Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jan/77

Contributor - Will Kroon

Title - Let Us Be The Church In The World

Topic - Church In The World

During the past years it has been my task to share with the readers of Pioneer how the worldwide Church is the Church in the world. I have done this gladly for I not only believe in the Church, I also believe that God wants His Church to be the Church in the world.

However, at the beginning of the new year I would like to challenge our congregations to become an active part of the Church in the world. I would like to do so for I believe in the future of the Church. I know that the Church is made up of a lot of grumbling hard-to-please people and yet somehow Christ calls it His Body. It is He who called it into being. It is His instrument. Since He is behind it I never get tired of inviting others to share in the work that our Lord is doing through His Church.

THE TIME IS RIPE

Our congregations have not always been ready for moving on through mission, outreach and service. For many years we had so much trouble with ourselves that we just did not have any energy and love left to do much thinking about moving on. That were the days of confusion, the days of growing up, the days of immaturity. We have spent a lot of time talking ourselves down and bickering about various issues. And yet, these years have been most helpful. We were forced to come to grips with ourselves and with our faith. We were forced to deal with questions of salvation, with the sacraments, the presence and gifts of the Holy Spirit and our place here in this world. By and large this struggle had a positive influence on our congregations. We have become much wiser and much more tolerant toward each other through it all.

While at the subject, let me point out why I believe that the time is ripe to move on:

1. There is a growing awareness that our Church has a place here in Canada. When we were still not sure about this, few if any long-range plans were being 1 made. All this is changing. We have come to the conclusion that God wants us to bloom where He has planted us. This conviction alone has already given us an incentive to look forward, to dream dreams, and to build buildings.

2. There has been a change in mentality. As I pointed out above we have gone trough a process of spiritual growth and maturity. We have become more tolerant toward those who experience their faith different from ourselves. To be more specific, we dare to give more room to the various gifts and insights of God's people. We can appreciate the positive contributions from the Jesus people and the charismatic movement. We also have become more open for the need for long-range planning.

Through reading the news from the various congregations we see many signs of this. Various congregations are involved in the Good News Program, others are involved in the Bethel Bible Series, which is a long range program of biblical training. Again others are seeking to add another staff member for the purpose of reaching out.

3. We begin to accept our ethnic difference. There was a time when many of our members were apologetic about the background of our people. Generally speaking this is no longer the case. At least our ethnic and cultural differences are becoming less prohibitive in moving on and in reaching out. Perhaps we are different, but so what? Our society has become very tolerant to different cultures. In fact the time has come that the Canadian people begin to appreciate the good in the various cultures. To be more specific most Canadians appreciate our stress on loyalty to the Church, the stress on education and youth work, and our ability to think things through. I believe that we are about to see a generation that looks for a Church that has a message that speaks both to the heart and to the mind.

GETTING STARTED

Since getting started is half the job done we may need a lot of push to get started. Let me offer a few suggestions.

1. Setting goals.

One of the reasons why we accomplished so little in the past is that we never had a goal (a written goal) as to what we hoped to accomplish. No doubt many persons had unwritten goals but since they were not spelled out they were not understood. Part of getting started involves a sitting down and spelling out what we hope to accomplish during the next five to ten years. That is hard work. But it is the price which we have to pay if we want to move on. Set goals and tell the people what these goals are so that everyone knows in what direction the Church plans to go. Moreover, it enables everyone to pray, work and plan toward reaching a common goal. Great things will happen if these things begin to happen in our midst.

2. Discover the possibilities.

Even before the process of goal setting gets on the way too far, a congregation has to discover what the possibilities for outreach are. If a congregation is located in a small town with a dwindling population or in a village that is heavily over churched the possibilities for growth are not encouraging. In order to reach out a Church needs people, unchurched people, people with hurts and needs. How are these needs discovered? There may be many ways, but the most accurate way to discover the needs of the people is through ringing door bells. Seek to meet the people and ask them where they stand for, and what they are looking for in the Church.

3. Set your priorities.

None of our congregations is in a position to offer all the programs the people ask for. There are limitations to what can be done by the people. Therefore, there is a need to set priorities. What these priorities are may vary from one congregation to the next. The fast growing congregation of Garden Grove has set the needs of the unchurched above the needs of its own members. Its first priority is reaching out to the unchurched.

Other congregations make Sunday worship its first priority. Most of its time, money and effort goes into this while education and outreach get second and third place.

As a congregation begins to set priorities in what it wants to do first and foremost, it may also discover that certain activities in the Church no, longer serve the purpose for which they were started. That is the time to drop them and to start something more suitable for the situation.

There is no need to feel guilty to drop something that is no longer useful. We only serve God through our actions, if these actions serve a need; if they are helpful and if they bring a person closer to Christ and His people.

SEEK TO CREATE A WARM SPIRITUAL CLIMATE

From my background on the farm I know that sowing good seed and working long hours are of no avail in getting a good crop if the climatic conditions are not right. The same holds true for the Church. A Church will not grow if there is a wrong spiritual climate. Outsiders are very sensitive to the climate and atmosphere in a congregation. They like to feel the warmth, the openness and the spiritual concern of the people. These people want to be impressed by a genuine love, an interest from the people, and also by a message that is communicated well and that is believed by the people present.

What impressions do your visitors get when they visit your congregation? Will they be turned off by indifference, coldness and lack of genuine love? When there is a negative climate you may attract negative people. However, that is not enough. In order to move on you need persons with faith, with hope and with courage. That are the gifts you should seek to develop.

Changing the personality of a congregation is a difficult task but it is possible. There are various possibilities to accomplish this task. What is needed is a desire to seek the Holy Spirit and to ban any evil spirit; to seek love and ban hatred, to seek a positive attitude and suppress negative feelings.

The Bible teaches us that the holy Spirit feels at home where there is love, faith and the willingness to obey God's orders. Knowing this we ought to act upon it. That means begin to reach out to others as it is our task in the first place. Through reaching out, through caring for others, through practicing love a congregation becomes more loving.

Occasionally I hear stories from people who get grandparents over from abroad. One of the great things about this is that the whole family works together to make them feel welcome. Some of the children share their room, others the radio, others something else. The beauty of it all is that all members are involved in welcoming the future guests. Well, what I want to get across is that through a complete involvement of the whole congregation 'a positive and warm atmosphere can be created. Every member ought to do his part in being sensitive to the needs of strangers.

METHODS OF OUTREACH

Some of our congregations are actively looking for methods to reach out to the non-churched. It would be great if congregations would be a little bolder in sharing their activities with others. Some of them have been involved in an outreach program prepared by Campus Crusade. Through this method people share the four spiritual laws with those who are showing an interest in the Church. Others have been exposed to the Kennedy program, which is effectively used in many Presbyterian Churches. However, the best way to get started is still the "each one bring-one" method. That means that each member seeks to invite a person he knows. When a member takes this seriously, he not only invites a person, he will also take him along, introduce him to others show him around in the building, and follows up after the first visit.

FIND WAYS TO BRING THE UNCHURCHED TO YOUR BUILDING

Most parents and children fear the unknown. They dread going to an unknown Church or Sunday School unless there is something familiar to them. After a person has become familiar with the building - better yet with the people - he will find it much easier to accept an invitation to a service of worship. The most difficult time is to get an unchurched person to come to Church for the first time.

Most congregations have discovered that they can get the unchurched to come to their church if they offer what the unchurched person wants or is interested in. Many want something for their children. This can be a Day Care Center, a Vacation Bible School, it can also be a good youth program. Without going into further detail I would like to conclude by saying: Make sure that you have something good to offer. This makes it much easier to bring others. Don't be apologetic about it. As Christians we have a message of faith, of home and of love. Through Jesus Christ we have what people need. Believing this ought to lead to sharing it. When this takes place we are ready to move on.

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.