It's been a long time since my last posting. While I can't say I haven't been deep in thought, it's true that I've been very much occupied in the details of working with people. Working with people is amazingly complex. Because people are complex. And because of the level of connection in our society, our relationships and situations seem to be that much more complex. Everything seems to be inter-related. So, in order to truly solve some problems, you have to work with people on different levels at the same time. It's fascinating to me. It's also fascinating to me how few people there are in our society who are really willing to get down to the very difficult task of digging through layers of complexity to find the real problem. That isn't meant to slam anyone. It's just meant as an observation that as things get busier and faster and more complex, there seem to be fewer people willing to take the time to really work for a complete solution. We seem, as a society, to be settling for quick solutions that really don't solve anything. So here is a blog post that I felt really fit with the theme we've been on lately, by God's grace, at Zion. The author proposes that cities may be too large for one church to impact all at once. That things may seem so overwhelming. But, when you break it down into it's component parts, cities, like problems, get more manageable. I hope you'll enjoy this post as much as I did. God bless you and thanks for reading. PJ
http://www.qideas.org/blog/its-all-about-the-neighborhood.aspx
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
We Are Missionaries
What if faith was that easy? What if we are missionaries?
Imagine what you’d do in Des Moines if you were a missionary.
If you were a missionary, you would begin your task of bringing God’s word to people by defining who it was that you were there to serve. You would identify a people group, a city, a region, a neighborhood. In other words, you’d have some target in mind. Our mission field is our city, beginning specifically, with our neighborhood, which we define as a 42 square block radius from Zion’s building.
Next, as a missionary, you’d get to know your target audience. You’d find out what they liked, what they didn’t like, what language they spoke, where they shopped, what they ate, how they saw the world.
Third, you’d find some way of serving those whom you’d come to minister to. What are the needs of your target audience? Do they need food? Clothing? Shelter? Education? As a missionary you would find some way of making yourself useful to the people you sought to serve.
Then, you’d invite them into a relationship with Jesus and you’d build a church with them.
Our current evangelism work in our neighborhood began in June, 2010, at the Douglas Terrace Apartments (DTA) as a response to God’s prompting in prayer that “when you give a banquet, invite those who cannot return your invitation.” (Luke 14).
We simply showed up with a large lunch, a bunch of our members, and games for the kids. We started meeting parents and kids and forming relationships. Since June, 2010, we have done five additional outreaches to DTA.
About 50 Zion members have participated in one or more of the outreaches. The average outreach feeds lunch for around 125 people. We discovered that many of the families at Douglas Terrace were refugees from different places around the world. The parents of the kids we met spoke little English.
Whiz Kidz Tutoring, Freedom for Youth Ministries
Zion became the first church based Whiz Kidz tutoring site for Freedom for Youth in the spring of 2010. We started with four kids and two or three volunteers. By September, 2010, it became apparent that one way we could serve the kids we were meeting in our outreaches to Douglas Terrace, was to offer them the opportunity to join us on Wednesday nights at church for a meal, a Bible lesson and English reading tutoring. We began inviting the children and are amazed at the results. The program began to grow rapidly, and now there are 10-17 tutors on an average night and between 30 and 40 kids participating on average. There seems to be unlimited demand to come to Zion on Wednesday nights from the kids. Our current challenge is how to transport the growing number. We are borrowing a van from Freedom for Youth and also use 2-3 other vehicles. We are now at the point of needing to make two trips just to get everyone to church.
Samuelson Elementary
Our involvement with the kids from Douglas Terrace led us to the elementary school which many of them attend, Samuelson Elementary. In meeting with the principal, it was discovered that the student body is made up of 30% ELL (English Language Learner) students. Most of those students come from Douglas Terrace and other complexes in close proximity to DTA. We also learned that the school’s number one concern was transportation for these kids, mostly from refugee families, to and from school. The kids live in an area that is only 3/10 of a mile short of the busing boundary. Most live 1.7 miles from school and their parents leave early in the morning and they are frequently at school very early and have to wait outside, some, for up to an hour.
So, after much prayer, it was determined that Zion would attempt to get as many kids as possible to and from school each day. Since December 1, using vans borrowed from Meredith Drive Reformed and Freedom for Youth, we have been transporting 14 kids to and from school each school day. We have been asked by community leaders in the DTA and other complexes to try and get more kids into the program. Samuelson provides the students, the permission slips, and contacts the families. It’s a beautiful relationship. Our prayer is to be able to buy a van for Zion for this purpose and also to continue to find other churches willing to contribute drivers or vans.
Helping Refugee Families
During this time, Zion was approached by a local restaurant owner who is himself a recent immigrant from Iraq. He sought Zion’s help in providing furniture and clothing for recently arrived Iraqi families. Since November, 2010, we have helped six Iraqi families, a family from Bangladesh and the number of families is continuing to grow weekly. The congregation has provided furniture and clothing and we have also sought help from other churches in order to meet the need.
One Church, Many Tribes
Just before Christmas, 2010, we were approached by a new group of refugees from Myanmar (Bangladesh). They are part of an ethnic group called the Chin. They formed a Christian fellowship and are seeking our help in becoming a church as either a part of Zion or independently with Zion’s help. They hope to begin holding services at Zion on Sunday afternoons in the very near future. We plan to worship together frequently.
It is our belief that worship at Zion will begin to resemble, more and more, the kingdom of God as we worship together red and yellow, black and white.
What Does The Future Look Like?
Let’s be clear: God is in control and we are definitely not. Amazing things have been happening and we will continue to try and respond faithfully to what we believe is a move of God. We also understand that having a holy ambition is a good thing. So, here are some of the things we think might happen (but only if God wants them):
Buy a used van and start inviting the kids from local apartments to Sunday School as well as Wednesday nights. The van would also be used in the busing program Mon-Fri and on Weds nights. Also for special events, like VBS.
Working in conjunction with the International House of Prayer - Iowa, at 2719 Douglas, we’re praying about opening a small clothes closet/furniture distribution location beneath the house of prayer. The cost for an offsite location close to the apartments is about $200/month.
In the spring and summer continue our outreaches to DTA and also at least one new outreach at a another apartment complex nearby. We need volunteers and minimal funding for the food we’d bring. We are planning at least one outreach in conjunction with Wonder Years Academy, a local head start child care center.
At least one new commercial grade bounce house.
We’d like to do at least one Vacation Bible School outreach at our sister congregation, Redeemer Lutheran on University.
A new opportunity: Help transport the parents of the kids we have been ministering to ESL classes.
Working with International House of Prayer-Iowa (IHOP-Iowa), could we cook breakfast for the kids who live in the DTA area before school, then we give the kids a short Bible lesson and prayer before they got on a van to school?
Volunteering at the VA. Our Christmas Caroling at the VA was more successful than we imagined. We’d like to continue to develop our relationship with the VA and are currently seeking volunteers to minister to our veterans.
Thanks!
Thank you for your financial and prayer support and your generosity with time.
Thanks for reading. God bless. PJ
Imagine what you’d do in Des Moines if you were a missionary.
If you were a missionary, you would begin your task of bringing God’s word to people by defining who it was that you were there to serve. You would identify a people group, a city, a region, a neighborhood. In other words, you’d have some target in mind. Our mission field is our city, beginning specifically, with our neighborhood, which we define as a 42 square block radius from Zion’s building.
Next, as a missionary, you’d get to know your target audience. You’d find out what they liked, what they didn’t like, what language they spoke, where they shopped, what they ate, how they saw the world.
Third, you’d find some way of serving those whom you’d come to minister to. What are the needs of your target audience? Do they need food? Clothing? Shelter? Education? As a missionary you would find some way of making yourself useful to the people you sought to serve.
Then, you’d invite them into a relationship with Jesus and you’d build a church with them.
Our current evangelism work in our neighborhood began in June, 2010, at the Douglas Terrace Apartments (DTA) as a response to God’s prompting in prayer that “when you give a banquet, invite those who cannot return your invitation.” (Luke 14).
We simply showed up with a large lunch, a bunch of our members, and games for the kids. We started meeting parents and kids and forming relationships. Since June, 2010, we have done five additional outreaches to DTA.
About 50 Zion members have participated in one or more of the outreaches. The average outreach feeds lunch for around 125 people. We discovered that many of the families at Douglas Terrace were refugees from different places around the world. The parents of the kids we met spoke little English.
Whiz Kidz Tutoring, Freedom for Youth Ministries
Zion became the first church based Whiz Kidz tutoring site for Freedom for Youth in the spring of 2010. We started with four kids and two or three volunteers. By September, 2010, it became apparent that one way we could serve the kids we were meeting in our outreaches to Douglas Terrace, was to offer them the opportunity to join us on Wednesday nights at church for a meal, a Bible lesson and English reading tutoring. We began inviting the children and are amazed at the results. The program began to grow rapidly, and now there are 10-17 tutors on an average night and between 30 and 40 kids participating on average. There seems to be unlimited demand to come to Zion on Wednesday nights from the kids. Our current challenge is how to transport the growing number. We are borrowing a van from Freedom for Youth and also use 2-3 other vehicles. We are now at the point of needing to make two trips just to get everyone to church.
Samuelson Elementary
Our involvement with the kids from Douglas Terrace led us to the elementary school which many of them attend, Samuelson Elementary. In meeting with the principal, it was discovered that the student body is made up of 30% ELL (English Language Learner) students. Most of those students come from Douglas Terrace and other complexes in close proximity to DTA. We also learned that the school’s number one concern was transportation for these kids, mostly from refugee families, to and from school. The kids live in an area that is only 3/10 of a mile short of the busing boundary. Most live 1.7 miles from school and their parents leave early in the morning and they are frequently at school very early and have to wait outside, some, for up to an hour.
So, after much prayer, it was determined that Zion would attempt to get as many kids as possible to and from school each day. Since December 1, using vans borrowed from Meredith Drive Reformed and Freedom for Youth, we have been transporting 14 kids to and from school each school day. We have been asked by community leaders in the DTA and other complexes to try and get more kids into the program. Samuelson provides the students, the permission slips, and contacts the families. It’s a beautiful relationship. Our prayer is to be able to buy a van for Zion for this purpose and also to continue to find other churches willing to contribute drivers or vans.
Helping Refugee Families
During this time, Zion was approached by a local restaurant owner who is himself a recent immigrant from Iraq. He sought Zion’s help in providing furniture and clothing for recently arrived Iraqi families. Since November, 2010, we have helped six Iraqi families, a family from Bangladesh and the number of families is continuing to grow weekly. The congregation has provided furniture and clothing and we have also sought help from other churches in order to meet the need.
One Church, Many Tribes
Just before Christmas, 2010, we were approached by a new group of refugees from Myanmar (Bangladesh). They are part of an ethnic group called the Chin. They formed a Christian fellowship and are seeking our help in becoming a church as either a part of Zion or independently with Zion’s help. They hope to begin holding services at Zion on Sunday afternoons in the very near future. We plan to worship together frequently.
It is our belief that worship at Zion will begin to resemble, more and more, the kingdom of God as we worship together red and yellow, black and white.
What Does The Future Look Like?
Let’s be clear: God is in control and we are definitely not. Amazing things have been happening and we will continue to try and respond faithfully to what we believe is a move of God. We also understand that having a holy ambition is a good thing. So, here are some of the things we think might happen (but only if God wants them):
Buy a used van and start inviting the kids from local apartments to Sunday School as well as Wednesday nights. The van would also be used in the busing program Mon-Fri and on Weds nights. Also for special events, like VBS.
Working in conjunction with the International House of Prayer - Iowa, at 2719 Douglas, we’re praying about opening a small clothes closet/furniture distribution location beneath the house of prayer. The cost for an offsite location close to the apartments is about $200/month.
In the spring and summer continue our outreaches to DTA and also at least one new outreach at a another apartment complex nearby. We need volunteers and minimal funding for the food we’d bring. We are planning at least one outreach in conjunction with Wonder Years Academy, a local head start child care center.
At least one new commercial grade bounce house.
We’d like to do at least one Vacation Bible School outreach at our sister congregation, Redeemer Lutheran on University.
A new opportunity: Help transport the parents of the kids we have been ministering to ESL classes.
Working with International House of Prayer-Iowa (IHOP-Iowa), could we cook breakfast for the kids who live in the DTA area before school, then we give the kids a short Bible lesson and prayer before they got on a van to school?
Volunteering at the VA. Our Christmas Caroling at the VA was more successful than we imagined. We’d like to continue to develop our relationship with the VA and are currently seeking volunteers to minister to our veterans.
Thanks!
Thank you for your financial and prayer support and your generosity with time.
Thanks for reading. God bless. PJ
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Let’s Get the Story Straight
We live in Des Moines, Iowa. Right smack dab in the heart of America’s Heartland. We live in the city, which may not be as “urban” as other urban centers in other places, yet our two local elementary schools, both within 2 miles of the church building, have students who come from over 30 different linguistic backgrounds. In other words, we have a lot of immigrants, mostly from Africa and Southeast Asia. Many have never heard the Gospel.
While we are not as “unchurched” as other big cities, research by other groups tells us that 70% of our county is unchurched. We also know, from our own local experience, that we are living in a time when a second generation is growing up of those who have not gone to church and don’t know what it means to be part of a church.
All of this means that there are a lot of people in our immediate vicinity that do not know the story of Jesus. They don’t know who he is, or what he can do.
There was a time in this city, indeed, in our entire country, when almost everyone knew the story of Jesus. In fact, a very good case can be made, that the generations who went before us knew the stories of the Bible and those stories provided a common narrative for how we related to life and to each other. The Bible’s big story was our society’s story.
But in 2010, soon 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa, America’s heartland, we are living in a time when increasing numbers of people don’t know who Cain and Able are. They don’t know John the Baptist and they’ve never heard of Isaiah or Ezekiel or Jeremiah.
One of the things that unites a people is a common understanding of their story. In an time when there are so many different stories out there, I am struck by the need to rally our people back to basics. Back to the story of the God who created them, redeemed them by his blood, and is with them as Emmanuel, God with us.
How can we tell people who Jesus is when they don’t know the story of how humanity fell into sin? How can we teach them who Jesus is if they don’t know why they need a Savior? How can we teach them that Jesus is the Father’s rescue plan since before time was born when they don’t know the Bible’s big story? It’s time to recover God’s story. It’s time to try to get the church and our community on the same page.
As a pastor, I’m well acquainted with my own congregation’s Biblical illiteracy. Like many churches across this great land, many in our pews don’t get the Bible’s story. I’m not proud of it and work hard to correct it, but the fact remains, my congregation, on the whole, doesn’t see the Bible as one big story, but as little stories that are somewhat disconnected. And I’m not going to exclude myself from this. I fully acknowledge that I probably don’t know the Bible as well as I should, or at least as well as previous generations of pastors.
It’s time to take the congregation, our neighborhood, and our city, back to the basics. To teach them all the message, the story, if you will, of the Bible.
And so we shall. In January, we begin preaching through the Bible. We’ll use some materials by Zondervan called The Story. Basically, The Story is the Bible read like a novel in 31 chapters. It is my hope that understanding the story will ignite a fire in our bellies to really dig into God’s word and to understand that the Bible isn’t a bunch of separate books, but one big book that shows us that God is with us and always has been.
I hope everyone at Zion will purchase The Story book. It is available for kids, for teens and for adults. If you can’t afford it, we will provide it to you free of charge.
If you are in the Des Moines area, we invite you to come and join us. We’ll start on January 16. If you’re not a local, please consider this your invitation to join us by pod-cast. See our website for details. Thanks for reading. God bless you. PJ
For more information about The Story, please see: http://www.thestory.com/ or the abbreviated version at http://www.ziondsm.org or http://viewthestory.com/1715
While we are not as “unchurched” as other big cities, research by other groups tells us that 70% of our county is unchurched. We also know, from our own local experience, that we are living in a time when a second generation is growing up of those who have not gone to church and don’t know what it means to be part of a church.
All of this means that there are a lot of people in our immediate vicinity that do not know the story of Jesus. They don’t know who he is, or what he can do.
There was a time in this city, indeed, in our entire country, when almost everyone knew the story of Jesus. In fact, a very good case can be made, that the generations who went before us knew the stories of the Bible and those stories provided a common narrative for how we related to life and to each other. The Bible’s big story was our society’s story.
But in 2010, soon 2011, in Des Moines, Iowa, America’s heartland, we are living in a time when increasing numbers of people don’t know who Cain and Able are. They don’t know John the Baptist and they’ve never heard of Isaiah or Ezekiel or Jeremiah.
One of the things that unites a people is a common understanding of their story. In an time when there are so many different stories out there, I am struck by the need to rally our people back to basics. Back to the story of the God who created them, redeemed them by his blood, and is with them as Emmanuel, God with us.
How can we tell people who Jesus is when they don’t know the story of how humanity fell into sin? How can we teach them who Jesus is if they don’t know why they need a Savior? How can we teach them that Jesus is the Father’s rescue plan since before time was born when they don’t know the Bible’s big story? It’s time to recover God’s story. It’s time to try to get the church and our community on the same page.
As a pastor, I’m well acquainted with my own congregation’s Biblical illiteracy. Like many churches across this great land, many in our pews don’t get the Bible’s story. I’m not proud of it and work hard to correct it, but the fact remains, my congregation, on the whole, doesn’t see the Bible as one big story, but as little stories that are somewhat disconnected. And I’m not going to exclude myself from this. I fully acknowledge that I probably don’t know the Bible as well as I should, or at least as well as previous generations of pastors.
It’s time to take the congregation, our neighborhood, and our city, back to the basics. To teach them all the message, the story, if you will, of the Bible.
And so we shall. In January, we begin preaching through the Bible. We’ll use some materials by Zondervan called The Story. Basically, The Story is the Bible read like a novel in 31 chapters. It is my hope that understanding the story will ignite a fire in our bellies to really dig into God’s word and to understand that the Bible isn’t a bunch of separate books, but one big book that shows us that God is with us and always has been.
I hope everyone at Zion will purchase The Story book. It is available for kids, for teens and for adults. If you can’t afford it, we will provide it to you free of charge.
If you are in the Des Moines area, we invite you to come and join us. We’ll start on January 16. If you’re not a local, please consider this your invitation to join us by pod-cast. See our website for details. Thanks for reading. God bless you. PJ
For more information about The Story, please see: http://www.thestory.com/ or the abbreviated version at http://www.ziondsm.org or http://viewthestory.com/1715
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Reaching our Neighborhood for Christ: “Going to the nations.”
There is no doubt that we are on a mission. In the recent weeks, God has really opened a lot of doors for us and we have gone through them. The verses that come to mind are those from 2 Corinthians, “For we are Christ’s ambassadors, as if God was making his appeal through us...” I think there is little doubt that we are called to be a witness in this neighborhood. This neighborhood speaks at least 20 languages, and has people from at least 25 different nations living in it. We don't have to go very far to "go to the nations."
We defined our neighborhood as 43 square blocks. This isn’t meant to be exclusive in any way, it’s simply that you have to begin somewhere. We anticipate that our perception of neighborhood will continue to grow and push out until it includes first the entire city and then the entire world.
Things really seemed to get started when we began doing an outreach to a local apartment complex with mostly immigrant tenants. Over the summer we went four times, bringing bounce houses, playing soccer (and giving away balls), meeting and greeting and serving lunch. Two of our four visits featured food from restaurants in our neighborhood that came to us as a reduced cost but helped to boost the profile of the restaurants in the community.
We also went door to door. We aren’t finished yet, by any means. But we started with the houses that were in immediate proximity to the church building. The ones that shared a property line or were across a street from us. We asked, “How could our church be a better neighbor?” Some people had ideas and shared neighborhood news and concerns. (Who know drainage and weeds could be holy conversations?) Other times they didn’t have much to say but seemed glad for the contact. We gave people information about the church and invited them to services, including the new Wednesday night service with the “free” dinner beforehand. If they were home and talked to us, we also gave them a $10 gift certificate to a popular, new, neighborhood restaurant. Since beginning this, a Christian bookstore in town has given us coupons to hand out as well.
Next, I started introducing myself at local businesses. Always inviting people to church and always offering to be helpful. One local restauranteur, an Iraqi gentleman who has been in business for 3 months, took us up on the offer to help and our church was able to provide a houseful of furniture for a recently arrived Iraqi family. Today, two more families have come forward from the Iraqi community seeking help getting settled in this new land.
Then there are the local churches. These visits are still in progress, but great friendships are being made and partnerships being formed. Neighborhood pastors seem hungry for fellowship and eager to be part of something that more resembles the body of Christ than flying a solo mission. It leaves me excited for the future: what would it look like if we, as churches, called to be one body, could work together?
Our neighborhood has a mall so we went there next. The new general manager has only been there for 3 months so we were his first official neighborhood visitor. We asked, “How can our church bless the mall?” No one laughed or ushered us out of the office. The manager, a Mormon, thinks churches are great partners. We agreed to pray for the mall. Further, the mall agreed to do a coat drive for the kids in our neighborhood who can’t afford coats this year. Plus, he agreed to be part of a neighborhood e-mail chain that will include pastors, business leaders, school principals and other neighborhood leaders so that we could all work together to help to meet the area’s needs and solve problems together.
Next, we started to meet with the local elementary schools and head start program. Turns out, rather than being afraid of us and our religion, they are eager for any help we can provide as we all seek to meet the needs of the neighborhood’s children together. I think that for us, part of our ease of access has to do with the fact that the Area Education Association, which helps to train and equip teachers and administrators, uses our building weekly for meetings and conferences and many of our local school officials have been in our church. We have more schools that need visits but things are really moving along well so far.
There is no doubt in my mind that the congregation has caught the vision. We unveiled much of what we saw God doing and where we felt he was leading us last weekend at Sunday services. The response has been incredible. Lots of comments, lots of helpers, and lots of follow up e-mails. Today, a member of the church told me how she and her husband had lunch at one of the restaurants we’ve been working with and about she introduced herself and how this led to a really inspiring conversation.
Where are we going from here? We believe that God is calling us to continue our relationship with the first apartment complex and reach out to others in the spring. We’re praying through which ones and how right now. We also hope to have a traveling Vacation Bible School that can bring a kid friendly Gospel to various places in our neighborhood, especially our sister church’s campus in the Drake University area.. That means we need three strong teams to organize this winter to deploy for monthly events this spring and summer. We’ll continue to emphasize the tutoring program and seek to add more tutors and students. We’ve seen incredible growth in that program and so thankful to God for his graciousness in allowing us to be a part of his great plan.
I think we really some sort of bus. So we’re praying about that too. Last night we filled a 15 passenger van and a Ford Excursion with kids. We had nearly 25 between the two vehicles and more that arrived in a third vehicle. Over twenty kids are coming just from one apartment complex. I think about what it would be like if a bus could go over to that complex on Sunday mornings as well. How many of these kids, who just love to hang out at church, would want to come back on Sundays? It’s amazing. It’s miraculous. It’s God. So if any of you reading can provide a bus, you know where to find me. God bless and thanks for reading. PJ
We defined our neighborhood as 43 square blocks. This isn’t meant to be exclusive in any way, it’s simply that you have to begin somewhere. We anticipate that our perception of neighborhood will continue to grow and push out until it includes first the entire city and then the entire world.
Things really seemed to get started when we began doing an outreach to a local apartment complex with mostly immigrant tenants. Over the summer we went four times, bringing bounce houses, playing soccer (and giving away balls), meeting and greeting and serving lunch. Two of our four visits featured food from restaurants in our neighborhood that came to us as a reduced cost but helped to boost the profile of the restaurants in the community.
We also went door to door. We aren’t finished yet, by any means. But we started with the houses that were in immediate proximity to the church building. The ones that shared a property line or were across a street from us. We asked, “How could our church be a better neighbor?” Some people had ideas and shared neighborhood news and concerns. (Who know drainage and weeds could be holy conversations?) Other times they didn’t have much to say but seemed glad for the contact. We gave people information about the church and invited them to services, including the new Wednesday night service with the “free” dinner beforehand. If they were home and talked to us, we also gave them a $10 gift certificate to a popular, new, neighborhood restaurant. Since beginning this, a Christian bookstore in town has given us coupons to hand out as well.
Next, I started introducing myself at local businesses. Always inviting people to church and always offering to be helpful. One local restauranteur, an Iraqi gentleman who has been in business for 3 months, took us up on the offer to help and our church was able to provide a houseful of furniture for a recently arrived Iraqi family. Today, two more families have come forward from the Iraqi community seeking help getting settled in this new land.
Then there are the local churches. These visits are still in progress, but great friendships are being made and partnerships being formed. Neighborhood pastors seem hungry for fellowship and eager to be part of something that more resembles the body of Christ than flying a solo mission. It leaves me excited for the future: what would it look like if we, as churches, called to be one body, could work together?
Our neighborhood has a mall so we went there next. The new general manager has only been there for 3 months so we were his first official neighborhood visitor. We asked, “How can our church bless the mall?” No one laughed or ushered us out of the office. The manager, a Mormon, thinks churches are great partners. We agreed to pray for the mall. Further, the mall agreed to do a coat drive for the kids in our neighborhood who can’t afford coats this year. Plus, he agreed to be part of a neighborhood e-mail chain that will include pastors, business leaders, school principals and other neighborhood leaders so that we could all work together to help to meet the area’s needs and solve problems together.
Next, we started to meet with the local elementary schools and head start program. Turns out, rather than being afraid of us and our religion, they are eager for any help we can provide as we all seek to meet the needs of the neighborhood’s children together. I think that for us, part of our ease of access has to do with the fact that the Area Education Association, which helps to train and equip teachers and administrators, uses our building weekly for meetings and conferences and many of our local school officials have been in our church. We have more schools that need visits but things are really moving along well so far.
There is no doubt in my mind that the congregation has caught the vision. We unveiled much of what we saw God doing and where we felt he was leading us last weekend at Sunday services. The response has been incredible. Lots of comments, lots of helpers, and lots of follow up e-mails. Today, a member of the church told me how she and her husband had lunch at one of the restaurants we’ve been working with and about she introduced herself and how this led to a really inspiring conversation.
Where are we going from here? We believe that God is calling us to continue our relationship with the first apartment complex and reach out to others in the spring. We’re praying through which ones and how right now. We also hope to have a traveling Vacation Bible School that can bring a kid friendly Gospel to various places in our neighborhood, especially our sister church’s campus in the Drake University area.. That means we need three strong teams to organize this winter to deploy for monthly events this spring and summer. We’ll continue to emphasize the tutoring program and seek to add more tutors and students. We’ve seen incredible growth in that program and so thankful to God for his graciousness in allowing us to be a part of his great plan.
I think we really some sort of bus. So we’re praying about that too. Last night we filled a 15 passenger van and a Ford Excursion with kids. We had nearly 25 between the two vehicles and more that arrived in a third vehicle. Over twenty kids are coming just from one apartment complex. I think about what it would be like if a bus could go over to that complex on Sunday mornings as well. How many of these kids, who just love to hang out at church, would want to come back on Sundays? It’s amazing. It’s miraculous. It’s God. So if any of you reading can provide a bus, you know where to find me. God bless and thanks for reading. PJ
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Generations are a Never Ending Frontier
There are a few things I’ve had to come to accept:
The music will always be the wrong style for someone.
The music will always be too loud or too soft for someone.
The sermon will either be too long or too short for someone.
The congregation will either be too casually or too formally dressed for someone.
The weekly worship service time will either be too early or too late for someone.
In short, nothing will ever be just right for everyone.
The built in frustration with ministry is trying to become all things to all men so that we might by all means save some. But just as Paul discovered, it doesn’t always work. The Galatians were foolish, the Corinthians were factional, the Thessalonians were prone to listen to other teachers. Paul laid down his life for these folks, gave them the best he had, and still there were complications. Human preferences and prejudices have always been a hurdle for the Gospel.
But some get it. They move beyond the style and volume of the music; they look beyond the length of the teaching;
Jesus never said it would be easy - some of the seed would fall on good soil, some on the rocks, some in the weeds and some along the path. We just sow the seed we have.
There is little doubt in my mind that a cataclysmic change is coming to the church in North America.
Please read: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html
But there is also little doubt in my mind that the Lord has already raised up the next generation of church leaders and Christ followers to be his holy remnant and carry on his work and promises on this continent.
Please read: http://www.qideas.org/blog/gabe-lyons-and-the-next-christians.aspx
My heart’s desire is to be an influencer for Christ on the church that is coming. To be this I understand that I must lay aside my preferences as well and perhaps even labor to understand a different way of looking at the world. It’s difficult for one generation to understand another. I think it has always been this way. We don’t understand their music, their humor, their outlook. But we have to try. For the sake of the Gospel. There’s a whole mission field out there. Will you join me on this most fantastic of journeys? God bless. Thanks for reading. PJ
The music will always be the wrong style for someone.
The music will always be too loud or too soft for someone.
The sermon will either be too long or too short for someone.
The congregation will either be too casually or too formally dressed for someone.
The weekly worship service time will either be too early or too late for someone.
In short, nothing will ever be just right for everyone.
The built in frustration with ministry is trying to become all things to all men so that we might by all means save some. But just as Paul discovered, it doesn’t always work. The Galatians were foolish, the Corinthians were factional, the Thessalonians were prone to listen to other teachers. Paul laid down his life for these folks, gave them the best he had, and still there were complications. Human preferences and prejudices have always been a hurdle for the Gospel.
But some get it. They move beyond the style and volume of the music; they look beyond the length of the teaching;
Jesus never said it would be easy - some of the seed would fall on good soil, some on the rocks, some in the weeds and some along the path. We just sow the seed we have.
There is little doubt in my mind that a cataclysmic change is coming to the church in North America.
Please read: http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html
But there is also little doubt in my mind that the Lord has already raised up the next generation of church leaders and Christ followers to be his holy remnant and carry on his work and promises on this continent.
Please read: http://www.qideas.org/blog/gabe-lyons-and-the-next-christians.aspx
My heart’s desire is to be an influencer for Christ on the church that is coming. To be this I understand that I must lay aside my preferences as well and perhaps even labor to understand a different way of looking at the world. It’s difficult for one generation to understand another. I think it has always been this way. We don’t understand their music, their humor, their outlook. But we have to try. For the sake of the Gospel. There’s a whole mission field out there. Will you join me on this most fantastic of journeys? God bless. Thanks for reading. PJ
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Managing Perceptions in Ministry is Impossible
What do you do when what you see isn’t seen by everyone?
Example: From where I sit on the bridge of the ship, things are going incredibly well at Zion Lutheran Church and the Lord is doing great things in our midst.
A quick rundown of the stuff that to me, is obvious:
a). We’re seeing a lot of visitors to our events and services and those visitors are coming back again and again.
b).Wednesday nights have just surpassed Sunday mornings for kids, youth, and adult class attendance. We are really blessed and thankful.
c). There is so much enthusiasm and excitement as you walk the halls at Zion.
d). We’re serving more people than ever before at Wednesday night dinners. Like nearly 33% more than last year.
e). Adult classes are well attended
f). There is a real heart for doing mission developing in our members.
g). 20 kids are now coming from the DTA for Bible lessons and tutoring. And they are so full of joy to be here.
h). More classes and kids mean more volunteers and those needs are being met.
I think these are things we ought to celebrate and praise God for in a big way. It’s the Lord that is at work and we need to acknowledge what he’s doing.
But the recent days have revealed a battle of perceptions of sorts. I’m told there are “some people” who see things differently. Namely, a.) The staff is somehow underemployed, and, b.) Our church is obviously dying, having no money and no volunteers. Wow. Now that’s a pretty big gap in perceptions. But it’s easy to see how a person can see that.
For instance, if you attend church sporadically, never go downstairs to where the classes are, never go to Wednesday night church, never converse with anyone who has seen the good things, and haven’t attended any of the outreach or celebration events we’ve done this year, then yes, I can see how you’d come to the conclusions you’ve come to. So I invite you, personally, “come and see.” Jesus is on the move and we’re doing our best to keep up with him. We have had a rough 18 months-2 years financially. But things are stabilizing, praise God. Over these difficult months something wondrous has happened: we’ve changed from a church where five families gave 20% of the budget to a church of many smaller givers who are all invested in our mission. It’s glorious to see how God has even transformed us through these months of “suffering” to be ready for what he wants to do next.
I have to admit that it’s hard for me, personally, to hear misperceptions about our staff, whom I work with every day and love as colleagues and fellow sojourners for the Gospel. My tendency is take it personally. After all, the staff report to me, if they aren’t doing their jobs, I must be a terrible boss and must have made bad choices in hiring them. But I don’t think that’s what we’re dealing with here. I think rather that we are dealing with the simple fact that as we grow, as we reach out to our neighborhood and world, our staff does more and more and their roles change. They may not be in the office when you drop by. They might be out picking up supplies, meeting with volunteers, or even working from the quiet of home. Or maybe they’re resting because they were ministering until late in the night. I know they’re doing great work or we wouldn’t be seeing the kinds of things happening that I mentioned at the beginning of this piece.
Someone suggested I publish a list of all the things the staff and I do, and maybe when we do them. Get the information to the folks and stop the misperceptions. In this case, though, this most obvious of solutions is fraught with spiritual peril. I know too many pastors and church workers who feel the need to justify their jobs every day by telling people how busy they are. Instead of telling people “how’” they are, they “report out” about what they’re doing. This usually causes the other person to go away impressed. I think it leads to spiritual pride, however, on the part of the one reporting out. I also believe it’s wrong to make people justify their jobs when we are experiencing such blessings from God right now.
Nearly 50% of pastors in our country are in one of the stages of burnout. These are national, pan-denominational statistics. Stress is a major cause of this burnout. The chief stressor in a pastor or church worker’s life, according to studies, is a failure to manage the perceived expectations of others in the church. In other words, it is the opinion of many church workers that people in the church expect 24 hour service, 110% commitment, 110% quality, and they don’t want to pay much for it (after all, you’re called by God, you’ll get your reward). Frequently, I’m convinced that just about everybody thinks they could do our job better than we can. And we welcome them to try.
Church work is hard work. You compromise your family and personal boundaries frequently for the sake of the mission. And mission is risky. It requires sacrifice. At the end of the day, it’s a real blessing to know there are people who didn’t pursue a big job with a great salary in order to serve the Lord by tending and growing his flock.
I give thanks to God for all the great things he’s doing at Zion, for all the great people he’s gathered here, for the many volunteers that make ministry possible, and for the great staff he’s called to equip us for mission. It’s time to praise him for all our blessings and re-commit ourselves to following him. Thanks for reading. God bless. PJ
Example: From where I sit on the bridge of the ship, things are going incredibly well at Zion Lutheran Church and the Lord is doing great things in our midst.
A quick rundown of the stuff that to me, is obvious:
a). We’re seeing a lot of visitors to our events and services and those visitors are coming back again and again.
b).Wednesday nights have just surpassed Sunday mornings for kids, youth, and adult class attendance. We are really blessed and thankful.
c). There is so much enthusiasm and excitement as you walk the halls at Zion.
d). We’re serving more people than ever before at Wednesday night dinners. Like nearly 33% more than last year.
e). Adult classes are well attended
f). There is a real heart for doing mission developing in our members.
g). 20 kids are now coming from the DTA for Bible lessons and tutoring. And they are so full of joy to be here.
h). More classes and kids mean more volunteers and those needs are being met.
I think these are things we ought to celebrate and praise God for in a big way. It’s the Lord that is at work and we need to acknowledge what he’s doing.
But the recent days have revealed a battle of perceptions of sorts. I’m told there are “some people” who see things differently. Namely, a.) The staff is somehow underemployed, and, b.) Our church is obviously dying, having no money and no volunteers. Wow. Now that’s a pretty big gap in perceptions. But it’s easy to see how a person can see that.
For instance, if you attend church sporadically, never go downstairs to where the classes are, never go to Wednesday night church, never converse with anyone who has seen the good things, and haven’t attended any of the outreach or celebration events we’ve done this year, then yes, I can see how you’d come to the conclusions you’ve come to. So I invite you, personally, “come and see.” Jesus is on the move and we’re doing our best to keep up with him. We have had a rough 18 months-2 years financially. But things are stabilizing, praise God. Over these difficult months something wondrous has happened: we’ve changed from a church where five families gave 20% of the budget to a church of many smaller givers who are all invested in our mission. It’s glorious to see how God has even transformed us through these months of “suffering” to be ready for what he wants to do next.
I have to admit that it’s hard for me, personally, to hear misperceptions about our staff, whom I work with every day and love as colleagues and fellow sojourners for the Gospel. My tendency is take it personally. After all, the staff report to me, if they aren’t doing their jobs, I must be a terrible boss and must have made bad choices in hiring them. But I don’t think that’s what we’re dealing with here. I think rather that we are dealing with the simple fact that as we grow, as we reach out to our neighborhood and world, our staff does more and more and their roles change. They may not be in the office when you drop by. They might be out picking up supplies, meeting with volunteers, or even working from the quiet of home. Or maybe they’re resting because they were ministering until late in the night. I know they’re doing great work or we wouldn’t be seeing the kinds of things happening that I mentioned at the beginning of this piece.
Someone suggested I publish a list of all the things the staff and I do, and maybe when we do them. Get the information to the folks and stop the misperceptions. In this case, though, this most obvious of solutions is fraught with spiritual peril. I know too many pastors and church workers who feel the need to justify their jobs every day by telling people how busy they are. Instead of telling people “how’” they are, they “report out” about what they’re doing. This usually causes the other person to go away impressed. I think it leads to spiritual pride, however, on the part of the one reporting out. I also believe it’s wrong to make people justify their jobs when we are experiencing such blessings from God right now.
Nearly 50% of pastors in our country are in one of the stages of burnout. These are national, pan-denominational statistics. Stress is a major cause of this burnout. The chief stressor in a pastor or church worker’s life, according to studies, is a failure to manage the perceived expectations of others in the church. In other words, it is the opinion of many church workers that people in the church expect 24 hour service, 110% commitment, 110% quality, and they don’t want to pay much for it (after all, you’re called by God, you’ll get your reward). Frequently, I’m convinced that just about everybody thinks they could do our job better than we can. And we welcome them to try.
Church work is hard work. You compromise your family and personal boundaries frequently for the sake of the mission. And mission is risky. It requires sacrifice. At the end of the day, it’s a real blessing to know there are people who didn’t pursue a big job with a great salary in order to serve the Lord by tending and growing his flock.
I give thanks to God for all the great things he’s doing at Zion, for all the great people he’s gathered here, for the many volunteers that make ministry possible, and for the great staff he’s called to equip us for mission. It’s time to praise him for all our blessings and re-commit ourselves to following him. Thanks for reading. God bless. PJ
Monday, October 11, 2010
Mission is Risky
Previously I’ve taken the church to task for a lack of faith that has led to a lack of mission. In other words, if we don’t believe what our sacred Scriptures say about God and what he can do, why would we be bold in proclaiming him? Our issue, I speculated, is a failure to “believe.”
But our reasons for not being the kind of people Jesus called us to be in the world are bigger than that. This week I realized something else. Our failure to “believe” has also resulted in a really terrible thing: a failure to love. Before we do mission to the world we really have to learn to love the world the way that Jesus, our Master, loves the world. Not loving the world for what it can give us or do for us and not loving it in a licentious way, but rather, loving it from the perspective of God. Seeing the world as God’s fallen creation in need of the redemption that our Master has accomplished for it by his death on the cross and resurrection. Seeing it as a wayward child, a prodigal, that needs to be reconciled with it’s Creator Father.
Our lack of love is accentuated by a great fear. We, in the church, I posit, are afraid of just about everything and our fear keeps us from doing the mission we were called to. And so we sit on our hands and wait for people to come to us instead of going out onto the highways and byways and compelling them to come in. John tells us in his first letter (4:18), “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Our failure to love God and our neighbor and the world that our God created have resulted in fear which keeps us from engaging the very people Jesus calls us to engage.
To sum up, mission is risky and we don’t love enough to take the risks we have to in order to reach out to a world that desperately needs to hear the Good News. Think about it. Jesus says, “Go.” That’s risky. Safer to stay at home. He says, “Into all the world and make disciples of every nation.” That’s risky, too. They might say, “no.” They might laugh at us, hurt us, even kill us. Jesus told us to baptize them into the name of God and to teach them to obey everything he’s commanded us. Talk about risky. Have you heard about all the liability issues schools have? Educating people isn’t safe. It’s risky.
So here’s my week which serves as an excellent illustration of what I’m trying to explain:
We want local community groups to use our building. One such group had a huge event at our facility recently and hundreds if not a thousand people came through our doors and saw our Jesus stuff. But at least one of them had a bad experience at the event and, because it was in our building, held me and the church responsible. She was really upset and my attempts to calm her down and point her in the direction of the responsible community group leaders completely failed. Zion and Jesus got a black eye because we were trying to be generous with what God has provided us. Some would look at this and say, “See, better that our building be our building for our use only.” But I don’t think so. Without risk there can be no mission.
After said large event, which lasted for days, the parking lot was a mess. I walked out one evening, when it was all over, and was just, well, er, shocked. There were empty water bottles, half eaten fast food meals in and out of bags, and other assorted rubbish strewn all over. Got most of it picked up, but hey, just a reminder, mission is messy. And let’s face it, a lot of our traditional “church people” don’t want to pick up the mess or even take the risk of the mess because it just means more work. So why take the chance? Because mission is risky.
Got a call a while ago from a woman who wanted someone to go driving with her and help her get her license. Since we had no previous association with her, I felt it was important that we meet her and make sure she was, well, “safe,” as a person before we asked for help from the congregation to drive with her. And wouldn’t you know it, the insurance company told our volunteer driver it was too risky to go driving with this woman and the driver told the woman it was too risky. Then we got the hate letter of all hate letters from the woman who called us “cowards.” And she is right. Without risk there can be no mission. Without risk there can be no love.
Recently I went door to door in the neighborhood around our church. One of the things I wanted to do was to give our neighbors an invitation to make our building and grounds their own. Use our playground. Use our parking lot. Use this or that. I figured our Board would want me to talk to the insurance company before I was so magnanimous. So I did. What a mistake. Turns out merely having neighbors is a risk, let alone inviting them to use your stuff. Turns out there isn’t enough money in the world, let alone the undercapitalized church, to buy enough coverage to be generous with what God has given us to use and give away in his name. So I bought the neighbors gift cards to a local restaurant instead. I suppose if they choke or get food poisoning it will be my fault. Mission is risky. And lawyers and insurance companies can provide a lot of excuses to stay home with the door locked and not do it.
The end result? The conclusion? Mission is risky. Love is risky. Following Jesus is risky. I think there are times when you just have to stare down your fear and choose to live by faith. Choose to believe. So far, our Master hasn’t ever let us down. It’s time to get up off our pews and get out there. Risk or not, our future is in the command of our Master, “Go!”
The original 12 apprentices of Jesus did worry about the risks involved in following him. They tried to anticipate what the costs would be. He told them to “Go. Preach. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.” (Mt 10:7-10 paraphrase). Mission is risky. But our Master can manage the risk. We just need to be obedient. Thanks for reading. God bless. PJ
But our reasons for not being the kind of people Jesus called us to be in the world are bigger than that. This week I realized something else. Our failure to “believe” has also resulted in a really terrible thing: a failure to love. Before we do mission to the world we really have to learn to love the world the way that Jesus, our Master, loves the world. Not loving the world for what it can give us or do for us and not loving it in a licentious way, but rather, loving it from the perspective of God. Seeing the world as God’s fallen creation in need of the redemption that our Master has accomplished for it by his death on the cross and resurrection. Seeing it as a wayward child, a prodigal, that needs to be reconciled with it’s Creator Father.
Our lack of love is accentuated by a great fear. We, in the church, I posit, are afraid of just about everything and our fear keeps us from doing the mission we were called to. And so we sit on our hands and wait for people to come to us instead of going out onto the highways and byways and compelling them to come in. John tells us in his first letter (4:18), “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Our failure to love God and our neighbor and the world that our God created have resulted in fear which keeps us from engaging the very people Jesus calls us to engage.
To sum up, mission is risky and we don’t love enough to take the risks we have to in order to reach out to a world that desperately needs to hear the Good News. Think about it. Jesus says, “Go.” That’s risky. Safer to stay at home. He says, “Into all the world and make disciples of every nation.” That’s risky, too. They might say, “no.” They might laugh at us, hurt us, even kill us. Jesus told us to baptize them into the name of God and to teach them to obey everything he’s commanded us. Talk about risky. Have you heard about all the liability issues schools have? Educating people isn’t safe. It’s risky.
So here’s my week which serves as an excellent illustration of what I’m trying to explain:
We want local community groups to use our building. One such group had a huge event at our facility recently and hundreds if not a thousand people came through our doors and saw our Jesus stuff. But at least one of them had a bad experience at the event and, because it was in our building, held me and the church responsible. She was really upset and my attempts to calm her down and point her in the direction of the responsible community group leaders completely failed. Zion and Jesus got a black eye because we were trying to be generous with what God has provided us. Some would look at this and say, “See, better that our building be our building for our use only.” But I don’t think so. Without risk there can be no mission.
After said large event, which lasted for days, the parking lot was a mess. I walked out one evening, when it was all over, and was just, well, er, shocked. There were empty water bottles, half eaten fast food meals in and out of bags, and other assorted rubbish strewn all over. Got most of it picked up, but hey, just a reminder, mission is messy. And let’s face it, a lot of our traditional “church people” don’t want to pick up the mess or even take the risk of the mess because it just means more work. So why take the chance? Because mission is risky.
Got a call a while ago from a woman who wanted someone to go driving with her and help her get her license. Since we had no previous association with her, I felt it was important that we meet her and make sure she was, well, “safe,” as a person before we asked for help from the congregation to drive with her. And wouldn’t you know it, the insurance company told our volunteer driver it was too risky to go driving with this woman and the driver told the woman it was too risky. Then we got the hate letter of all hate letters from the woman who called us “cowards.” And she is right. Without risk there can be no mission. Without risk there can be no love.
Recently I went door to door in the neighborhood around our church. One of the things I wanted to do was to give our neighbors an invitation to make our building and grounds their own. Use our playground. Use our parking lot. Use this or that. I figured our Board would want me to talk to the insurance company before I was so magnanimous. So I did. What a mistake. Turns out merely having neighbors is a risk, let alone inviting them to use your stuff. Turns out there isn’t enough money in the world, let alone the undercapitalized church, to buy enough coverage to be generous with what God has given us to use and give away in his name. So I bought the neighbors gift cards to a local restaurant instead. I suppose if they choke or get food poisoning it will be my fault. Mission is risky. And lawyers and insurance companies can provide a lot of excuses to stay home with the door locked and not do it.
The end result? The conclusion? Mission is risky. Love is risky. Following Jesus is risky. I think there are times when you just have to stare down your fear and choose to live by faith. Choose to believe. So far, our Master hasn’t ever let us down. It’s time to get up off our pews and get out there. Risk or not, our future is in the command of our Master, “Go!”
The original 12 apprentices of Jesus did worry about the risks involved in following him. They tried to anticipate what the costs would be. He told them to “Go. Preach. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.” (Mt 10:7-10 paraphrase). Mission is risky. But our Master can manage the risk. We just need to be obedient. Thanks for reading. God bless. PJ
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