When I walk into a town, the level of community in the local church should be legendary.
Certainly one won't walk into a bar and say: "so how's the churches community?" Rather, that level of connection would be evident when you ask average-joe and he replies: "my friend got evicted from his house, and they found a way to help him, and my car broke down and they helped me get it fixed etc etc etc."
So the church should be *that* place where, if you legitimately need help, they have you covered.
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In a modern setting, I think the church should be creating experiences that allow people to participate. So much of what we do at church is consumption. Only <20% of people volunteer in an average church, but that's largely because we've only figured out how to use 25%…
When I walk into a town, the level of community in the local church should be legendary.
Certainly one won't walk into a bar and say: "so how's the churches community?" Rather, that level of connection would be evident when you ask average-joe and he replies: "my friend got evicted from his house, and they found a way to help him, and my car broke down and they helped me get it fixed etc etc etc."
So the church should be *that* place where, if you legitimately need help, they have you covered.
——
In a modern setting, I think the church should be creating experiences that allow people to participate. So much of what we do at church is consumption. Only <20% of people volunteer in an average church, but that's largely because we've only figured out how to use 25%…
I like what you’ve got to say man. i agree. Let me ask you this…how do you think the church can become these things? Also, how do you think the church can create an experience of participation?
What do you think about this…
1. By starting small. Do churches think that because their ministry is initially small that it's insignificant? I think so…
2. By making someone accountable for progress. Community takes time, and needs a lot of TLC. Someone (beyond senior pastor) needs to constantly be thinking about how to translate strategy into action.
3. By budgeting for it! If it's that important, let's pay for it! Most of any relationship is intangible and free (at least in $$). But free ice cream every once in a while goes a long way.
An experience of participation happens on a ton of levels.
-At a gathering: "Everybody let's pray quietly together about this issue…" is experiential
-Offering mission trips, even just for a day…
-Empowering people to lead by promoting their activities.
But most of all it's the senior leadership *thinking/praying* at length about what it looks like in their specific context.
**This is long, sorry it's good for me to flesh out though.