A Church with a Purpose

purposeBrent Haggerty had a choice. He could pastor a church with hundreds of members, fully staffed and integrated into the community. Or he could take a risk and take a smaller church, ready to implement changes if need be. He decided to jump in to the latter, and Alliance Bible Church in Warren, New Jersey, has grown from 92 to more than 500 members since he began six years ago—and is positively impacting its community for Christ. Haggerty and his wife, Susan, had returned from missions work with the C&MA in Burkina Faso where they had served for 10 years due to health issues. Haggerty resigned as field director in order to care for his wife, and they returned to the United States and began to consider what God would have them do.  
 
They were sought out by various churches and felt called to the 76-year-old Alliance church, then under the leadership of Jim Hibschman. Upon Hibschman’s move to the district office, Haggerty took over as senior pastor. The church had seen some growth, but Haggerty challenged them that if they wanted to grow, they needed to change. Today he credits that congregation with willing to take the risks needed to do so.  
 
The initial goal was to structure the church much like one in The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren. Haggerty says, “As my wife and I read the book, I thought if I could, I would structure a church like this. It’s the closest thing I’ve heard of to Acts 2, in which saints are free to do ministry.”  
 
Haggerty challenged members to read the book and be open to restructure. He says, “It was a high risk to take an older church and change things. But the Lord did it.”  
 
The church keeps everyone equipped by using the following “purpose-driven” structure: worship—teaching the entire Word of God without compromise; encouragement through fellowship—small-group ministry; service—their motto: “No one gets to ‘sit, soak and sour’—everyone is equipped by God’s Spirit to serve; and evangelism. Haggerty says, “When you maintain that balance, there is health in a church.”  
 
They do so in many ways in their community. Warren, a city of only 11,000, has the fourth most expensive real estate in the nation. The prototypical resident is unsaved, with family combined salaries averaging $175,000. The average price of a home is $500,000, with only two children in the home.  
 
About 25 miles from New York City, Warren is home to many corporate headquarters such as Johnson and Johnson, Lucent Technologies, Horizon, Venton and AT&T. But, Haggerty explains, “the church is very metropolitan, with 16 language groups represented.”  
 
The community has turned out in droves to various events hosted by the church. On a past Veteran’s Day, so many attended that the local high school gym had to be used. The church also held a memorial service for 9/11 victims attended by Congressman Mike Ferguson , the mayor, chief of police and military personnel and at which a survivor of the tragedy gave a testimony.  
 
Three times per year Alliance Bible Church sends out 46,000 fliers to six surrounding townships, with the goal of reaching 120,000. Haggerty says that “always brings people to our doorstep whom we would never meet otherwise.”

A significant change for church growth came with a prayer commitment made four years ago. After reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala, a deep conviction overcame the pastor. He began a two-week commitment to pray in the church from 6 to 7 a.m. He says, “I couldn’t wait for it to get over. That morning the phone rang and it was one of the men in the church. He asked if he could come pray with me.”  
 
That initial conversation has grown into 12 prayer meetings per week. Attendance has quadrupled, and the budget has tripled. In one year the congregation increased by 100. Haggerty says, “Our core value is that no work we do is more important than prayer. No one should be in ministry unless they come to one prayer meeting per week. Prayer determines our effectiveness and gives God’s power.”  
 
Since four heads of households from Warren died in 9/11, the church was able to hand-deliver $7,000 to each of those families in the presence of the former mayor, the mayor, assistant treasurer and a police officer. The church received C&MA money donated for victims of September 11.  
 
Haggerty says, “It was amazing to see. One was Jewish, one was from Indian background, two were Caucasian. The people were very touched. One lady said it was the first money she had received. With two babies, she had to move out of her home. Our assistance was a great testimony in the eyes of community leaders; we were a church making a difference.”  
 
Plans for the future include planting a Spanish ministry team to start a satellite church in a neighboring community. They currently videotape the sermons and translate simultaneously over headphones in Spanish.  
 
In the next five years the church envisions purchasing seven and half acres to go with the seven and half they currently have and building a 900-seat sanctuary with a multipurpose family life center.  
 
Haggerty says, “Praise God because blessings are flowing our way. Pray like God commanded us to pray—without ceasing, earnestly and fervently, with a pure heart and a pure motive. When we pray, He empowers us for ministry. That is what is going on at our church. And He wants to do that all across the Alliance world.”

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