Last week I (Director Tim Zuck) shared three things I’d tell my 30 year old church planting self to do differently. Today, I’m sharing three things I would NOT do differently. The three items share a common denominator: community.
1. Live in the community.
For most of my life, I never lived in the community where I worshipped. That changed when I became the planter at Saucon Community Church. We bought a house and moved into the heart of Hellertown, a few blocks from where we worshipped. At this time, the missiological significance of Christ’s incarnation was profoundly shaping my thinking and actions. As a result, I believed that to genuinely live on mission with Jesus, I needed to immerse myself in the community. It’s hard to immerse oneself in the community when you don’t live there.
2. Invest in the community.
The idea here is to be for the community. Just as Jesus came not to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45), so planters ought to serve and invest in the surrounding community. When I arrived in Forks Township in 2014, I discovered a strategic way to serve the community was through coaching rec sports. I began coaching youth soccer and continued for six years. Coaching allowed me to build trust and make connections with families in the community. Oddly enough, before I was known as Pastor Tim, I was known as Coach Tim!
The investment didn’t stop with coaching. As a church, we participated in local events, discovering our niche, like serving hot chocolate at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and sponsoring a Push the Rock Sport Camp. These activities became our keystone outreach events.
Our planters do a great job of participating in local events that demonstrate they are for the towns and communities where they live and worship. One in Christ Church just held a community day. Heritage BFC is participating in local events in Kutztown.
3. Learn from and listen to the community.
Upon arriving in Athens, the Apostle Paul led with his eyes and ears. He observed and learned before proclaiming the gospel. In the same way, wise church planters function like cross-cultural missionaries, learning from and listening to the community. This student-like posture leads to discovering needs but also forming the identity of the church in the culture of the community. For example, consider two former BFC plants (now particular churches), Redeemer BFC in Topton and Christ Alone in Lancaster City. Neither church began with a cookie-cutter approach. Pastor Los and Pastor Dan learned from and listened to their respective communities, which shaped the ministries of the church.
These lessons are not reserved for church plants alone. Every church can practice these to some degree or another. I realize not every person may live in the community of the church they attend. But every church can invest in the neighborhood and learn from the community.