2️⃣ Flourishing Churches: An Experiment with Promising Results

A Four-Part Series on Healthy Growth

Mar 13, 2025

To: Colleagues in Ministry
From: The Rev. John Wallace, Rector
Re: Flourishing Churches

Dear Colleagues:

I want to share the exciting results of an ongoing experiment. The early signs are incredibly encouraging!

But first, let’s rewind a bit...

Life Before the Pandemic

Before the pandemic in 2020, our church was flourishing—averaging 120 people in worship every Sunday and searching for land to build a permanent home. We had planted the church in 2012 in Rosemary Beach on Scenic Highway 30a, gathering for our first eight years in the community building at the town's center.

When COVID-19 emerged, our community limited gatherings in shared spaces to a maximum of 25 people. Initially, we had to move entirely online. Eventually, we began meeting outdoors in a nearby state park beneath beautiful oak trees overlooking a coastal dune lake. It was picturesque but also challenging.

People brought their chairs, there was no nursery available, children's programs were limited, and rain frequently disrupted our services. Attendance naturally began to drop.

After several years "in the wilderness," we leased a new space and joyfully moved in on Easter Day, 2023. Alleluia! Christ is risen! We had a new home—but it felt like we were planting the church all over again.

A Familiarity Problem

Over the years, I've realized that we have a significant "familiarity" problem. In our region, the term *Anglican* is virtually unknown. People often mistakenly call us "Angelican," even correcting our spelling when sending us letters or bills. (Recently, a locksmith billed us as "Apostles Angelican Church," perhaps thinking we worship angels!)

After church recently, a newcomer told me she had signed up for our membership class. She had moved here two years earlier and asked friends to help her find a traditional church with liturgy, good music, hymns, and weekly Holy Eucharist. Strangely, her friends had taken her to every other church in town except ours.

When she finally found us, she exclaimed, “This is the one I was looking for! I finally found my church!”

Hearing this filled me with joy—but also deepened my concern. Clearly, we had an awareness problem. With more people moving here every month, we had to get the word out.

Launching Our Social Media Experiment

That's where our experiment comes in. After discussing everything thoroughly with my good friend David Roseberry, we decided it was time to reintroduce ourselves to our community. We partnered with a social media marketing firm to run targeted ads featuring sermon clips, personal welcomes from me, pictures of our church at worship, in fellowship, and on mission, and testimonies from our members.

Getting started took considerable effort. We revamped our website, gathered content for the ads, and navigated the approval processes of various social media platforms.

Finally, within a month, our ads launched.

Early Results: Questions, Visitors, and New Members

At first, we received only messages and inquiries—but even that was a promising start. Soon, those inquiries turned into planned visits. Not long afterward, we welcomed our first visitors. Some of these visitors kept returning, and several have already signed up for our spring membership class, eager to join our community.

Learning a Crucial Lesson

We discovered our previous social media strategy had been ineffective because we treated our platforms like bulletin boards—simply advertising events that only our existing members cared about. But now, we’re clearly communicating our love for Jesus and this community, inviting people into the compelling story God is unfolding here at Apostles By-the-Sea.

It's a beautiful story of transformation—of hearts made whole, relationships restored, sins forgiven, and celebrations held for sons and daughters who find their way back into the Father's embrace.

Casting Our Nets Anew

That's what it means to be an Anglican at Apostles By-the-Sea. And this is the message we want our community to hear. Now, through intentional, heartfelt communication, we’re casting our nets into deeper waters—and the nets are filling up. We're experiencing a miraculous catch, and it's just getting started!

THIS IS PART ONE OF A MULTI-PART SERIES

Please put your early comments, questions, and concerns in the Comments section below.