“Ph.D. in leadership. Short course: Make a short list of all things done to you that you abhorred. Don’t do them to others. Ever. Make another list of things done to you that you loved. Do them to others. Always.” — Dee Hock
Missional In My Neighborhood
A determined caller asked, "What can I do to be missional in my neighborhood?"
I love questions that seek to create opportunities to share the simple 'love' of Jesus. So I offered a quick list of suburbia ideas for the caller to consider for her 'neck of the Northern California suburbia woods'
I've always felt awkward when I'm resting at a stop light, trying not to look at the homeless panhandler (Icon of God) out my driver's side window. I know, I know..."they do this as a scam to make easy money off of guilt ridden passers-by." I don't care. I want to meet a need, and I want to do it cheerfully and loving.
Whenever I go to McDonald's or any fast food location of your appetite's choice, I buy multiple $5 gift cards.
Last week I purchased $25 worth and placed the cards above my car's visor. Now, whenever I see someone asking for 'some help', I quickly pull one of the cards out from the visor and tell them to go get a warm lunch on me.
If the light is longer than normal, it creates a conversation.
I now pray for "Jimmy" on a daily basis, and I look for him each Wednesday afternoon during my drive into the radio station. We've struck up a dialog each time I've handed him the card. He's confounded at the 'love in forethought' that goes into buying the cards. Last week a small break through...he told me to keep praying for him as I drove away.
Curtis Lake thought the flood of 1996—when eight inches of water filled his suburban home—was disastrous. But what the first week of November 2006 brought him and the other residents of Sumner, Wash., turned out to be much worse. Nearly 10 inches of rain fell on the town of 10,000 just south of Seattle. Seven rivers flooded. Streets filled with mud and silt. And this time, Lake's belongings sat under 18 inches of water. Also destroyed were 33 of the 41 mobile homes of River Park Estates, the senior living park he manages.
"We lost everything," Lake says. "And most of the residents just left."
But, to his surprise and relief, help arrived. Nearby Calvary Community Church (cccsumner.org) had cancelled that weekend's services to head out and serve the community as part of a new four-week churchwide campaign called Faith in Action. Little did the congregation know their service weekend would be so well-timed; Sumner had never needed so much help.
Early on that Saturday morning, a forlorn Lake stood surveying the damage at the River Park Estates' front gate, when more than 250 volunteers "just started showing up," he recalls. Volunteers set out to save salvageable items by removing mud and sifting through personal belongings. Clean-up crews from the church eventually emptied 49 trash dumpsters of debris collected at the mobile home park.
"You know, Calvary was just an absolute God-send," says Lake, who now chats with the church's associate pastor on a regular basis. "I saw those people there to help, and it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders."
Demonstrating Christian service is the heart of the Faith in Action campaign created by leading Christian publisher Zondervan (zondervan.com), Christian relief organization World Vision (worldvision.org) and church communications firm Outreach Inc. (outreach.com) [parent company of Outreach magazine]. The three organizations have put together a name and program to a movement that has been gaining momentum for more than a decade, starting with pioneers like Vineyard Cincinnati founder Steve Sjogren's servant evangelism ministry (servantevangelism.com) and Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Ark. (fbclr.org), with Pastor Robert Lewis. Eighteen years ago, Lewis led a focused, churchwide reorganization to make serving the community a core value of the church.
Faith in Action focuses a congregation's attention on local, national and global needs, as well as God's heart for service. For a full month, sermons and worship services, small group discussions and daily devotional readings, all lay the foundation for the campaign's culminating event—"Faith in Action Sunday" community service project(s) and the corresponding cancellation of regular worship services. Moreover, the campaign also has an intentional outreach focus, where unchurched friends and community members are invited to join in the volunteer efforts, serving alongside church members.
Using simple tools, some newer area churches are making connections with their communities using candy bars, cookouts and home repairs.
LifeSong Church, The Point, Life Changers Outreach Center and New Destiny Outreach Center are reaching out and ministering to the community in unique ways.
These congregations are bringing the mission field home, making a big impact despite their small size.
Jeff Hickman and Brian George co-pastor LifeSong in Lyman where the motto is: "Being missionaries where we live, work and play."
LifeSong's presence in the community was felt months before its official launch on Easter.
Churchgoers volunteer at the Southeastern Children's Home, Greer Soup Kitchen and have monthly collection drives for organizations such as Miracle Hill Ministries and Middle Tyger Community Center.
They also have rehabilitated area homes through their "Community Transformation Projects" - all this from a church that draws 70 to 90 people for Sunday morning worship services.
Hickman and George, who oversees mission projects, encourage people in their congregation to invest themselves in the community.
"We want to become so intertwined in the community that the community would miss us if we were not here," Hickman said.
Hickman said he believes many churches have become more inward focused.
"They take all these tithes and offerings up, and most of the money churches spend, they spend it on themselves rather than taking and spending those resources that are being given for the kingdom of God."
Hickman differentiates between "mission-minded ness" and a "missional lifestyle."
He said there are many organizations or causes LifeSong could donate to.
"When we send our money to these things, that's being mission-minded. But a missional lifestyle is actually where we're not giving our funds for somebody else to do it, we're actually taking those projects upon ourselves to do," Hickman said.
Tennessee teenagers turned Lyman into their mission field when they helped LifeSong prepare for its launch. About 80 middle school students from Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., performed light construction work on the church. They also led Bible studies and handed out invitations to the church launch in the community.
"We believe that Jesus gave us a clear example that you go out into the community and you meet people right where they are, and you meet their needs," Hickman said. "Meeting their needs gives you an opportunity to be able to share his love and bring them to a personal relationship (with Christ)."
The church's vision comes from Luke 10:27, a verse imploring Christian believers to love God with all their heart and to "love your neighbor as yourself."
"We're getting back to the basics of what Christ teaches," Hickman said.
"I can stand up in the pulpit and I can preach all day long. I can go out and knock on people's doors and tell them all day long that Jesus loves them. Jesus didn't just preach to people. He actually showed them that he loved them because he met their needs," Hickman said.
