The Banner, the CRCNA's magazine, recently published a great article, "Community: A Healing Balm," by Pastor Rod Hugen of the Village Church in Tucson, Ariz. Hugen really digs into the question of what it truly means to be the church.
I found myself particularly interested in the following anecdote:
A gentleman approached me to suggest that we open our church building to unhoused folks, particularly on the occasional freezing nights we experience here in the desert. It made sense. We have a sanctuary full of comfortable couches, a wonderful kitchen, and other amenities folks might need. I told him it was a great idea and invited him to get to work on making it happen, reminding him there would need to be folks who opened and closed and who kept watch through the night. He was a bit confused and said, “Oh, I don’t want to do it. I just think it is something we should do.” I asked him who he thought “we” were.
This tied into another recent Network post shared by Diaconal Ministries Canada, which gives tips to churches seeking to improve how they recruit and support lay leaders. Guiding people towards community engagement is always a challenge, and the ways in which people engage have changed over time, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. This leads me to the question I wanted to pick your minds about.
How does your church guide your members to reach out to your community? How do you support your laypeople and layleaders in their work towards the mission of your church?
I look forward to reading all of your responses!
Comments
Hi Sarah,
I'll start with a couple suggestions:
1) When seeking volunteers for various service opportunities in church and community, prioritize personal contact. Bulletin announcements seeking volunteers are typically necessary but quite inadequate. More effective is identifying and approaching individuals personally with a request, or even better a suggestion that a service opportunity would fit them well.
2) Picking up where the first point left off, it is important to fit the skills and abilities to the opportunities (to a degree, though not rigidly). If we see giftings in people we will do well to lead them specifically to opportunities to use those gifts.
3) Provide encouragement and support to those who do serve in various ways. Setting people off on a task without support and encouragement can lead to failure and disillusionment.
4) Include encouragements and challenges to serve from the pulpit in preaching. We understand the Heidelberg Catechism to be ordered as Sin-Salvation-Service or Guilt-Grace-Gratitude. We must tie our gospel message of sin/salvation to a life of gratitude and service. This is part of the discipleship that will lead to more mature and more serving church members. The key here, though, is to keep law and gospel distinct. We are not works-righteousness people and haranguing our members will not lead to sanctified service.
5) Pray for God to work in the hearts of church members and equip them for the various tasks (yes, this should have been point number one by priority).
6) Lead by example. Leaders who step beyond the minimum can inspire others to follow their example.
7) Show appreciation, and not necessarily or always in formal ways (like telling the church secretary to send a thank-you). Personal notes of appreciation or a step-aside to quickly thank and commend a person for their service can and will motivate to further service.
8) Use times of family visitation to discuss service and to encourage members in using the gifts and abilities God has given them to serve others. Family visitation allows this encouragement to occur in relationship, and not just as a convenience when we corner someone at church. Elders, deacons, and pastors who don't know their people won't know their giftings and won't know how to encourage them, nor will they have the relational capital to do so effectively. A great way to know families and individuals is to visit them.
9) Don't ignore singles. Singles sometimes feel out of place in the family-centric culture of church. Singles can slip through the cracks in more ways than one. Value singles, but not for how they can serve - value them for who they are as individuals with their own calling. Valued singles will experience the nurture of a congregational family and will be apt to serve those who are pouring into them.
Just a few top-of-mind thoughts to start conversation. Thanks for raising this topic.
Eric, thank you for these great suggestions!
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