[trowUrillioth]

I'm a member of some folks who are trying to start one in Ames, Iowa, and so I have some general questions:

Is anyone on this board trying to start up a new Orthodox Christian mission?

If so, what has worked for you? What has not worked? How did you publicize your new mission? What kind of response did you get? If you were to do anything different, would you?

[Cyclicymn]

First, have at least a core of 5 households that will commit to a minimum of 7 years - better 10 years before giving up. Missions tend to bloom at the beginning, then drop off almost to nothing, then after bottoming out they grow slowly and erratically. Its easy, after the first two years of "success" to see the die off as a time to close up shop and go elsewhere, but you have to persevere through the bottom of the cycle.

Second, don't overspend. don't base your budget on the first month or first year of giving. Assume that there will be a time when one or two families will have to support the whole mission. Budget your mortgage/rent payments and other expenses accordingly.

Third, the priest is the final authority (trumped only by the bishop). The parish council is an advisory body to the priest, but the rector of the parish as the pastor of the community makes all the major decisions. Otherwise you end up in a state of parish council paralysis as the competing ideas of what to do start to cancel each other out and you end up with a parish life that is filled with intrigue rather than trust and brotherhood.

Fourth, make the parish a family. Its not just a place you come on Sunday, but the parishioners become your second family, the priest and his wife are your mother and father and the other parishioners your brothers and sisters. You may not always get along, you may not always like each other, you may argue and fight - but in the end you are inseparably committed to one another and connected to one another by love.

These are a few of the lessons I've garnished over the past lifetime of starting missions.

Fr David Moser

[jackie Obrian]

Sound advice...but in our case we don't have a priest living in our community. We are overseen by a priest who actually serves another church, and lives in a neighboring state.

So this question is aimed at fledgling groups like ours, who don't have a priest or a building yet. How do you get off the ground?