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Snow
White Churches and the Seven Questions
by
Sarah Raymond Cunningham
Matthew
29:19 and Mark 16:15 tell us that Christ's mission is global in
scope. But, few churches have the manpower or resources to
disperse missionaries around the world. In light of our
limitations, how do we decide how big our ministry radius should
be? Is it five miles from the church? Ten? Twenty?
Answer:
There is no prescribed distance in feet and inches. God has a
unique and distinctive relationship with each individual and with
each individual church. The only people who can truly discern the
breadth of your church's mission are those God put in leadership
there. So how do you figure it out then? To feel out your church's
wingspan, I suggest you examine the following seven questions.
1)
Are we moving around in the public sphere? If we could reference
Jesus' baby book, I'd wager his first word was "go".
Jesus was always moving, never stationary. So what about those who
wanted to follow him? Well, they had to be on-the-move too. As it
turned out, the whirlwind tours around the countryside paid off.
Matthew 3:25 tells us that Jesus attracted crowds from all over
the place: Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the
region across the Jordan. And the more you read, the more cities
he touches. Skip forward, to Matthew 10:11 and we get the idea
that Jesus expected His disciples to do some fancy footwork as
well. Is your church moving around in the public sphere? Do your
attenders take advantage of opportunities to interact with
residents of your community?
2)
Do we believe God is calling us to a specific group within our
community? Or do we believe God wants us to actively seek to bring
everyone in our community to Christ? There is certainly room for
both. Not far from our house, a local church recently started a
Spanish-speaking service. Although there are not many
Spanish-speaking people in our city, the few that are here would
not be able to easily join most local congregations. Similarly,
English-speaking citizens could not easily attend the Spanish
services. This church, then, is filling a niche by targeting a
specific population. However, because the majority of
Americans are English-speaking, it is likely that most churches
could serve multiple social, economic, and ethnic groups from one
location. If your church's stated intention is to welcome and
disciple all, now might be a good time to buckle down and see what
neighborhoods and people groups you are not in relationship with.
3)
Most people who reside in our community are of the same race.
Should we bother trying to reach other ethnic groups? Find
out what ethnic groups reside in your area via statistics found at
www.census.gov. By
searching your zip code, you can find out the racial make up of
your town's population. There is no concrete rule of thumb for
setting goals using this information. However, it is reasonable to
think that your church congregation could reflect a breakdown
similar to your city. If 20% of the people in your city are
Hispanic, then it would be practical to think that around 20% of
your congregation would also be of Hispanic descent. When you
compare your church's makeup to your town's population, you will
be able to identify your church's strengths and weaknesses. For
example, if 98% of your church is white but only 67% of your town
is white, you are excelling at reaching Caucasian people. This is
likely the group you are serving the best. However, if only 4% of
your church is black while 40% of your town is black, you are
failing to reach people of African descent. This may suggest that
more emphasis is needed to grow relationships with this group. 4)
Does our church makeup show economic, social, and academic
diversity? Don't get hung up on race. Even if you live in an area
where one race is dominant, there are multiple people groups
living in your community. Census.gov also provides information on
the income level and education level of your town's residents.
Again, when you look at your church, is there a similar breakdown?
If you live in a high school-educated town, but your church is
dominantly college-educated or if your town's median income is
$30,000 and your parking lot is full of BMWs, you may want to pray
about how you can better serve the greater population.
5)
How can we encourage individuals in our church to expand their
personal mission? We all know the saying: the Church is not the
building, its the people. That said, getting your people to take
their personal calling seriously will likely impact more lives
than any new program your church can design. What kind of training
does your church offer to help people learn to share their faith
in relevant ways? How much are people encouraged to build
relationships with those they come in contact with? What kind of
missions opportunities does your church have available both in
foreign countries and state side? What about locally? Is there
weighted emphasis on being missional toward the people attenders
come in contact with every day? If you would like assistance in
helping your church expand its target audience, trainings are
available through Portal Ministries at training@portalministries.org.
6)
How can we support our people in being the Church? If we loosened
up the demands on our Sunday School teachers or small group
leaders, would they have more time to engage their neighborhoods
in relationship? With the right training, could they disciple more
people in their everyday lives than they would otherwise disciple
through some church program? Churches can tremendously impact
their local communities simply by realizing that God's kingdom
does not have to start within the four walls of the Church. All
kingdom-work does not have to have our church's logo stamped on
it.
7)
What does success look like? As you evaluate God's desires for
your church, keep in mind that the end result may not be that your
church attendance will triple. If your congregation disciples new
people groups via workplace Bible studies or casual friendship,
these new converts may plug into another local church that is
closer to their home or more comfortable for their social
situation. So while It is imperative that all churches try to
welcome diverse groups, we must also realize that welcoming
diverse people into the kingdom is not synonymous with welcoming
them into our own local church. If God is truly at work --which no
doubt, He is-- then while there may be many different local
congregations, there is only one church in your city.
______________________
Sarah
Raymond Cunningham is a former staffer at Westwinds Community
Church in Jackson, Michigan. She currently lives with her husband,
Chuck, in an urban neighborhood on their city's south side. Sarah
currently serves as executive director of Portal Ministries. You
can contact the Portal at info@portalministries.org.
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