Developing great leaders: Rev. Paul Rasmussen sits down with Rev. Andrew Forrest

When Rev. Andrew Forrest first set foot in the old Munger church building, he had a tough time envisioning the vibrant, joy-filled place of worship it would quickly become. He remembered the dark, empty space, lack of electricity, and security fencing surrounding the perimeter that made him feel as though he’d just walked onto the film set of a zombie movie.

Twelve years later, the highly successful church has been an integral part of transforming the surrounding community of East Dallas.

“A church should have an impact on the neighborhood,” Rev. Paul Rasmussen shared in his sit down with Rev. Forrest. “This church has absolutely had an impact on the neighborhood.”

Rev. Forrest agreed. “I love that our place just feels happy,” he shared. “This is a gift that God has given us today. I think that’s true about us—everyone is just happy to be there.”

Looking back, Rev. Forrest attributed the growth of Munger Place Church, and its impact on the area, to the “culture of abundant generosity” that enabled the church to launch well and do things right from the beginning.

While other churches “tried to put old wine in a new wine skin,” Rev. Forrest is grateful for those who stepped up to offer the resources Munger needed.

“We launched big,” he says, which gave Rev. Forrest and his team what was needed to create something new, complete much-needed renovations, and hire talented staff members.

Today, Rev. Forrest says the problems Munger Place faces are admittedly ones you want to have as a pastor. “Not having parking and seats to fit them is stressful,” Rev. Forrest smiled.

The success of the church has also helped church leaders live out one of HPUMC’s core values: developing great leaders.

“One thing about developing great leaders is you develop great leaders, and then they’re desired, and that’s hard,” Rev. Rasmussen said. “It’s bittersweet. We don’t want to lose Andrew, but it’s part of what it means to develop great leaders. We have people that are desired.”

Rev. Forrest considers himself an “adopted Texan” and admitted he didn’t want to go when he first received the call to take on the role of Senior Minister at Asbury United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“The hard thing is to leave when it would be easier to stay,” Rev. Andrew Forrest said. “As afraid as I am to go, I’m more afraid to stay when I shouldn’t have stayed. God has blessed this place. It’s hard to say goodbye but I have to trust that God has a good plan for it—for everybody.”

What had once been a dark, empty space has become the vibrant community of faith known as Munger Place Church—and the launching place of another great leader.