It's not the first time Rodriguez has rebuilt a crumbling church. At his previous church in Red Bank, N.J. (also called Trinity Episcopal) Rodriguez nearly doubled the attendance and the average age of members dropped from 65 to 37.

That's what he and his wife, Kathy, director of parish life, want to do here. In fact, it's happening already. Attendance is consistently up 25 percent or more on Sundays. More young families are joining and many who left are returning.

Since the beginning, we've worshipped in an old union hall owned by a non-profit. Here, we rent 24/7 office space, worship facilities, and a prayer room. Liturgical worship is the central hub of our life together.

Our worshippers increasingly come from a variety of traditions, socioeconomic groups, and age ranges (we have more babies and grey hairs than ever.)

Dave Libbon, the Director of Youth Ministries here at St. Andrews, will take the lead in planting in Park Circle. Many have benefited from Dave's ministry here at St. Andrew's and I want to assure you that he will continue to serve as the Youth Ministries Director as we seek to establish ourselves in Park Circle.

"These are very serious Christians and most of the them are adults who have became Christians for the first time in their lives," he said. "So they're not just children of Christian parents."

The bishop disagreed with some religious educators who believe that by withholding confirmation until later in life, young people are kept involved in the life of the church for a longer period of time.