{"id":6496,"date":"2025-04-02T09:17:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T13:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/?p=6496"},"modified":"2025-04-11T16:16:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T20:16:57","slug":"pastors-new-beginnings-journey-client-contractor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplescef.org\/blog\/pastors-new-beginnings-journey-client-contractor\/","title":{"rendered":"A pastor\u2019s New Beginnings journey from client to contractor"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Rev. Steven DeFields-Gambrel was called to serve Garfield Park Christian Church in Santa Cruz, CA, he was only given two years to perform a miracle<\/em> or the congregation would close.<\/p>\n

What followed was the start of a 20-year-long partnership between Rev. Steven and New Beginnings<\/a>, our consulting service that helps congregations find clarity and claim a new vision for their ministry, which has informed his work with communities of faith across the U.S. ever since.<\/p>\n

Serving homeless residents in California<\/strong><\/p>\n

In its heyday, Garfield Park was an active faith community. As the world began to change in the 1960s, its congregants were unable to keep up. Their church began a deep decline and in 2006 they called Rev. Steven \u2013 who was then serving at First Christian Church in Edinburgh, IN \u2013 to help.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Disciples Church Extension Fund<\/a> (DCEF) was piloting New Beginnings. So, Rev. Steven asked Vice President Rick Morse to come and assess the church. What he found was a congregation with an average worship attendance of less than 30 people, most of whom were older adults, who could not sufficiently maintain their large building.<\/p>\n

The assessment revealed that this small group of Disciples had fulfilled their former mission years earlier and now needed to take a hard look at their neighborhood to identify and embrace a new mission.<\/p>\n

As part of the New Beginnings process, Rick worked with Garfield Park\u2019s members on writing a future story, while Rev. Steven wrote a ministry plan that included concrete goals, actions steps, and a new name for the congregation.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI must have written about 70 pages,\u201d he laughs. \u201cBut they approved every part of the plan!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Now operating as The Circle Church (Disciples of Christ), the congregation spent the next 12 months trying to engage with their neighbors, many of whom were experiencing housing insecurity. After a man from this vulnerable population was killed, the people of The Circle Church found purpose in addressing this community\u2019s needs, despite it not even being in their ministry plan. They began to cook and serve meals, baptizing four homeless people the next Easter Sunday. 1,000 people came to this now busy congregation each week, many of whom did not become members, but instead served at the homeless ministry. Worship attendance also increased, with 50 to 70 folks gathering in the sanctuary every Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAt the start of my tenure, we started with a small group of tired folks who trickled in for worship,\u201d remembers Rev. Steven. \u201cBut after we did New Beginnings, people came in droves.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In 2007, The Circle Church was visited by Boyd Hughes, a former participant who traveled from San Diego, CA for a worship service.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIn all my 72 years of going to church,\u201d he recalled, \u201cI have never seen a second testament church like this one.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

However, in the following decade, area residents became less and less welcoming to the homeless folks getting their meals from this Disciples faith community. Eventually, the congregation decided to abandon its homeless ministry and three years after that, The Circle Church closed its doors.<\/p>\n

Rev. Steven then moved back to Indiana, but he never forgot his experiences in Santa Cruz and how God can do the impossible, if we just listen, trust, and are willing to follow.<\/p>\n

Not long after, Rev. Steven was called to serve at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Vincennes, IN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Unlike The Circle Church, First Christian of Vincennes wasn\u2019t a small congregation fighting to keep its doors open. While it too had failed to adapt to the changing landscape around it, it had more than double the average worship attendance of The Circle Church. Instead, First Christian was struggling to fill its facility, which lay empty most days of the week.<\/p>\n

Calling on Rick again, Rev. Steven helped FCC\u2019s leadership consider re-engaging with the town, rather than just inviting everyone to worship. In the past, the congregation had met its community\u2019s needs by re-furbishing an old school, but in the present, it was focused on pouring money into its own youth and children\u2019s ministry. Under DCEF\u2019s guidance, the church developed a plan to be outward focused, hosting community events such as summer day camps and concerts.<\/p>\n

After three years with FCC, Rev. Steven was called to focus on his health. FCC remains open and actively working on evaluating its building usage.<\/p>\n

A new beginning with DCEF<\/strong><\/p>\n

As he contemplated what to do next in his life, Rev. Steven felt a calling to help places of worship in the way that we had helped him and the congregations he had served. He could sympathize and empathize with communities of faith because he had been there himself.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe are asking small aging churches to take on a big task,\u201d explains Rev. Steven. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty intimidating to be asked to provide information about finances, attendance, and property.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

When the opportunity arose for him to become a New Beginnings assessor, he took it, traveling across the U.S. engaging congregations in need of a new beginning.<\/p>\n

From 2017 to 2024, he conducted more than 20 assessments and has evolved his role in the program to include being a facilitator and a coach.<\/p>\n

\"\"He has learned that while most churches know that radical adaptation to changing contexts is what\u2019s needed for their future and that they want meaningful interaction with their neighbors, a lack of time and energy prevents many from doing so, often leading to despair among some congregants.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBut with New Beginnings, we come with the expertise and help places of worship create partnerships in their neighborhoods,\u201d says Rev. Steven.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As for any words of advice he can give to communities of faith considering New Beginnings, Rev. Steven has this to say:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI tell the congregations that I work with all the time: this may not be your grandma\u2019s church, we\u2019re living in a new era,\u201d shares Rev. Steven. \u201cGoing through New Beginnings is like having ice water thrown in your face to help you see what your community is like, your place in history, and what would it look like to really be engaged and involved in a world that you almost didn\u2019t know existed beyond your church doors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Is your congregation facing challenges that seem to threaten its future? Do you need a fresh outlook on your congregation\u2019s future? <\/em>Submit<\/em><\/a> a request form to engage in our New Beginnings program.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Rev. Steven DeFields-Gambrel was called to serve Garfield Park Christian Church in Santa Cruz, CA, he was only given two years to perform a miracle or the congregation would close. What followed was the start of a 20-year-long partnership between Rev. Steven and New Beginnings, our consulting service that helps congregations find clarity and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":6508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,5],"tags":[172,67,164,166],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nA pastor\u2019s New Beginnings journey from client to contractor - Disciples Church Extension Fund<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Rev. Steven went to Santa Cruz, CA, he was given 2 years to perform a miracle at a local church. 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