5033 Pathways to Growth
Speaker: Rev. Anthony David, Lead Pastor, Pathways 
Sponsor: Southwest District
Prepared for UUA.org by: Dick Merritt, Reporter; Margy Levine Young, Editor
Pathways is the first church in the history of the Unitarian Universalist Association to start with the explicit goal of becoming large fast. In this workshop, Pathways' Lead Pastor, the Rev. Anthony David, and his staff shared the successes, growing pains, and knowledge gained about church planting and church growth.
An experiment in planting a UU congregation designed for growth, Pathways is designed to be, above all, seeker friendly. Their Sunday service, Sunday bulletin, and web site are all geared to the newcomer.
With the help of Tom Bandy and Bill Easom of Easom Bandy and Associates , they developed the Church's "DNA." As their web site states:
"DNA" refers to our growth pattern at Pathways. Just as with biological DNA, church DNA spells out who we are as a Unitarian Universalist community and what we are becoming. Where did this DNA come from? It comes out of our Unitarian Universalist heritage and our congregation. It represents the hopes and dreams of many people for Pathways.
The DNA includes statements of mission, vision, core convictions and core values  . These statements guide the staff and congregation in all that they do. They read the statements of core convictions and core values aloud before every staff meeting.
Worship makes maximum use of audio-visual media. The Bulletin, rather than an order of service, is a moral document. It is aimed at the visitor, the seeker, and includes welcoming information, growth opportunities religious education information, upcoming events and a little bit about the day's service. All events listed are open to everyone.
The worship service strives to include:
Evangelism is important. The congregation has a responsibility to those "out there." There are many ways Pathways gets their message out. Marketing efforts make use of electronic and other media. Community action efforts are organized to live out the congregation's values and to help them stand out from the crowd.
A signature ministry includes offering Our Whole Lives (OWL) sexuality education to the community. Pathways plans to bring Debra Haffner, author of A Time to Speak: Faith Communities and Sexuality Education, to speak to the general public.
More insight into the startup and operation of this exciting congregation can be found at www.pathwaysuu.org or by emailing Meryl Gunter, Pathways Executive Director, at merylgunter@yahoo.com  .
Handouts:
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