Outreach Canada Report
Church & Community Interface
Dr. Gordon Carkner
The following suggestions offer ideas of incarnational ways to build strong and fruitful connections with the larger community. There is no question that the talent and creativity is there in the body of Christ in Canada; we just need to synthesize it, mobilize it, spark each other’s spiritual imagination and build on what is now working as the ideas below indicate, ideas that come from conversations with hard working pastors in Vancouver and beyond. The purpose of this outline is to build a conversation between ministry leaders. There is an urgency and excitement as we realize the kingdom of Christ that is among us and seek shalom or blessing to the circle of influence within which God has placed us.
OUTREACH CANADA IDEAS FOR HEALTHY CHURCHES
• Pay attention to where your people work; help them sanctify their workplace and learn how to take God to work (faithful presence). Help people to see their work as a calling and an opportunity for ongoing mediation of God’s grace, not a necessary evil to pay the bills. Realize that all people suffer at work, but teach the richer language of vocation which includes taking joy in one’s work (see Gordon T. Smith or Paul Stevens). Pray for people in different careers on separate Sundays (e.g. commissioning of school teachers, or business people, laborers and lawyers, politicians).
• ESL Programs/Essay Tutoring: see companion file (Church & Campus: Town & Gown) on ideas for reaching students and teachers in local colleges and universities.
• Volunteering in schools (coaching, school trips, tutoring), community centers or community fairs. Encourage participation in community events and infrastructure; if you focus on contributing to community well-being, the possibilities are without limit. Charities offer many an opportunity for service and new connections. Elections are a good place to be involved and to get to know a broader group.
• Substantial Christian adult education programs will draw people and establish a church’s leadership. Discipleship of adults is well-know to be a strategic ministry which will encourage more outreach and mobilize your members and their unique giftedness.
• Quality Young Adult Programs: singles have a particularly strong felt need for gatherings of various sorts with content as they go through important life transitions and look for their place in society.
• Pray regularly for community issues as they arise (e.g. the latest casino proposal, a hurting family, your mayor, Premier or Prime Minister)—own your neighbourhood and its needs; listen to the local concerns. If you have a public official in your congregation, support that person in the good they hope to do and the justice and mercy that they provide. Perhaps someone in your congregation could be appointed public awareness/relations liaison.
• A committed small group could move into a hurting neighbourhood and begin to build community and work towards social change, living out the Sermon on the Mount (e.g. Reba Fellowship in Chicago). They could also build a neighbourhood garden to draw people together around the good for all.
• Encourage members to show hospitality as if they were entertaining angels. Train people in this Stephen ministry; do not assume that it is happening. Some people need training in doing the good.
• If we have medical people, we could offer community seminars in healthy nutrition and self-care (e.g. William Sears, Prime-Time Health). Social workers could do a seminar on healthy family life and child- rearing.
• Connect with people around summer camps (people often value Christian camps for their kids even when they don’t go to church). Summer day camps are also a good connective tissue.
• Seasonal music events (Christmas and Easter especially) can really draw non-churched folks if done well. Use the power of the aesthetic gate for communication and bridge-building. Bring it out into the community venue wherever possible.
• Literacy & Life Orientation work with refugees, new Canadians or International university students.
• Soccer and other sports leagues beyond the church leagues.
• Some have made great community connections through children’s choirs, musicals, painting classes, drama events.
• Offer things like marriage/relationship workshops or a listening post for the community.
• Geography of Witness: Coffee shop, Arts Club Theater, community centre or schools work well—have some of your events off church premises where most people live and have their being. There is a church in Palo Alto, CA which owns a coffee shop and runs it as a business, and the pastor does an amazing amount of ministry connection to non-Christians there. They put on short talks, music events, discussions as per Philosopher’s Café and art displays, etc.
• Newspaper articles—Courier or local paper to show how you care; get good journalistic help to show that you care about the good of the whole community—shalom principle. Don’t let the skeptics interpret your best intentions or just pick on your flaws.
• After school programs (3-5 p.m.)—working parents really need help in this area.
• Justice work and legal support for the poor, homeless and refugee, environmental concerns—this adds credibility to your ministry among the younger population especially. Practical crisis relief help. See Tim Dichau’s new book: Plunging into the Kingdom Way (Wipf & Stock, 2011).
• Think of creative ways to get to know and bless the people in local businesses—being concerned about the flourishing of people beyond the Christian community. Be in conversation with their concerns and ask how you can pray. They interface with the public every day and can teach you much that you otherwise will miss.
• Free store, food bank, soup ministry to poor and inner city folks. • Look for ways to build relationships with and listen to Native Canadians, Sikhs or other minority groups in your “parish”. Refuse to be a mono-cultural church.
• Christianity & the Arts Festival.
No one can do all of this, but see further inspiring examples of faithful presence in James Davison Hunter’s book, To Change the World: the tragedy, irony and possibility of Christianity in the late modern world. OUP, 2010 (especially pp. 238-272). See Jim Belcher, Deep Church on the challenges of reaching a younger generation. Glean from cultural insiders (musicians, artists, film people, people in the sciences and law) what would connect with the larger diverse community. See also John Stackhouse Jr. Making the Best of It to build your theology of shalom. Charles Ringma’s book Catch the Wind also elaborates this vision. Find a language that people understand. Refuse isolation or alienation for your church; it is just not what we can be, given the incarnation and the sacrificial love of Jesus and the combined potential giftedness in our congregations! Team up with other churches to deepen your impact.
SOUND IDEAS FOR GROWING CHURCHES SEEKING TO IMPACT THEIR COMMUNITY
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Building a Church and Community Interface
Created by Dr. Gordon Carkner
It should be exciting to build on good ideas across Canada. People can choose ideas that work for them and add to the list of good ideas that others can draw on.
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