Buffalo Rising Online

Dec 3rd 2007, 4:11pm By queenseyes

When I first met Drew Ludwig he introduced himself as the new Pastor of the Lafayette Presbyterian Church. Not being a churchgoer, I wasn't quite sure what position that was. Was it a preacher, or a reverend... or what? Today Drew and I met for lunch to discuss his church... well, it's not his church... it's a partnership between his parishioners, himself, his hierarchical superiors and God. When it comes down to it though, Reverend Drew answered my initial query and I now understand that at the age of 29, he is the one in-charge of running church operations (and that's a pretty big task). His own charge? His charge is to connect the people who have no traditional faith background with his house of worship. He also wants to reconnect the people who may have become estranged from the church for one reason or another. He wants people to be proud (again) to have such a church in their midst.

At one point the Lafayette Church boasted 1500 members. The large chapel still seats a whopping 1200 people, even though there are only 94 members now (congregations currently see 60+ people). Those are pretty scary statistics... until you consider that there are twice as many people worshipping (at Lafayette) this year than there were last year. That is the reverse trend for many congregations, but according to Drew this is a trend that his church will continue to see. "We stopped being afraid," he told me. "I made it my decision to say, "yes" to people. When you love your neighborhood, you will find that your neighborhood loves you back. We've been reaching out to find that people are willing to come back... the people may be different, but the goal is the same."

"I moved to Buffalo with my wife in May. We came from a wealthy inner-ring suburb of Pittsburgh. We decided that we needed to live and work somewhere that was different. We looked at climate, and community... we knew that we wanted to be in a city... and we knew that we wanted to be in a diverse neighborhood. We looked at cities that had smaller communities with a big potential for growth. My hiring was a two-way courting process. They did a great job at showing me the city... and we decided that the Elmwood Village was exactly what we had been looking for. As for the church bringing me on-board? They chose a Hail Mary over a punt. Instead of business as usual they decided that change was in order. That's the only way I can describe them bringing on a 29-year old... the church needed to move forward in a different direction. That direction happened to be based on simple, all-inclusive values that I brought with me."

The values that Drew has begun to embrace at the Lafayette Church are: Authenticity, generosity, listening, being active, and being diverse. When asked how he has managed to bring so much to the church in such a short period of time he answered, "The church is open to everyone. We're going out into the neighborhoods looking for people who are spiritually hungry. We're going back to the simple values. My goal is to have this church back to 100% operational budget through pure congregational givings. I want change on a greater societal level. I was raised to believe that that's what the church is for. I knew that I wanted to help the church live out 'the vision' and get back to that dream. I'm happy to be doing that in Buffalo."

Since coming to Buffalo, Drew has managed to engage the community, the Elmwood Village Association and his congregation. In ten years (if trends remain the same), he will still be in the youngest 11% of his profession demographic. You can tell that he is still in disbelief that he has come to run such a remarkable church. When he talks, you can hear the pure excitement in his voice. He has an enthusiasm for life that is very refreshing. He likes to use football terminology when talking about religion. He smiles when you slip up and curse during a conversation. And he wants to learn everything about his new city that he can absorb. After sitting and talking for an hour I feel that I have only touched the surface of Drew Ludwig's hopes and dreams for Buffalo and 'his' church. I think that it was a wise decision that the church made when they snagged this guy. They threw a Hail Mary and are now on their way to winning a crucial game.

The slogan on Drew's business card reads, 'Following Jesus in the Elmwood Village'. The website? Well, just click below...

The Lafayette Presbyterian Church - 875 Elmwood Avenue | Buffalo NY | 14222

716.886.6635