When the Rev. J. Eric Light arrived in early July as the new pastor at Red Bank United Methodist Church, he found some vintage photos on the walls outside his office.
They show the old R.H. Hunt-designed sanctuary built in the late 1920s after a fire and before it was expanded, as well as groups of youths and members signifying a typically vibrant congregation of old.
While Red Bank UMC’s physical campus to the numerous passersby on Dayton Boulevard has changed minimally since the 1980s, inside it has.
Despite its popular pre-school and day care facility, its church attendance and membership have been slowly trickling away after reaching its peak of about 1,100 on the rolls exactly 50 years ago, Rev. Light said during a recent interview.
The trend is typical of many churches of varying denominations in this era when Christian church attendance or affiliation is down in a culturally changing nation and even city. And Red Bank, like other United Methodist churches, has tried to spiritually feed its members and grow the Kingdom of God amid both the typical in-house issues that can aid or hinder a church as well as the more external forces.
The latter involves the general United Methodist Church’s adoption of more inclusive language toward the LGBTQ community and the lifting of bans on same-sex weddings and the ordination of LGBTQ clergy. This has resulted in both support from many and criticism from others, many of whom have left varying UMC churches.
Another factor with Red Bank was that it was without a regular pastor for a few months, with the clergy at Burks United Methodist in Hixson helping provide interim preaching and support.
But the Rev. Light said he is eagerly trying to get to work and has a simple philosophy of wanting to see a church he serves not only survive in these challenging times but also thrive. That has seemed to work so far in his five-plus years serving St. Marks UMC on Mississippi Avenue in North Chattanooga, although he jokingly adds in his airplane runway analogy that while they are gaining speed, they still need a little more runway.
“When I started there in 2020, I was the fourth pastor in four years,” he said of St. Marks as he sat in the longtime and spacious senior pastor’s office at Red Bank on Aug. 5. “It was the middle of COVID and everybody was shellshocked.
“It was like rebuilding a congregation. But it was a wonderful, caring group of people there. The spirit of St. Marks is that they are a lot of fun and are very warm and very welcoming.”
He said that church had almost closed nearly 10 years earlier before the larger Christ United Methodist in East Brainerd sent 100 mission members to help revitalize it.
Now, the St. Marks Church literally takes all-comers and tries to mirror Jesus, he said, adding that worship attendance on any given Sunday is around 80 people.
“It is open and welcoming to people from all walks of life,” he said, adding that it is a reconciling congregation. “The focus is on making disciples of Jesus Christ for the world, and what we do is open the door all the way. I am not taking credit. That is their DNA.”
Rev. Light also sees some positives at Red Bank already in place. It has a preschool serving 100 children and which also has a day school two days a week.
The church also houses its non-profit Red Bank Community Food Pantry on site by the gym facility in a partnership with the community for those citizens needing help in meeting basic nutritional needs.
“It is integrated into our operation, but it is truly a community project,” he said, adding that the pantry is open every first and third Thursday. “Half a dozen other churches are involved through a partnership. That’s within the spirit of what churches can do. We are being ecumenical. We work together to meet real community needs. What matters is people getting fed.”
Another outreach, and one in which he hopes can spiritually feed the Red Bank congregation, too, is that Mission Red Bank, an Anglican congregation headed by Father Al Alison, lay worship pastor Melody Day and others, on Aug. 3 began worshiping in the Red Bank UMC sanctuary at 9 a.m. They had formerly rented space in a building by Dayton Boulevard and Morrison Springs Road.
Since Red Bank UMC has its worship at 11 a.m., the arrangement is expected to help both congregations, he said. “It is truly going to be a partnership,” he said, adding that the Mission congregation is providing musicians for the Red Bank UMC services, too, and that he is meeting weekly with the Mission Red Bank leadership for prayer.
With only about 50-60 in worship on a typical Sunday this summer and what he believes are only two Sunday school classes, pastor Light knows Red Bank UMC will have to continue to think of ways to be creative to thrive spiritually as well as simply be able to operate.
“Churches are going to have to be smart and work together in today’s world,” he said. “Sadly, the doors are closing if they don’t come up with ways to be sustainable. Churches are like any other business or organization. They are not immune to the economics of today.”
But he feels optimistic overall about Red Bank despite knowing any church sometimes needs a magic number of minimal attendees to function better as a church.
“The location here is so wonderfully located in the heart of the community,” he said. “I feel there are so many ways they can build on that.”
Rev. Light has not only been focusing on ways Red Bank can sustain itself and thrive, but also how he can best operate in his new position overseeing two churches, with St. Marks’ service beginning one hour earlier at 10.
While United Methodist pastors have historically been assigned to multiple churches even smaller than these two in worship numbers, it is somewhat a new challenge for him, and maybe even the overall denomination having to consolidate resources.
“With Red Bank UMC having 60-plus regular attenders and St. Marks having 80, it does become more challenging to lead both without making some necessary adjustments,” he said. “One of the ways to overcome this is to re-emphasize the critical role of the laity on the life and leadership of the church. Many ministry and administrative tasks can be led well by dedicated lay members of the church, making the pastor more of an equipper/trainer for the laity to rise up and fulfill their ministry calling.”
He added that leading two churches requires a focus on the big picture, strategic use of time and a team approach to ministry, adding that is a wise strategy regardless of the situation.
“Since pastoring is in large part built on relationships and trust, my time must be invested first and foremost in getting to know both congregations and forming bonds of trust so that we can partner together in achieving our shared ministry goals,” he added.
The 56-year-old pastor – who likes to sit out in the congregation before preaching -- has also uniquely already spread himself around different environments and backgrounds in the larger Christian church. He said that while growing up going to Snow Hill Elementary, Brown Middle School and Central High in Chattanooga, he was an Episcopalian.
But he became involved in the youth group at St. John United Methodist by Highway 58, and a now-late lay youth director there – Judy Williams – was a wonderful influence in guiding his and others’ spiritual growth. As a result, he felt a call to ministry at an early age.
He also came along as Resurrection -- the Holston Conference’s annual winter gathering of music and preaching for youth -- was just beginning in 1985, and that was also a factor in his spiritual growth, he said
“That is one of the best things the conference has ever done,” he said.
As he was entering college, he also read sheet music along with scripture and played the trombone for the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Band for legendary band director J. Julian for a couple of years before transferring to UTC to finish his degree work. And yes, a couple of Tennessee Vol orange decorations adorn his new Red Bank office.
He had also worked some under UTC band director Tony D’Andrea and still occasionally plays music, he said.
After UTC, he went on to the non-denominational Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., for seminary work. He also took his required Methodist and Wesleyan theological classes at the Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta.
“I try to have a broad experience of thinking,” he said. “I appreciate the broad line within the Christian community.”
Before serving St. Marks, he had also served at Ooltewah United Methodist for more than two decades in their Reach outreach ministry.
All that is trying to help him adjust and serve in his new position overseeing Red Bank UMC and hoping to continue the fruitful work done so far at St. Marks. Despite the work and challenges, this man who was full of upbeat quotable lines about churches amid his also-realistic tone said he remains optimistic of the work ahead for him and his congregations, including Red Bank.
“If you are a person of faith, you have to be optimistic,” he said. “If we are faithful to what Jesus wants us to do, the church will thrive and be relevant.”
And who knows, maybe he can help them put some new pictures up at Red Bank UMC, too!
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To listen to the Rev. Eric Light briefly discuss his new appointment, Click
here.