Church energized by new pastor

As he joined the congregation in a hymn of thanksgiving, the Rev. John Sowers began to weep.

“It was so uplifting,” he said, describing last Sunday’s service at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Spokane. “You couldn’t help but feel the Holy Spirit at work.”

It was an emotional moment – not only for the man chosen to lead the largest Presbyterian church in the area, but also for the congregation, which has struggled without a senior pastor for the last three years.

“There was an air of joy, excitement and hope – many were moved to tears,” said Mary Beth Baker, a longtime church member. “It’s a new day for us. The church can move forward.”

Sowers, 46, is no stranger to Spokane.

A 1988 graduate of Whitworth College, Sowers worked for five years at the school in the admissions office and as the director of church relations. He also worked closely with the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest before leaving Spokane in 1993 to pursue a master’s degree in divinity at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

For the past 11 years, Sowers was pastor of Woodland Presbyterian, a congregation of about 450 members in Memphis.

While many mainline Protestant churches, including Spokane’s First Presbyterian, have experienced a decline in membership in recent years, Sowers’ congregation in Memphis actually was among the few that saw a solid increase in membership, including more families and young adults. Sowers also led the church’s first successful capital campaign in 40 years.

“Mainline churches have struggled, but mainline churches that clearly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ grow,” said the pastor.

Several challenges await Sowers when he starts his new job Oct. 21.

According to a 2006 self-study, membership at First Presbyterian has decreased by 31 percent since 1995. Worship attendance declined by 44 percent during the same time period. And while the average financial pledge to the church has grown since 2000, the number of people pledging has gone down by 29 percent. The trend, according to the self-study, is unsustainable and cannot support the current budget.

“This will be a challenging place to come and pastor, but in the midst of that, I see a lot of committed Christians who wanted nothing more than to live out their faith in this part of the body of Christ,” said Sowers.

First Presbyterian has a history of both social justice and proclamation of the Gospel, he said. Despite the recent turmoil and dwindling church participation, Sowers found much potential at First Presbyterian.

“This is a downtown church that has an incredible array of talented lay leadership,” he said. “I see a church that’s been well-positioned for so long to reach an even greater level of vibrancy.”

Sowers, who is married with two teenage daughters, was chosen from more than 80 applicants for the job, according to members of the Pastor Nominating Committee. The committee considered seven candidates before unanimously selecting Sowers. After hearing him preach for the first time last week, members of First Presbyterian voted by secret ballot to affirm the committee’s choice.

The roughly 600 people who crowded into church were so excited about Sowers that they gave him a standing ovation even before he spoke.

“John is a preacher and teacher fully grounded in Scripture and reformed theology,” Baker and Brian Grow, head of the 10-member Pastor Nominating Committee, wrote in an e-mail. “He emulates a deep love for Christ and is excited to share that love.”