction started in 2005, and the church officially relocated in January 2007. During construction, the congregation met in a local community center for more than a year.
Looking Forward to the Future
Since relocating, the church has grown and needed to expand and build again last year. Against the experts” advice, the church held a capital campaign in a very strained economy, but received a strong response from the congregation. Still, the church was unable to secure the financing needed to build. As an alternative, the church expanded the parking lot to alleviate one barrier to growth and will soon add portable units to the campus to provide some of the additional room it needs.
Wheeler has not walked away despite all of the challenging circumstances, though on many occasions he says he asked God, “Why did you call me here?” But Wheeler quickly adds, God has never called him anywhere else.
Wheeler is glad he has stayed and he is looking forward to the future. He credits the church”s united eldership for both the church”s growth and his longevity as minister. The elders” shared vision has been a constant in the midst of the chaos. Wheeler points out that several elders have served with him during his entire time at Twin Oaks.
About 10 years ago, the church added this slogan to the back of its worship bulletins”””A church that anyone can come to.” The slogan never garnered much attention until three years ago, after the relocation, when the slogan was moved to the front of the bulletin. Several people asked whether the church was going to start compromising the truth in order to grow.
Wheeler assured the congregation that church leadership still is committed to the truth, but that they are serious about being a church where everyone feels welcome. The slogan has become a core value of the church. Wheeler said the church is committed to being a place that “accepts people where they are and helps them get to where God wants them to be.”
Kent E. Fillinger is president of 3:STRANDS Consulting and associate director of projects and partnerships with CMF International, Indianapolis, Indiana.
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