2010 New Brunswick & Greater Palisades Workshop Facilitated by Earl James, RCA Coordinator of Multiracial Initiatives and Social Justice 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY (616) Bringing Fresh Life to Your Congregation through Church-Based Community Outreach

Session Goals When congregations seek to transform some aspect of life in their geographic community, renewal can come to their church members in the ways that they pray, worship, and grow relationships. During our discussion, we shall: 1.Study Scripture to discover more about why devout people should engage community 2.Introduce a ministry model that aligns congregation with community 3.Learn some ways to listen well to your neighbors 4.Identify some next ministry steps 2Church-Based Community Outreach

Jeremiah 5:1 “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look around and take note! Search its squares and see if you can find one person who acts justly and seeks truth— so that I will forgive this city.” 3Church-Based Community Outreach

Let’s discuss this Scripture. 1.What key phrases stand out for you? 2.What does the passage suggest about God’s involvement with place? 3.What does the passage suggest about God’s involvement with the prophet? 4.Why might the prophet’s task matter? 5.What can we learn about how God might want to work through your congregation in your location? 4Church-Based Community Outreach

A Ministry Model : Church “In – To – With” Community We begin our discussion of church ministry models by looking at one church- based community outreach engagement. Would someone please name one? 1.What worked? 2.What did not work? 3.Were there any tensions: A.Between church and community? B.Within the church? 4.How was: A.The church viewed by the community? B.The community viewed by the church? 5.Were the expectations for the engagement met or not? Why or why not? 5Church-Based Community Outreach

The prepositions “in,” “to,” and “with” provide Christians with valuable frames for talking about, working through, and improving how their congregations engage their communities. These ministry frames can help congregations to: 1.Breathe new life in their missions. 2.Stimulate what members learn, pray for, and worship about. 3.Transform their communities. The community engagement models associated with these three prepositions are not meant to define a congregation, but to assist with discussions. A congregation’s outreach ministries may have attributes of more than one of the models. For example, a congregation’s way of doing ministry might clearly be “to” community but may have elements of “in” or “with” community as well. 6Church-Based Community Outreach

Church “in” Community Does not desire community stakeholders to impact it. Does not desire to impact the community. Does desire to invest as close to 100% as possible of its resources on its own members. May be described as a fortress, keeping back the world (notice the thick walls around the church in the picture).  Suggests Christ is against culture and life outside the church, and the church always must be about the business of rescuing people from culture and outside the church. The thick box around the church building represents key characteristics of a church “in” community. Such congregations might be described as fortresses that seem to keep the world back. 7Church-Based Community Outreach

Church “to” Community Does not desire community stakeholders to impact it. Does desire to impact the community. Divides resources in varying percentages between the corporate lives of its members and the community. Limits or does not allow community stakeholders to impact planning or evaluation processes. Serves community for reasons and with methods the church prefers and assumes its members know what is best for the community. Suggests Christ is over culture and life outside the church, and that the church must always be about the business of making everything “Christian.” The thin box around the church building and the one-directional arrows represent key characteristics of a church “to” community. 8Church-Based Community Outreach

Church “with” Community Does desire community stakeholders to influence it (note the porous lines and arrows between church and community) Does desire to influence community Divides resources between the corporate lives of its members and the community Planning and assessment processes are influenced by both church members and community stakeholders. Makes decisions based on impacts desired by members AND the community (neighbors) Serves and develops the community for reasons and with methods that bring transformational impact to the community and church alike Suggests that Christ is both of and the transformer of culture and life outside the church, and that the church must be about the business of embracing the tensions and discovering balances among itself, culture, and life outside the church. The porous box around the church building and the two-directional arrows represent key characteristics of the church “with” community. 9Church-Based Community Outreach

Let’s discuss: 1.Was the introduction of church “in–to–with” community helpful? 2.How might you as congregational leaders use this way of growing outreach ministry? 3.How might church “in–to–with” community be helpful to your consistory? 4.How might church “in–to–with” community be helpful to your classis? 10Church-Based Community Outreach

Some Ways to Listen Well to Your Neighbors The best way to get to know your neighbors often involves asking them what is important to them! Consider three ways of gathering information: 1.One-on-one interviews with neighbors 2.Small group listening sessions 3.One-on-one interviews with leaders of nonprofits, businesses, government, etc. who work in the neighborhood Are there any stories from churches represented here of these listening experiences? If so, how did those experiences go? Do you have questions or tips about stirring up the courage or commitment to do these listening sessions? REMEMBER: Hearing things we might not like or appreciate can provide early positives for becoming a fruitful agent of community change! 11Church-Based Community Outreach

One-on-one can be done going door-to-door or meeting people at church or other centers. Two people should be present, one to ask questions and the other to record responses. Small group listening sessions can occur wherever 5 to 12 people can sit down over a snack to respond to your questions. Where one-on-one gets at an individual’s thoughts, you can learn additional things from group sessions such as how the group reacts physically to each other and how they respond verbally to each other. Interviewing leaders can give you a sense of trends that affect the school, business, or nonprofit, and can add value to what you learn from the residents. 12Church-Based Community Outreach

Here is a short list of questions you can ask. Feel free to use others as you need, but keep your questions to no more than 12. Remember to train your questioners well on how to listen and how to honor the persons being interviewed. You can use the same questions for small group listening sessions. 1.How long have you lived or worked in the neighborhood? 2.What do you like best about living or working here? 3.What disturbs you most about living or working here? 4.Think about someone you know well who lives here. How do you think she or he would describe living here? 5.What people, organizations, or things are strong or positive in the neighborhood? 6.Who would you say are leaders in your neighborhood or community, and why? 7.If two things could be done this year to improve life here, what would they be? 8.Who do you most admire or respect in the neighborhood and why? 9.What is one thing we did not ask about that would help us know the neighborhood better? Please remember to: 1.Take great notes! 2.Cluster responses together by one-on-one, listening group, and leader interviews. Learn from each cluster. 3.Compare responses across clusters. 4.Report your learnings fruitfully to congregation and neighbors, and build work teams that include those who are passionate and committed from each group! 13Church-Based Community Outreach

A Few Next Steps 1.Get a very large picture, photo, or artistic model of your neighborhood, post it in a prominent place where people gather, and encourage people to pray over it. 2.Take a prayer walk through the neighborhood from time to time. Be very aware of what you pass by, praying for people, places, and things. After returning to church, discuss what you learned and pray together for your neighbors and neighborhood. 3.Assess what you learn from neighbors, and include neighbors in your assessment processes. Plan together ministries based on what you hear, involving passionate neighbors. Look for the overlaps among A) what your church’s gifts and abilities are, B) what the neighborhood is strong in, and C) the opportunities to bring new life to both church and community., 14Church-Based Community Outreach