TAMPA — "We have 40 people in attendance regularly at our church," said Jimmy Jones, a member of Highland United Methodist Church here. "If we have a picnic at the park, we’re not going to have a very big turnout."

Through the North Tampa Cluster of the United Methodist Church, though, Highland and its four sister churches work together regularly to accomplish things each individual church could not accomplish on its own. Located within five miles of each other in north Tampa, the five churches are now collecting food and money for Tampa’s Metropolitan Ministries’ annual holiday food drive.

"We remain individual churches," Jones said, "but we get together for various events. Other churches are afraid to join because they’re afraid they’ll lose their identity. But what it really does is give each church a greater sense of accomplishment."

The North Tampa Cluster began in 1992 when the Rev. Dr. Charles Courtoy, now executive director of the conference’s office of New Church Development and Church Redevelopment, was superintendent of the Tampa District.

"There were several churches that were not doing well," Jones said. "They were thinking about combining pastors and making some of them a circuit."

Courtoy said the Tampa District Board of Missions and Church Extension had identified 26 churches in the district that were "in potential trouble or marginally self-sustaining."

To help those churches plan for their futures, Courtoy said they were clustered into geographical groups to discuss and process the information presented to them by the district. "There was no particular thought in clustering them together, just a common area and a common problem," he said. "That [North Tampa] Cluster just clicked. It’s a God thing."

Despite two churches opting out and one closing, Jones said the current Cluster churches, Highland, Northeast, Primera Iglesia Metodista/Faith, Seminole Heights and St. Johns United Methodist churches, are active participants.

Among the Cluster’s annual events are a picnic, Easter sunrise service held in local city parks and a Christmas cantata presented by the Cluster Choir and performed at a different Cluster church each year.

In addition to collecting food and money for the holidays, the Cluster also provides its member churches with all-day bus passes and McDonald’s restaurant gift certificates that pastors can give to people who need help.

The Cluster churches are also involved with other non-United Methodist ministries. The local Salvation Army provides music for the sunrise service and serves attendees breakfast afterward. In return, the Cluster churches provide bell ringers for the annual Salvation Army Red Kettle fund-raising drive each Christmas season.

Money to pay for Cluster events comes from offerings taken at each event so member churches do not have to budget anything. Cluster leadership is made up of the pastor and two lay members from each church. Jones has served as chairman of the Cluster council for the past six years.

"The main benefit is we’re all in it together, trying to get along and meet the needs of the community," Jones said. "We also have the chance to meet other people in a similar situation…and find that we have a common ground and get some encouragement."