MODESTO, CA – “Grow trees, not flowers.” That’s the way the Rev. Nathan Baxter frames the idea of church growth. Flowers come and go, and flash-in-the-pan missional gimmicks do too, but tried-and-true discipleship, fostering deep spiritual health, is the way to play the long game in the quest for real Gospel transformation. Trees may take much longer to reach maturity, but they’re much more resilient than flowers. This is why Fr. Nathan invited the Rev. Canon Mark Eldredge, Director of Anglican Revitalization Ministries (ARM) to come and work with Wellspring Anglican Church in Modesto, CA this past March. Wellspring was originally St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, but the majority of parishioners (94 percent) chose to give up their building in July of 2009 in the conflict between TEC and the emerging Anglican Church in North America. In their quest to remain biblically-faithful and hold on to Christ, the community decided not to embroil itself in legal battles but simply to leave the keys with the historic building that they had paid off and maintained to walk towards a new future in a new province. The name “Wellspring” stems from John 4:1-26 and the story of the woman at the well, focusing on the eternal living water that only Jesus can provide. They believe that the woman and her relationship with Jesus reflect their ministry goals. The parish has a new building now that has been completely paid off by the generous gifts of supporters and fellow-worshippers. They are embarking on a new revitalization process for the next phase of their life together.
Under the leadership of Fr. Nathan, Wellspring is searching for the will of God in a new mission setting to meet the needs of the unchurched world around them. With this in mind, they decided to work with Canon Mark and ARM to solidify their vision, pursue continued spiritual renewal, and determine their next steps in missional movement.
Through various connections with the American Anglican Council (AAC), Fr. Nathan became familiar with Canon Mark’s work. At first, he wasn’t sure about holding a Revive conference. “I was feeling like I didn’t want to just jump on another bandwagon,” he explained. “Throughout my ministry I’d experienced so many programs that came and went with varying degrees of success. So had Wellspring Church.” It was when he read the book, Revive, that he understood that what ARM had to offer wasn’t just another program but a process through which he would be coached and cared for.
“When I first read through Revive, I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, here’s somebody who actually understands that it’s about health as the foundation of real growth.’ If you aim at health in a church and its mission, then numeric growth will happen according to God’s purposes. This is what I was looking for.” Pastor Daniel Stime, a retired Lutheran pastor who now worships at Wellspring said this about growth: “Father Nathan has a great concept he often repeats, ‘I like trees instead of flowers.’ We have an aging congregation and some of them have been in the faith for decades and sometimes other people don’t find that exciting, but we’re growing trees. Growth is the long game.”
Over the course of one month, Fr. Nathan took his congregation through the Revive book and its discussion questions. They also began to see the value of personal renewal and growth before trying increase numerical growth. After completing the book, Canon Mark presented the Revive workshop‑going through the principles with them in person, answering their questions, and joining them in worship and prayer. Philip Beck, a former member of the vestry, has been a member of Wellspring for about fifteen years. “We need to renew our vision,” he said. “That excites me. Who are we and what do we do and why do we do it? Who is our neighbor we’re called to reach?” Donna Bishop, a part of the church community since 1974 said: “We may have people who are older right now, but we can still grow! We can still find our mission! You’re never too old to grow.”
Fr. Nathan’s wife, Tiffany Baxter, experienced these challenges first hand in her four years at Wellspring. She sees continued hope for the future. “There have been other people who’ve been around longer than I have,” she said, “but from what I can see, I know that we have a heart for reaching out to those in need around us, but we’ve been stuck not knowing how to do it or feeling like we aren’t equipped to do it.” The Revive book and workshop both showed Tiffany and Wellspring leaders that there is a way forward that suits them specifically, and that there are resources at hand for the task God may call them to do. Tiffany continued, “I’m really excited about us as a church praying through and identifying who we want to reach and how we want to do that.”
The need for equipping congregations and growing leaders continues in many ACNA churches that the AAC serves, so the Revive workshop continues to expand into congregations throughout the province. Wellspring Anglican Church, Modesto, is not unique in the challenges they’ve faced. Revive helps leaders like those at Wellspring connect with both the Holy Spirit’s guidance and a fresh vision to engage the mission in their new season of parish life. If you’d like more information on Revive or the other services Anglican Revitalization Ministries has to offer, please visit www.churchrevive.org for more information or to schedule a call with Canon Mark.
