By Dany Hernandez

It is obvious that there more questions than answers.

As you read on, the thoughts and ideas will likely spark a conversation and hopefully make an impact in each of our communities. During the last decade at LifeSource, we have learned, mostly through trial and error, what is necessary for a church to really make an impact in its local community. It is my intention to share this information with the hopes of creating a larger dialogue.

Is anyone paying attention? “If your church burned down, would anyone notice?” We’ve heard that question for years and, for the most part, the answer to the question is, “Yes.” Your members, who faithfully attend your church, would miss it. But would anyone else? This is a question that, as old as it is, should keep us awake at night and haunt us on a daily basis. Does anyone in your community really care whether your church survives, thrives, or dies?

If you were to take a poll of the immediate community surrounding your church, what would they say about you? What can the neighbors of your church tell us about your faith community? If you’re having a hard time trying to figure out what your immediate community thinks about you or if they even know anything about you, then it’s time you begin to change the way you relate to that community.

But relating to your immediate community is not as easy as you would think. Our church has now been on this journey for about a decade, and I can honestly tell you that it gets more challenging to find ways of connecting with our neighbors with every passing year. LifeSource Adventist Fellowship began this journey to become an externally focused church years ago, and through that process, we’ve had the opportunity to make connections with our immediate community in ways we never imagined. However, this has not come without challenges and without questioning our approach.

What follows is an example of what we have done and currently do in our efforts to connect with our neighbors.

  1. Wednesday Workout Night: We’ve hired a personal trainer to come in every Wednesday evening and teach a Boot Camp-style workout for anyone wanting to participate.
  2. We’ve opened our campus for 9Health, a partnership with Denver Channel 9 television to bring affordable health screenings to the community.
  3. We provide a Financial Peace University seminar every year for our church members as well as our community.
  4. We are starting a Celebrate Recovery support group.
  5. We are in the process of teaching an English as a Second Language (ESL) class for the Lakewood community.
  6. We partner with the YMCA in providing a class and support group for people with diabetes.
  7. Every summer, we throw a thank-you party for our neighborhood.
  8. We are opening our campus this year for Community Conversations about mental health, suicide, racial reconciliation, and infant and child loss.
  9. Every October, we provide a family-friendly trick or treat alternative for our neighbors.
  10. We open our facility every morning for an organization called Camp Gladiator to hold their workouts in our reception hall.
  11. We will be hiring photographers in November so that our neighbors can have family photos taken for Christmas.
  12. We have a community garden where 20-30 of our neighbors are actively involved.
  13. We partner with Colorado Feeding Kids and pack 30-50 thousand meals yearly, inviting our neighbors to join us.
  14. We have an ongoing partnership with Urban Peak, a shelter for homeless teens.
  15. We have a community event on Easter weekend.
  16. Our facility is also used by the local HOA to hold their monthly meetings.
  17. We hope to start a monthly cooking class so that neighbors can learn how to make a variety of meals from different parts of the world.

A pretty exhausting list isn’t it? But here’s the reality— even that is not enough to really make the type of impact we need to make in our communities.

Practice vs. Presence

One of the challenges that our churches face when connecting to their communities is a geographic problem. Many of our members commute a long distance to attend church. This means that many are not as enthusiastic about investing a lot of time and energy in a community that is not “their” community. So a church can plan and execute a dozen contact points with their neighbors, but as long as there’s a lack of “presence” from members of the faith community, the local impact will be minimal.

Before we started plotting our approach for connecting with the neighborhood, we spent considerable time studying the demographics of those who lived within a one-mile radius of the church. During this process, we found that our church members were not like our neighbors. Our neighbors were of a lower income bracket, immigrants with less education. So, how do you bridge the gap and create an environment where both of these groups can engage in meaningful interaction? That question is still an elusive one.

As Adventists, we share a great tradition and history that provides immediate context and familiarity with one another. It’s a beautiful thing when we can go into any Adventist church and talk about haystacks without needing an explanation, but it can also be a curse. Our language can also be confusing, since a haystack is simply . . . a taco salad.

A recent conversation with one of our attendees who lives in the neighborhood shed incredible light on how difficult it can be to break through in an Adventist church. After attending for more than a year, she suddenly stopped coming to church and this was her explanation for her absence: “I realized I would never truly be a part of this [faith] community because I didn’t attend their schools, their colleges/universities, I don’t live in their neighbor- hood, or work at their hospital.” These are harsh words for an organization trying to reach a community so vastly different than its own members.

I’m not blaming anyone for her decision to stop attending, but I’m also not excusing the fact that reaching out to the community around us will cause tension when and if those individuals begin to visit our churches. If the members of our faith community are hesitant to spend a considerable amount of time with people unlike us, then all of our efforts to reach our community might be in vain.

Real relationships are developed when we step out of our own comfort zone and step into someone else’s. Traditionally, churches have not been very good at putting this into practice. Think about it! Almost everything we do at church revolves around a two-and-a-half-hour period. We are asking people who don’t know anything about Adventism to come to our place, at a specific time, for a specific purpose without any knowledge of what to expect.

Years ago when I lived in Florida, I became part of a fly-fishing club and was soon invited to its monthly Happy Hour at a local bar. The first couple of months I declined, mostly because I was afraid of hanging out at a bar with people I didn’t know very well. After a few months, I decided I would embrace the challenge and go to the next Happy Hour. Thursday evening approached and I got in my car and drove to Happy Hour. I pulled into the parking lot and just sat in my car. I could not find the courage to get out of my car and walk in. Why? I had questions. I’d grown up a good Adventist. I never drank, smoked, or gambled. I’d never gone to Happy Hour before. What would it be like in there? What will I talk about? Where do I do once I’m inside? Will I know anyone there? How should I act? What should I say? While I sat in the car, I realized it was no different than a visitor driving to our church and having to find the courage to get out of the car and walk into a place they’ve never been before.

You’ll be happy to know that I went in and had a great time drinking—cranberry juice! I met people who were so different and yet so similar to me. People who care about the world, who care about others, who love their families and want to see their communities prosper. That Happy Hour encounter led to doing weddings and funerals for people who never stepped foot in our church, but got a glimpse of Jesus. One of the greatest gifts Jesus gave to those around Him was the gift of “presence.” Is your presence in your community?

In vs. Out

One of the greatest challenge our churches face is striking a balance between keeping those we have versus reaching those we don’t. If we spend most of our time and energy trying to reach out to the margins of society and community, the insiders will have a tendency to disconnect and feel as if they are being ignored. But if we spend too much time with those on the inside, you’ll never be able to really make an impact in the lives of those on the outside. And when those on the inside grumble and stop giving of their time and resources, then our ability to reach the out- siders is minimized. What’s the answer? I don’t know that I have one that many people will like, but I do have one. This one comes straight from Jesus.

Jesus says, “Be irresponsible!” Well, actually, He didn’t say those exact words, but he alluded to that fact in Lk. 15:4: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” Did you catch it? He left ninety-nine in the open country to fend for them- selves while He went out after just one. That doesn’t seem very responsible. If you’re playing the numbers game, logic would tell you to protect the ninety-nine to make sure you didn’t lose any more. Someone would be very angry if you left ninety-nine in the open country to chase after just one. The ninety-nine would stop grazing and look around and wonder, “Where did our shepherd go? How dare he leave us here and risk our safety? Does he not know it’s only one that he lost? Does he not realize the sheep is most likely lost due to its own failures and behavior?”

So how do we keep the ninety-nine happy and healthy while still going after the one? You trust the ninety-nine will watch for one another and help each other stay safe and grow because the ninety-nine know, without a doubt, that it’s not about them; it’s about the lost. Or do they?

Cold and Hot vs. Safe

Most of us know the words spoken to the church of Laodicea: “I wish you were either hot or cold . . .” but instead you played it safe. As churches, what are we afraid of when we reach out to our neighbors and community? Are we more interested in not making a mistake than we are in making a difference? We can keep playing it safe and bury what our Master has given is, and when He returns, we can give it back to Him exactly as it was given to us and be proud that we didn’t mess it up or lose it. We can be proud that we locked it up and protected it. What will you tell Jesus? “I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant!” (Matt. 25:25-26).

A long time ago, I made the decision that when I get to heaven, I want to look Jesus in the eyes and say, “I tried everything!”

–Dany Hernandez is lead pastor of LifeSource Adventist Fellowship in Denver. Email him at: [email protected].