In Search of Growth
St. John’s Park Slope describes itself as the second-oldest Episcopal church in Brooklyn, and adds: “But don’t let our age fool you, we’re just getting started.”
The Rev. Ben DeHart — a native of Princeton, New Jersey, who previously worked in Manhattan and Birmingham, Alabama — was called as rector more than a year ago. “Restarting churches is what we need to do,” he said.
Bishop Lawrence Provenzano of the Diocese of Long Island agreed: “Fr. Ben DeHart has come to St. John’s with great enthusiasm, vision, and a working ecclesiology that fits perfectly into a renewed sense of mutual responsibility and interdependence within the congregation, the deanery, and the diocese.”
DeHart looks at St. John’s as a “198-year-old startup,” and he says church attendance has been steadily rising. “We have more than doubled,” he said. “It’s been a great time.”
St. John’s location is a key to its growth,” DeHart said. “Brooklyn is the borough of churches. We are showing people where they can be hooked in.”
The parishioners of St. John’s mirror the diversity of Brooklyn, he said. “We talk about diversity, we talk about inclusion, but we mean it. This church reflects Brooklyn.”
In addition to its multicultural members, St. John’s boasts age diversity. “We have a decent amount of boomers, 20s, 30s, 40s,” DeHart said. “We are reflecting Brooklyn society.”
“Fr. DeHart’s starting point, with this most diverse congregation, is built upon almost a decade of reconstruction and renovation, both to the physical plant and the spiritual life and focus of the people,” Provenzano said. “This growth in ministry is an example of the cooperation and shared vision of the people of this diocese. The population of Brooklyn alone is almost 3 million people. The ministry field for our congregations is that population, not merely the people who attend liturgy on weekends. The right combination of liturgy, preaching, pastoral care, and teaching, along with care and action in the neighborhoods we serve, is growing the church in new and faithful ways.”
While St. John’s maintains customary church offerings like Bible study, altar guild, children’s ministries, and music programs, it has developed two community-based options: summer hangs and an innovative hiking club. Both were born from congregants wanting to extend their camaraderie beyond Sunday mornings.
“Most of the ministries happening at the church are likely expected for any congregation, but the hiking club is unique,” said newer parishioner Micah Goldston. The club began as the idea of a parishioner, and DeHart gave her “the freedom and space to organize and offer the outings to the congregation.”
The summer hang began as a way to welcome DeHart. “One memory that continues to bubble up for me is the first of many Saturday barbecues in the courtyard this past summer, the rector’s first summer at St. John’s,” Goldston said.
“There, on a humid, sunny Saturday afternoon, surrounding a couple of tables, were individuals representing four generations — kids and teenagers, young adults, midlife adults and retirees — different ethnicities, and various socioeconomic backgrounds. Some people had been at the church for decades, others only a few Sundays. While no sacraments were offered, communion among believers was experienced that day.”
DeHart believes in the power of social media. “I don’t think social media is the end-all or be-all,” he said, “but it’s a start.” St. John’s maintains a presence on Instagram with 5,600 followers, and a Facebook page.
Texting is another strategic communications method. When newcomers visit, “we text or email that day,” DeHart said. “It is great engagement. And the message is short and sweet: thank you for coming.”
Another growth element is branching out into the Park Slope area and broader Brooklyn. “We try to work in the community,” DeHart said. The Park Slope Neighborhood Association meets at the church, and he connects with firefighters and community groups. “We get Park Slope people to come by.”
Although he had not begun his ministry at St. John’s during COVID, DeHart knows “the pandemic was not a great time for the church.” One constructive change resulting from the lockdown was moving the Sunday service one hour earlier, to 10 a.m., which helped boost attendance.
DeHart described St. John’s as high church, which he considers an important point. “I really care about the preached word,” DeHart said. “That exists to proclaim the good news of the gospel. Everything reflects the good news of the gospel.”
Goldston agreed. “While there’s nothing wrong with emphasizing social-justice matters within the church, I believe the rector’s weekly emphasis on the ‘Balm of Gilead’ is a message that people need in their lives, and that’s a large part of why people come back week after week.”
DeHart admitted the Park Slope church has faced some issues. “We’re a church that has been in the red for 20 years. There is no endowment, no back account. That has made the people of St John’s more aware.”
Like many churches, St. John’s must address deferred maintenance. One current project is to rent the rectory as a revenue source. “We promised a balanced budget,” he said. “We have to rent the rectory.”
DeHart has the confidence of his bishop, who added: “St. John’s in Park Slope is an example of how faithfulness to a vision of ‘the church being the church’ focused on care for the wider community, ministry growth based on the sacramental and liturgical needs of God’s people, preaching and living the gospel in real time, proper stewardship and use of buildings and other resources to support a vision for ministry grows the church.”
