Evangelists target spiritually cold New England

The Rev. Wes Pastor, head of the NETS Institute for Church Planting in Williston, Vt., said New England's liberal mainline denominations, such as the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church, have been practicing a "different religion."
By Jay Lindsay
Associated Press Writer
October 28, 2009

WATERTOWN, Mass.—It's hard to tell in the quiet of a color-splashed autumn morning, but Redeemer Fellowship Church is trying to set roots in a rough neighborhood. For churches, anyway.

Until this new church opened last month, its 19th-century Congregational church building in suburban Watertown was empty for nearly two years. Just across the street, a closed Baptist church is filled with condos. So is a former Catholic church a half mile away.

Dead churches are a familiar story in New England, which recent surveys indicate is now the least religious region in the country. But some see opportunity in a place where America's Christian faith laid its roots.

"You look at this area and it's a great area of potential, it's a great area of need," said Redeemer Fellowship pastor Chris Bass, a Houston native.

Several Christian denominations see New England as a "mission field" -- a term often associated with unchurched, foreign lands. As they evangelize and work to plant new churches, they speak of possibility, but also frustration. The area's highly educated population is skeptical and often indifferent to their faith. the rest