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This issue of For Deacons comes to you as a joint effort with Diaconal Ministries Canada (DMC). DMC has a rich heritage of supporting deacons through its network of regionally based Diaconal Ministry Developers.
The intent of For Deacons is to be a resource to diaconates desiring to live out the vision and mandate of what they affirmed at their installation to this vital role. In a context where change is constant and needs are often urgent, we want deacons to have all the resources possible at their fingertips. This partnership with DMC seeks to be responsive to this urgency, regardless of where you live.
Reflection
Books such as When Helping Hurts and Toxic Charity are popular with church adult education and outreach committees. Just hearing the titles and then thinking through your church connecting with community can be daunting. At the same time, these texts teach us that much has been learned about how we can approach ministry with our communities with healthy principles and an open, learning attitude.
One of the best articulations of these principles has been done by the Lupton Center at Focused Community Strategies. Their principles are as follows:
- Mutuality– God is already there! How do we discern what God is doing in community and come alongside of that?
- Participatory– All people are God’s imagebearers! How do we recognize and build on the gifts of our members as well as those we seek to serve?
- Holistic– Practicing integrated ministry! How do we ensure that we address the spiritual when the ministry may be speaking to physical needs?
- Engaging the mind as well as the heart! How do we make sure that we help without hurting?
- Measuring impact– accomplishing the vision/mission! How do we ensure we are moving toward our desired future?
Without applying these principles, ministry cannot remain focused. It becomes dependent on the perceptions of the strongest personalities or the assumptions of the current committee. These principles can be summarized with three P’s:
- Pray. This is the discernment stage—listening to where God is leading as well as to the community itself.
- Partner. Learn from and work with those who have your values.
- Practice. Utilize the principles of good planning and community connectedness.
This edition of For Deacons is focused on providing the resources that can help a church connect and/or evaluate their ministry with their community. Your feedback is helpful in making this an effective resource.
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DEACON RESOURCE
The Diaconate and Community Connectedness
Jay Van Groningen, director of training initiatives at Great Lakes Urban, is a longtime trainer and consultant to churches on what he calls Neighborhood Transformation. Here is his recommendation for providing leadership to effectively connect to community:
“Attending to Healthy Community is a new behavior for most CRC and RCA congregations, and it is therefore a new agenda for most deacons in current Reformed traditions. For neighborhood transformation to become mainstream at a church level, it may be helpful to create a “community” or an “order” of practicing leaders. Much like in the Roman Catholic Church tradition, in which Franciscan and other orders emerged to perpetuate contemplative and charitable habits and practices, it may be helpful for churches to create an “order” of “Community Transformation Deacons.”
Continue reading »
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DEACON RESOURCE
Developing a Community Scorecard
Is it true that people and institutions attend to what they track? Congregations attend to a scorecard. Sometimes it is formal with metrics, but often not. The scorecard includes things like the following:
- the spiritual health of members
- the number of worshipers
- the biblical education and nurture of children
- congregational care
- the number of missionaries we support
- the budget
In order for congregations to more fully engage in a neighborhood transformation story, I am proposing adding a formal additional scorecard: The well-being of the neighborhood.
Read the full article by Jay Van Groningen, Great Lakes Urban »
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DEACON RESOURCE
An ABCD for Connecting to Community
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a strengths-based method or philosophy for strengthening community. Community stories are never simple because they include human stories reflecting interdependent relationships. There is always a story in the making. Every person in a community is a gift to the community. Effective listening discovers and connects people based on their capacity to bring gifts to each other to achieve a “common good” in the neighborhood. Facilitating reciprocal gift giving neighbor-to-neighbor builds relationships and connectivity in a neighborhood. Listening produces more relationships among neighbors. In the ideal ABCD scenario neighbors are listening to neighbors. Every interaction is a contribution to community building, to building social connectivity and social cohesion.
Read the full article by Jay Van Groningen, Great Lakes Urban »
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DEACON RESOURCE
Resources for Connecting with Community in Canada Specifically, plus the Art of Listening
In this newsletter you’ve read about the ABCD process, which helps churches discover a community’s gifts, strengths, and passions in order to better serve them. Diaconal Ministries Canada (DMC) has developed another process for churches that are ready to see their relationship with their neighbors in a new way. A Community Opportunity Scan (COS) is a comprehensive process of discovery that will open doors to exciting possibilities. First and foremost, a COS is an exercise in listening and discerning; it will not only identify needs but will also affirm the unique gifts and assets in the community and in the church. Through a COS, churches will get to know the people, organizations, resources, and needs of their community firsthand. With this information churches can discern opportunities to do the following:
- create awareness of local issues
- engage in community partnerships
- evaluate existing programs
- begin new initiatives
Churches can explore DMC’s COS Tools and Resources page on their website and discover how they can begin to learn more about their own church neighborhood and community. Read the full blog by Erin Knight, Diaconal Ministries Canada.
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Five Hopeful Signs That Dare Us to Be Church
While some may grieve the conclusion of church forms of the 21st century, there is, in fact, great hope ahead of us. The next chapter of God’s story of renewal might be happening so close that it’s difficult to see. Just look more intently, and you’ll notice that in our backyards, across our streets, and in the very center of our cities, towns, and villages, God is birthing something profoundly beautiful. Beyond our church growth charts and measurement tools a movement is bursting up from the ground, a counter-narrative to the anxious grip of the past. A movement is growing to reclaim the ancient idea of the parish for the 21st century. When we say the word parish, we mean that people are weaving their lives together in actual places large enough to live much of their life (life, work, and play) but also small enough that they can be known as a character within the story of that place. In neighborhoods, suburbs, villages, and towns, followers of Jesus are learning how to be the church in the everyday context of their actual lives.
Read the full article by Tim Soerens and Christiana Rice as they look at five key elements of how a church can engage its community for both to flourish.
In addition, watch and listen to the team at the Parish Collective discuss their book, The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship, and Community, which features the five signs of being a faithful presence in a parish community. Or order the book to discuss with your deacons or congregation.
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Congregations, Neighborhoods, Places
“In 2009, 75% of self-identified ‘believers’ said that houses of worship offered solutions to social ills. In 2016 only 56% agreed. At the same time, the percentage who said that churches had little or nothing to offer grew from 23% to 39%. It seems communities of faith could use an image consultant when it comes to their role in addressing social concerns.” This is a paragraph in Mark Mulder’s recent book Congregations, Neighborhoods, Places in the Calvin Shorts series. Mulder does a great job of providing an introduction to churches new to engaging with especially higher-need urban communities. Mulder offers suggestions for deacons in a recent interview on a RePlacing Church podcast hosted by Ben Katt. Mark discusses examples of church engagement and the role of deacons, giving examples from places like Toronto, Ont., and Grand Rapids, Mich. Ben Katt is the Western Region representative for Resonate Global Mission.
Share your story of connecting with community on the Deacons page of The Network.
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Deacons Connect
Got a question about diaconal work? Ask your fellow deacons!
Post your questions and ideas in the Deacons section of The Network. Here are some related questions:
- World Renew is internationally recognized for effectively connecting to community in both disaster response and development work. Share stories of how your church has partnered with World Renew to help your membership learn about connecting effectively to community.
- Share the model of community listening that has worked most effectively for your church.
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A Host of Supportive Resources
for Deacons
Remember to check out these resources dedicated to your support.
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Andrew Ryskamp is acting editor of this resource. You can contact him with questions or suggestions at andrewryskamp@crcna.org. Andrew is retired from World Renew after working as diaconal ministries director for thirteen years and as executive co-director for seventeen years.
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