Community-Based Ministry
As someone who spent over 20-years cultivating an intentional community ministry in the City of Guelph where I served St. Andrew’s PC, I can speak to the many meaningful connections I made with various community members, organizations, businesses, and local government representatives.
I found this kind of ministry invigorating and often found myself asking the question reflectively - “How am I at this table? or in this room? or a part of this conversation?” It was amazing to be a part of conversations and activities that were making a real different in our city.
However, I would often say that this kind of style of ministry didn’t result in the numerical growth of the congregation I served - so I wondered if it was ‘successful’ by the congregational model of ministry standards.
I’m confident that others wondered too.
That isn’t to say that it didn’t result in some amazing opportunities for ministry though - pastorally supporting community leaders who didn’t have many others to whom they could talk in confidence; being invited to come to the hospital by a community member who didn’t know to whom to reach out when their family member was suddenly admitted under grave circumstances; or hearing the surprised response, “You and your church would do that?” to my statement that we might be able to provide some financial support to someone in need or even add them to our prayers on Sunday morning. I could go on and on. But again, no bums on seats to be crass.
In what would be the last year of my service at St. Andrew’s Guelph, our leadership agreed unanimously to ‘pay it forward’ with regard to the $600,000 we received as the proceeds of the sale of the Westminster-St. Paul’s PC building. I was surprised that the leadership supported that idea so enthusiastically at a time such as this. It wasn’t my idea but I did put the community members, whom I’d known for years, in the room to make their pitch.
Several colleagues, as I told the story of what the congregation was doing, responded to my “Can you believe it?” exclamation with - “Of course I can, John - you’ve spent years speaking of the power of community in that place. Why wouldn’t they respond just like they have? I’m not surprised at all.” Hmmm. Maybe there is something Gospel about community ministry after all.
You can read more about the campaign St. Andrew’s Guelph responded to here.
And if you have a few minutes - consider these two articles and the organizations to which they point as you and your leadership dream of how you will engage with your neighbours.
