And what does this have to do with church growth? The national church is calling on congregations to evangelise their communities, equipping and mobilising the “laity” through initiatives such as “Setting God’s People Free”. Whatever your opinion of the word “evangelism” it is fighting talk coming from Church HQ. And yet, back in the days of Christendom where missionaries were called and sent out far off lands to bring the Good News to those who didn’t know it, many brought aid and tools and equipment to assist those communities where they were impoverished and lacked basic hygiene and safe water to drink from. They didn’t just bring Jesus through words but brought Him through actions, care and compassion for the needy. People were offered another way of living.
Historically Church was a place of genuine sanctuary for those who would seek shelter. Almshouses were set up from the homeless. Sunday School was established so that children from workhouses could receive and education. Youth groups were set up in places where there was high unemployment and crime to give young people an outlet.
Today we have the Welfare State that is designed to ensure all people in this country have access to comprehensive healthcare. We have state schools to ensure every child receives an education. We have charities that are established to work with local councils to ensure that homeless people are given shelter and access to support. The role that the Church played in supporting and advocating for the welfare of its communities is mainly covered by various Social, Welfare, Education and Housing Acts of parliament. But before we bask in the glory of knowing it all started here with the Church, we find that communities are once more looking to the Church to support its community through Foodbanks, Community Wardrobes, Night Shelters, and so on. Before we consider evangelising our communities we need to consider what value we are actually adding to them. This is just the beginning of what is potentially a long road towards reclaiming our place in people’s hearts and minds.
For too long we’ve been the subject of scandalous inquiries and Safeguarding incidents. Because of this we seem to be in “self-preservation mode”. It’s time we stand up and own our mistakes, but also move forward to not only defend the vulnerable but set the benchmark on how it should be done. I’m not fond of platitudes or sound bites but I do believe in one such phrase: people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We’ve been talking about Jesus for too long and not demonstrating His power to transform lives. Canterbury Diocese’s vision is all about “Changed lives changing lives”, but there’s not a lot of point in that if our lives show little transformation. Moreover, if our main goal is to fill empty pews in cold and ancient churches we’ve missed the point. Jesus really only spent time in synagogues challenging the status quo. Other times he was out in the communities healing the sick, tending to the lonely, speaking about another way of existing and demonstrating how this way was healthier and better, but also costly because it put others needs ahead of our own.
Look at the Five Marks of Mission for the Anglican Communion:
- To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom (it ain’t good news if all we’re worried about is numbers, Parish Share, and ancient buildings)
- To teach, Baptist and nurture new believers (this doesn’t include signing people up to the PCC or tea rota as soon as they show an interest in attending church)
- To respond to human need by loving service (this is our mission. Get this right the rest will follow)
- To seek to transform unjust structures of society (consider how the Church of England might just be that unjust structure also... see below)
- To safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the earth (how does Church House, London, hosting an international Arms Conference safeguard the integrity of creation, I wonder?)
A key area where there is an immediate need is in Mental Health. Jean Vanier and John Swinton suggest that our business is in giving people their names back. We remove the labels given to us by society such as “mental”, “psycho”, “demented”, “crazy”, “manic depressive”, “schizo” etc, and help people build their identity in a loving God who wants to restore and transform them. But first we must listen to them. Give them a voice.
I work for a homeless charity. My project is to reach out to young people aged 10 to 16 who are having a tough time and find them a mentor who will work with them, listen to them, encourage them, champion them. In a world where everything is online sometimes it takes a person in the flesh to look them in the eye and say “you are awesome” and maybe keep telling them that until one day they believe it. That’s how it’s done by God and that’s how we need to do it here. Mental health concerns are the biggest drain on welfare budgets right now. Waiting times for young people to receive support from specialist mental health practitioners is up to 18 months. My waiting time for a young person to receive a mentor is 6 months! 6 months for someone to take the time to be with that young person for an hour each week. Time is a precious commodity.
If you want to evangelise your community start by shutting up. Then listen. If you believe that the Church has the monopoly on kindness and compassion consider this. 98% of my volunteers who spend time listening to young people don’t have a faith or religion. And yet they demonstrate more of Christ’s nature than I’ve seen in a long time in churches. The charity I work for is not a Christian charity and yet it looks after its people in a way that I’ve never experienced while working for the Church. We may have started the ball rolling on charity work but we’re starting to drop it now and it’s time to step up. Humility is important. I learned how to love my community through the eyes of a homeless person. I learned how there is no “them and us” in God’s Kingdom. We are called to love extravagantly. If that is too costly then consider another social group to belong to. Just don’t call it “church” and don’t put the word “Christ” as your affiliation.
We’ve got work to do. And it’s overdue.
