Megachurches conduct research just like any big chain store - Wal-Mart, Target, Starbucks, etc. - studying a neighborhood's demographics before planting a new outpost there.
They get demographic reports that document whether millennials in the area are working full-time; if parents with teenagers or empty nesters are moving in or out; whether developers are building houses or tearing them down; even what drive time residents are accustomed to for jobs, school and shopping.
Last year, the numbers for Red Bank's White Oak United Methodist Church were dismal to the point of scary. But the Rev. Stephen DeFur, although now pastor of Knoxville's Cokesbury Church UMC, grew up in Red Bank and was a lifelong fan of the White Oak church, located at 2232 Lyndon Ave. He was sad to hear of the little church's impending closure.
"Membership was declining so drastically that the church was planning to close its doors," Cokesbury Communications Director Mark Wilson says by phone from Knoxville.
The little church was down to 33 members, DeFur says.
As pastor of Cokesbury Church UMC, DeFur has the largest congregation in UMC's Southeastern Jurisdiction, an area that includes Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia and the Carolinas. Since November 2013, Cokesbury's average worship attendance increased from 2,900 to 3,859. More than 6,000 attended Easter worship services last year, according to the church's website.
DeFur asked White Oak members if they would be interested in becoming a Red Bank satellite of his Knoxville church. The demographic report - put together by a firm called Claritas, an offshoot of Nielsen, the company that tallies TV ratings - noted that young working people and families with children were moving into the area around White Oak.
White Oak United Methodist Church"White Oak was coming up on its 100th anniversary and some congregation members were also nearing that age milestone as well," Wilson says. "But Rev. DeFur saw something hopeful in the demographic reports. And many of the White Oak members liked the idea of trying to rebrand the church and keep it open as one of our satellite campuses. "
White Oak reopened officially as Cokesbury Church UMC in Red Bank this September. And attendance numbers are already inspiring hope. "They started with 33 (members) and now have more than 120," DeFur says proudly. The enthusiasm that millennials have for community service also has been a rush of adrenaline and imagination for the church. DeFur believes the generation of 20-somethings will transform the Red Bank church and the world for the better with their cleverness, competence and passion for helping others.
"We have a lot of young parents with toddler-age children attending and young people in their 20s," DeFur says.
A selection committee found a female pastor, Amy Nutt, who lived in Hixson and knew the Red Bank community; she even has a daughter who lives there. One of her first outreach efforts at White Oak was triggered when East Ridge ordered the closure of Superior Creek Lodge due to numerous city code violations. She suggested to her congregation that they bring $25 Walmart gift cards and cash to the families who lived in the lodge and found themselves suddenly homeless.
A couple of years ago, DeFur shepherded his own Knoxville congregation through hard times. He was working for his mentor and the previous pastor of Cokesbury, the Rev. Steven Sallee, when he learned that Sallee was dying. DeFur updated the congregation on Sallee's illness via the Twitter feed #cokesburystrong until Sallee died at age 62 in May 2013.
"A person isn't supposed to die at 62 these days," DeFur says. "His death was a wake-up call for our congregation. It gave us a sense of urgency about accomplishing good things. The idea that you don't know how much time you have spurred us on and the church grew as a result."
Rebranding White Oak as a campus of Cokesbury means it will share Cokesbury's philosophy of community service and contemporary worship.
"Millennials seem attracted by our outreach, work we do for charity, the homeless, the addicted in recovery and mentoring youth," DeFur says. "That generation is just so impressive."
White Oak also will adopt the same outreach programs as the Knoxville parent, including addiction recovery counseling for mothers who lost custody of their children, cancer and grief support groups, a food pantry and a medical mission to Jamaica.
"The Red Bank church will also create programs of its own that are suited to the particular needs of that city," DeFur says. "They are launching a network of aid and support for human trafficking victims from all over the southeastern United States."
Contact Lynda Edwards at ledwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6391.