By Mitch Williams
On a cold January Sabbath morning in 2015, there she stood before the church. No one knew Stacy other than the church member who had invited her. We called our team of prayer warriors forward and they gathered around Stacy. Days earlier, a devastating fire destroyed the contents of her home. Yes, she still had her boyfriend David and their young daughter Olivia, but all their earthly possessions had gone up in smoke. And so during our worship service, we paused to pray over Stacy. We then collected an offering and presented it to her at the end of the service. It was far short of what she needed, but it was a start in meeting a relevant need.
The next Sabbath, to our surprise, she was back again. Before long, her boyfriend David and little Olivia were also routinely attending. Olivia loved the new doll she was given by a member since it was her first new toy after the fire. Through the ensuing year, David and Stacy also attended various church social events helping them to make friends. In time they engaged with our Hunger Ministry and with Vacation Bible School. Early on, a pastoral visit revealed they had no plans to marry. However, about a year after their first visit to The Adventure church, they asked the pastor for premarital counseling. They also recently expressed an interest in Small Group Bible studies.
A relevant church is comprised of members who care enough for their friends, neighbors, coworkers and community to tangibly show the love of Jesus in relevant ways. It is truly amazing how many people are hurting emotionally, struggling in relationships, suffering from health issues, barely making ends meet or are simply lonely. Being a relevant church means being an active army of Christ followers who are intentionally looking for ways to minister to people. Yet in such a busy, go-go, overworked, deadline driven world, how can a church manage to find the time and energy to be relevant with the care of Christ? Consider these five strategies for leading the church to greater relevancy in your community:
Be relevant first with love. The church is not a club only for members. The church is God’s model for bringing people to himself. Therefore the pastor, leadership team and church body must all be singularly aligned with a fundamental purpose—to grow the church by loving people. And loving people means being intentional about meeting their needs. One of the fundamental needs everyone has is friend- ship. At The Adventure Church, we routinely challenge our members to invest time by making greater connections with coworkers, neighbors, friends who are not members of our church, and family members. Currently, our members are intensively praying for 40 days for 3 to 6 individuals in their lives to open their hearts to Jesus. Members are also making contact with these relationships, looking for relevant ways to serve and love them for Christ. One member recently had their neighbors ask to join their small group because they long for greater connection. Jesus said, Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39 NIV).
Be relevant with fundamental community needs.
Being a relevant church also means taking the time to identify the pressing needs in your community. A fundamental need in our area is hunger and shelter. We have taken a bite out of hunger in our community by adopting a neighborhood and bringing them lunch one Sabbath a month. Relationships have been built and some of those families have attended The Adventure. The church has also partnered with the Guadalupe Homeless Shelter to serve the residence with healthy meals. We are in the process of developing a diaper ministry for needy mothers. And preparations are underway to offer the community multiple plots on the church property to grow their own gardens. Every year at Thanksgiving, we offer approximately 100 needy community families a special holiday meal. At Christmas, church members purchase and wrap a toy for needy children in the community. Being a relevant church means help- ing the least of these (See: Matthew 25:40).
Be relevant with community health needs. The Adventure has partnered with the local blood bank to initiate blood drives throughout the year. The blood mobile arrives on Sabbath mornings at the church and affords members a convenient way to donate blood. Members from the community also participate. The church conducts an annual Health Fair offering free medical care and assessments to the community. Members are encouraged to invite their friends to attend. Periodically health seminars are offered to the community on topics such as Smoking Cessation and Healthy Cooking. Being a relevant church means helping our community to understand how to care for their temple. (See: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Be relevant with community fun and fellowship needs. The Adventure has a calendar full of social events designed to be an-invite-event by church members. Spring, Summer and Fall Carnivals attract families to come to the church property or farms for fun activities such as bouncy houses, games, tasty food, hay rides, horse rides and most of all, fellowship. VBS and music concerts with poplar artists (i.e., Steve Green, Aaron Shust) offer our members and community another opportunity to mix together. Every other month, the church holds a family night with food and games or a Christian movie. Friendships between members, new members and with guests are often nurtured at these events. Everyone likes to have fun and clean fun is something relevant in a progressively dark world. Our role model, Jesus, spent time ministering in social settings, such as weddings, dinners, or parties where he sat with “disreputable characters, as The Message refers to “sinners” (See: Matthew 9:10). He mingled among the outsiders, and so should we.
Be relevant with community education needs.
One of the most relevant educational needs in our community, and with our church membership, is personal financial management. Every fall, we host a 9-week seminar entitled Financial Peace University created by Dave Ramsey. Attendees watch a DVD and then respond with discussions in small groups. One recent participant named Barb found herself forming new friendships. She is now part of a small group and regularly attends The Adventure church. The church has also hosted marriage (i.e., Mad about Marriage) and parenting (i.e., Growing Kid’s God’s Way) seminars.
At the end of the day, all of these church functions and events may fulfill relevant needs but will miss the bull’s-eye if we fail to take the next step—to bridge people to Jesus.
In Ministry of Healing, Ellen G. White put it this way: “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me’” (p. 143).
A relevant church is comprised of members who care enough for their friends, neighbors, coworkers and the community to tangibly show the love of Jesus in relevant ways. But as relationships are strengthened, as needs are met, as trust is built, there comes a time to talk about Jesus. Since we care for the eternal destiny of our friends and community, why wouldn’t we ask: “Would you check out my Small Group this week?” or “Would you be my guest at my church?” or “Can we talk about my friend Jesus?”
Being relevant as a church means creating relationships that can lead to conversions. May we have the courage to not just cast out the nets of relevancy, but to actually pull them in with prayerful, Holy Spirit induced evangelism.
Mitch Williams is pastor of The Adventure and Greeley churches. both located in Greeley, Colorado.