3
Community Engagement
Community engagement is the third aspect of cardiovascular endurance. Cardiovascular endurance provides the oxygen necessary to supply energy to the muscles. Looking outward, equipping your people to share their faith stories, and reaching into your community supplies the oxygen to the body of Christ. Community engagement forces the church to interact with a world unlike itself.
The first-century church was in a very unwelcoming culture. Yet the church thrived. What the church today must not do is allow the culture to dumb down its message. And the church must still move into society.
The church must infiltrate culture as yeast does dough. This is the kingdom of God. “He also asked, ‘What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough’” (Luke 13:20–21 NLT). Through community engagement the church becomes like yeast. When the church embeds itself into the community in which it is located, transformation begins. When the church inserts itself in culture as Christ’s representatives, things begin to change.
Three Approaches to Community Engagement
Churches must move into the culture in which they reside. The culture is exemplified by the community in which a church body finds itself. In the four spheres of evangelism mentioned earlier, this would be Judea. Judea is the geographical area stretching from a one-fourth to a five-mile radius around a church’s meeting location. A fit church will engage the community in this geographic area.
Community engagement involves three basic approaches: attractional, missional, or connectional. These three approaches can be summed up in the following phrases: come and see (attractional); go and be (missional); go and bring (connectional).
This approach focuses on bringing people through the church doors. Its emphasis is on attracting people. It is events-oriented and program-driven. The come and see approach is exemplified by:
- The church viewing itself as a purveyor of religious goods and services.
- The church bringing people out of the culture and into the church.
- The church prioritizing resources (time, energy, funds) on programs and property.
- The church focusing on increasing weekend participation and gaining members.
An example of a come and see approach to community engagement is found in a ministry popular some years ago called the “living Christmas tree.” People from a church’s choir sang traditional Christmas music while staged to look like a Christmas tree. Living Christmas trees were huge events used by many churches that attracted thousands of people each year. They consumed the energy of the entire church, and most enjoyed providing holiday entertainment for the community. The community enjoyed it too. Churches that used this program defined success as large crowds. It was a come and see approach to ministry.
Go and Be
The go and be approach to community engagement is to send people into the community. According to one pastor, “Our goal is not to get people ‘in’ our church, our goal is to equip people to go out from our church.”1 This approach is more missional than attractional. Churches that use this approach invest beyond themselves. They recognize that their work is about not only themselves but also the community in which God has placed them.
The go and be approach means churches actively serve in the community. This service dynamic is not designed to get those served into the church building. Instead, it is about getting the church out. “The simple approach of serving people in practical ways in the community is the most effective means of connecting your . . . church with the city where God has placed you.”2 This missional approach uses a different means of defining success. Success is tangibly living out the kingdom, not simply leading people into a church building.
The go and be approach is exemplified by:
- Sending people out of the church and into the community.
- Equipping people as missionaries for the culture in which they reside.
- Engaging people where they are, not where it is preferred they will be.
Lakeside is a suburb of San Diego. In this small community resides a church with a number for a name. This church is called Seven. This name was chosen to remind the people that the church is a seven-day-a-week venture. What happens on Sunday is not the only thing that makes the church the church. It is what happens through the people of Christ all throughout the week.
Missional thinkers and writers Hugh Halter and Matt Smay are convinced that “if you want to help people, we have to dive into people, wade into the sea of humanity.”3 This is the mind-set of the go and be approach.
Go and Bring
As with most things in life, seldom do extremes fully satisfy. And community engagement is no different. The key to community engagement is often found in balance. It is finding that blend of coming in and going out.
In his article “The Goldilocks Rule: How to Stay Motivated in Life and Business,” James Clear states, “Humans experience peak motivation when working on tasks that are right on the edge of their current abilities. Not too hard. Not too easy. Just right.”4 This is what a fit church is striving to do. Move to the edge of its current abilities and engage the community with a go and bring approach.
The go and bring approach is exemplified by:
- Mobilizing to be sent.
- Going into culture/community.
- Bringing people in.
- Building people up.
- Sending people out.
Chapter 1 of the Gospel of John contains a wonderful story that exemplifies the go and bring process of community engagement. Philip’s life was drastically impacted by his encounter with Jesus. As a result of this encounter, “Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ ‘Nazareth!’ exclaimed Nathanael. ‘Can anything good come from Nazareth?’ ‘Come and see for yourself,’ Philip replied” (John 1:45–46 NLT).
Philip went to look for Nathanael. He did not extend an invite to meet him someplace. Philip went to Nathanael. This is going. He engaged Nathanael where he was. He shared his story using a common connection. It was only after this that Philip invited Nathanael to join him. This is bringing.
The go and bring approach views the location of the faith community as a hub of strengthening Christ followers to be sent out. The church is both gathered and scattered. “Let’s start living out the AND and be the gathered community of God’s people, sent out into the world.”5 Let the church engage the community!
An error many pastors make is to assume that having a building in a community makes them present in the community. Your property is not your presence in the community. Your engagement in the community is your presence. You can be present in a community without having a presence in the community.
Phil and his wife had the privilege of being a part of a team that launched a new church in McCordsville, Indiana. McCordsville is a bedroom community east of downtown Indianapolis. The baby church had no building or property. Thus, like many new churches, it met in a local school on Sunday mornings.
Phil had the ministry of signs and wonders, which meant he assembled a team that put out signage (signs) to help direct newcomers to the worship service. Due to city regulations, the church could not put out signs until Friday afternoon. And the signs needed to be down by Sunday evening. Therefore, the church’s signs appeared and disappeared (wonders) each weekend. If the church had depended on its weekend physical presence for its sole community presence, it would have been ineffective. The church members had to go out into the community.
The following eight guidelines will be helpful in developing a community engagement strategy. Based on the four spheres of evangelism, we will use Judea as the designator for your community.
First, identify your Judea. As stated earlier, Judea is a geographical designation. Using the church’s location as the center, draw a circle of one-fourth of a mile to a five-mile radius. The radius is dictated by the population; the greater the population, the smaller the circumference. Contextualized community engagement is the best way to reach Judea.
Second, understand your Judea. This is a demographic identification. You can exegete your Judea both formally (demographic studies) or informally (drive or walk around in your Judea, ask questions, observe, connect with the local chamber of commerce).
Third, understand your church. This is an internal audit. Ask questions. How many people currently attending the church live in your Judea? How reflective is your congregation of your Judea? What has your church done previously to engage Judea? Gary often notes that if the average age of the congregation is ten years or older than the people living in the community, there will be a disconnect. Keep this in mind as you attempt to better understand your church.
Fourth, inventory your resources. Your resources are the people, finances, ideas, professions, skill sets, and abilities of those in the congregation.
Fifth, determine the needs in your Judea.
Sixth, decide on your course of action. The key question: What can you do in, and for, your community that if you were no longer present, your presence would be missed?
Seventh, mobilize the church.
Eighth, evaluate your effectiveness. What results can you observe? What needs to be changed, adapted, or discontinued?
Community engagement is best birthed through relationships. In his book, The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter suggests the single most significant insight that can be garnered from how Saint Patrick reached Ireland is that of relational understanding. “The fact that Patrick understood the people, their language, their issues, and their ways, serves as the most strategically significant single insight that was to drive the wider expansion of Celtic Christianity.”6 You will never fully engage your community until you step fully into the culture.
Contextualize; Do Not Compromise
One of the biggest hurdles to community engagement is the fear of compromise. This fear is especially heightened when the culture in which the church finds itself is perceived as adversarial. This perception can result in the church withdrawing into a fortress mentality. Then the church becomes about protecting itself instead of projecting into the community it is to reach. Concern over compromise may cause a church to withdraw and focus on things other than the gospel.
How a church responds to the community flows out of the purpose it sees itself fulfilling. An example can be borrowed from the contrast between Eastern monasteries and Celtic monastic communities. Eastern monasteries were designed to protect against and escape from the sinfulness of Roman culture. These monasteries were for withdrawal and located off the well-worn tracks of everyday life. They were populated by monks searching inward at the expense of outward seeking. Soul protection took precedent over soul provision.
Contrast this to Celtic monastic communities. “The Celtic monasteries organized to penetrate the pagan world and to extend the church.”7 They were developed to save souls; therefore, they were constructed in easy-to-find locations. The Celtic monasteries were for pushing out, not pulling in.
A church that is serious about moving toward an elite status must push into uncomfortable realms. This will dictate that the means and the message be contextualized. “The first phase of any mission must involve cultural engagement. Engagement of culture may sound like evangelism, but it is really about ‘context.’”8 The core of contextualization over compromise is the centrality of the gospel.
In Acts 15, we see the early church in a state of tension. The gospel was flowing from a Jewish context into a Gentile world. The acceptance of the gospel by Gentiles forced the primarily Jewish church to adjust and align. When you move toward community engagement, you will need to adjust and align (contextualize) without losing sight of the gospel (compromise). How did the early church balance this?
- Contextualization never dilutes the joy of salvation. Conversions are celebrated (v. 3). Gentiles were coming to Christ and this caused joy.
- Contextualization demands conflicts be addressed thoughtfully and honestly (vv. 5–6). The conflict point in the early church was the demand of some that Gentiles be both converted and circumcised (v. 5). Instead of making a snap judgment, the leaders met to resolve the matter together (v. 6). Contextualization is doing the difficult work of conflict resolution.
- Contextualization is filtered through the gospel, not personal preference (vv. 8–11). The bottom line is that the Gentiles were given the Holy Spirit (v. 8), they were cleansed by faith (v. 9), and salvation was given by grace (v. 11). When criteria other than the gospel are used, compromise will follow.
- Contextualization is based in Scripture (vv. 15–18). The higher view you have of Scripture, the greater your defense against compromise.
- Contextualization finds common ground in the life-transforming message of Jesus (vv. 28–29). Common ground is that which edifies the church, builds up the believer, and honors Christ.
When a church makes the determination to engage the culture, it risks its reputation. There is never any guarantee the community and/or culture will not influence the church more than the church influences the culture. But it is worth the risk.
Five Types of Churches
Beginner Churches
Beginner churches must start with what they can do. Your church may not know anything about the community. You may have limited resources. The best place to begin is where you are.
When Phil got serious about his personal fitness, he had no chic running equipment. All he had was tennis (not running) shoes, old gym shorts, and a T-shirt. He had not been on a run or an extended walk in years (literally years). Instead of waiting to get what he wanted, Phil decided to start with what he had.
You have to crawl before you walk; you have to walk before you run; and you have to run at a pace you can manage, or you will quit running. Phil began his fitness journey by walking ten minutes at a time. The pace he walked was irrelevant. The time he walked was what mattered. Gradually he began to add one minute each time he walked until he built up to walking for thirty minutes. Beginner churches must start engaging their communities in a similar manner, no matter how small the first steps. Then, over time, they can increase their level of engagement.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD A BEGINNER CHURCH
- Define your church’s Judea.
- Communicate Judea to your church.
- Pray for your church’s Judea.
- Design and implement a prayer walk/drive for your church’s Judea.
- Sit weekly in key public spaces in your Judea. Observe and take notes.
- Make a list of five needs in the community.
- Select one need your church can meet.
- Determine a way to meet the need.
Novice Churches
Novice churches are just beginning to become active in their communities. They are getting out and walking—and mixing in some running as well. The distance they can go is short but manageable. That’s fine, because novice churches need to work at a pace they can handle.
Once Phil had built up to a thirty-minute continuous walk, he began to run a bit in addition to walking. His time frame was the same (thirty minutes), but he would walk for five minutes, run for two minutes, and repeat. Phil needed to ease into more vigorous activity. His goal was to be able to run for a continuous thirty minutes. Once he could do that, he would then track the number of miles.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD A NOVICE CHURCH
- Meet with key community leaders (e.g., school principal, police chief, fire chief, mayor, chamber of commerce president) and ask them for a list of the needs in the community.
- Determine a need your church will meet.
- Survey your church’s resources.
- Build a team to meet the community need.
- Have your church focus on the need and do all it can to meet the need.
- Evaluate how effective your church is at meeting the need.
Intermediate Churches
Intermediate churches are consistently engaging their communities in several ways. They are building up endurance and beginning to develop a faster pace. Community engagement begins to expand to a wider variety of ministries.
Phil got to the point where he was running for thirty consecutive minutes. Then he began to add speed to increase his endurance. As his pace increased, so did his overall endurance.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN INTERMEDIATE CHURCH
- Look for additional needs in the community that your church can meet.
- Make community engagement an expectation for your church’s members.
- Increase your church’s budget for community engagement activities.
- Identify a leader who can mobilize more people for community engagement.
Advanced Churches
Advanced churches have a high level of community influence. They maintain a variety of community engagement ministries. Community engagement is part of their DNA.
Phil had increased his running stamina to the point that he was running from thirty to forty minutes at an eight-minute-per-mile clip. While this pace would not break any world records, it was excellent for him. He began to look for longer races in which to compete, and he eventually ran a half marathon.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN ADVANCED CHURCH
- Multiply leaders who can manage groups in community engagement.
- Encourage and expect the people to generate community engagement ideas.
- Expect every ministry group in your church (e.g., youth, women, men, small groups) to make community engagement an aspect of what they do.
- Encourage the people to serve on community boards, coach athletic teams, participate in school leadership, and volunteer in any other arenas where they can be salt and light.
Elite Churches
Elite churches put in the work; they are totally absorbed in community engagement. They measure effectiveness by a much higher standard than others and push themselves relentlessly to do better.
Phil is not an elite runner. Few people are. Elite runners train tirelessly, and in their efforts to be the best runners possible, they run dozens of miles each week. Running is the core of who they are. They build their lives around getting fitter, better, faster.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN ELITE CHURCH
- Increase the percentage of people involved in community engagement.
- Consistently ask what else your church can be doing to engage the community.
- Train other leaders how to engage their communities.
- Start churches in areas your church is not effectively reaching through community engagement.
One of the best questions leaders can ask about their churches is this: When all is said and done, what will be said about what was done? This question forces you to evaluate what you are doing. It’s an excellent question for church leaders to ask and answer while building the body. The answer you provide will determine the actions you take.