Hosting a “come and see” ministry can be expensive.
Finding a venue, providing hospitality and pulling together enough volunteers all take time and energy, and many of us just don’t have much to spare. Are you passionate about your local community, but lack the time or money to do something impactful with God? Noticing the lack can be frustrating, but it can also be the catalyst that brings us to our knees in prayer, building faith, creativity and courage to try new things.
So what does it look like to go and be?
As many churches across our nation face financial struggles, many of us also feel the personal demands on our own time and money. Yet, at our core, we care deeply for our neighbourhoods and long to see lives restored to wholeness through Christ. Trusting that God has given us everything we need for today, what are the simple loaves and fishes we can bring that God can multiply? By using our eyes and ears, we can prayerfully listen to the desires of the community. Humbly acknowledging our God-given gifts, we can then echo the words of the prophet Isaiah, saying to the Lord, “Here am I, send me.”
So what could this look like in practice?
Here are three ideas that I, along with two other Nelson-based parishioners, have said “yes” to in the last month – ideas that take little time or money to run but care for the holistic wellbeing of people, including ourselves.
Over the five Mondays of September, I facilitated a gratitude group called the Grin Reapers. After posting an advertisement for Grin Reapers on Facebook, this group of strangers met in a local café. Looking at four elements of wellbeing – social, mental, spiritual, and relational – each member began by setting three goals to focus on during the month. This was diverse, like reading a book, going for a run, joining a dance class, or going to church. Following this, we then explored one different element per week.
This idea came after I started a gratitude journal and noticed the benefits of this both personally and socially. I noticed social media creating social isolation and negativity on community pages was increasing. I decided to intentionally practice gratitude with a group of strangers who were also willing.
Every individual had something to offer the group. We were able to encourage and challenge each other, sharing pearls of wisdom in a non-judgemental manner. To see strangers come together and speak positively, encouraging each other into a counter-cultural lifestyle, was such a joy to be a part of.
The cost to bring a group together like this was twenty minutes of preparation time, and the price of a cup of coffee per week. Yet the benefits for each of us – relationally, spiritually, physically and mentally – were life-changing.
One could argue that, as ministry coordinator for social services, it’s my job to be caring for the holistic wellbeing of people. Plus, I have three years of theological training. But is a calling only limited to those with formal roles and recognised education?
I wonder what an eight-year-old might have to say about that?
Fred Moore was riding around town with his dad and felt sad when he saw all the people experiencing homelessness. He started to brainstorm and decided to bake and sell cookies.
Why? “Dad has some friends who help homeless people. So we are going to give some money to them. Also, we might buy some pizzas and drop them around to people on a cold night for dinner too.”
Fred brings a childlike humility to this idea. He says, “I didn’t come up with the idea of helping the poor. Jesus did. It's kind of how I show I love God and love people.”
When an eight-year-old can contextualise and live out Mark 12:30-31 (the “love God and love your neighbour as yourself” verses), I begin to realise how overthinking ministry gets in the way of just doing it. We love ourselves by feeding ourselves, and Fred is loving his neighbour as himself, showing Christ’s love, through the simple acts of baking biscuits and getting pizza. This has the potential to positively impact the lives of so many individuals, but also Fred himself. As we give, we receive, and God will give so much more to Fred, by showing him his love for all people and shaping Fred to continue growing as an inspirational leader of local mission.
However, one could also argue that it’s the school holidays. Fred has a lot of time to bake biscuits.
So let’s visit the idea of a couple with a busy family who own and operate a café in Nelson.
When a local gym closed down, Nick and Beth Schryvers noticed it was not just physical wellbeing that was negatively impacted, but also social wellbeing. Instead of accepting this and moving on, they started a running club that meets at 6:30am every Tuesday until Christmas.
Although they work in the hospitality industry, Nick and Beth are restoring the heart of hospitality by creating a welcoming space of kindness, respect, inclusion and belonging. This run club not only chats (between breaths for me) during the optional three or five kilometre run, but connects afterwards over a quality Victus coffee. It has quickly become a place where people can be who they are, with no judgement, and be able to chat about whatever they are passionate about. It not only restores individuals' physical wellbeing, but also their social, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
For the Schryvers family, time is precious. But organising this costs a few minutes on social media to advertise, and the time it takes to run 5km, which hopefully is getting faster.
When I was a builder, we had a safety check called the “five by five”. We would step back five metres from the building site and look for hazards for five minutes.
I want to offer the five by five in a slightly different context. What if we walk for five minutes and then pray for an additional five, asking God to show us where he is at work? By faith, all we then need to say is “here am I, send me.”
We all have gifts, we all notice different things. Is God breaking your heart about something? Maybe you are exactly the right person to do something about that. Partnering with God in his mission makes every day so exciting.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Hosting a “come and see” ministry can be expensive.
Finding a venue, providing hospitality and pulling together enough volunteers all take time and energy, and many of us just don’t have much to spare. Are you passionate about your local community, but lack the time or money to do something impactful with God? Noticing the lack can be frustrating, but it can also be the catalyst that brings us to our knees in prayer, building faith, creativity and courage to try new things.
So what does it look like to go and be?
As many churches across our nation face financial struggles, many of us also feel the personal demands on our own time and money. Yet, at our core, we care deeply for our neighbourhoods and long to see lives restored to wholeness through Christ. Trusting that God has given us everything we need for today, what are the simple loaves and fishes we can bring that God can multiply? By using our eyes and ears, we can prayerfully listen to the desires of the community. Humbly acknowledging our God-given gifts, we can then echo the words of the prophet Isaiah, saying to the Lord, “Here am I, send me.”
So what could this look like in practice?
Here are three ideas that I, along with two other Nelson-based parishioners, have said “yes” to in the last month – ideas that take little time or money to run but care for the holistic wellbeing of people, including ourselves.
Over the five Mondays of September, I facilitated a gratitude group called the Grin Reapers. After posting an advertisement for Grin Reapers on Facebook, this group of strangers met in a local café. Looking at four elements of wellbeing – social, mental, spiritual, and relational – each member began by setting three goals to focus on during the month. This was diverse, like reading a book, going for a run, joining a dance class, or going to church. Following this, we then explored one different element per week.
This idea came after I started a gratitude journal and noticed the benefits of this both personally and socially. I noticed social media creating social isolation and negativity on community pages was increasing. I decided to intentionally practice gratitude with a group of strangers who were also willing.
Every individual had something to offer the group. We were able to encourage and challenge each other, sharing pearls of wisdom in a non-judgemental manner. To see strangers come together and speak positively, encouraging each other into a counter-cultural lifestyle, was such a joy to be a part of.
The cost to bring a group together like this was twenty minutes of preparation time, and the price of a cup of coffee per week. Yet the benefits for each of us – relationally, spiritually, physically and mentally – were life-changing.
One could argue that, as ministry coordinator for social services, it’s my job to be caring for the holistic wellbeing of people. Plus, I have three years of theological training. But is a calling only limited to those with formal roles and recognised education?
I wonder what an eight-year-old might have to say about that?
Fred Moore was riding around town with his dad and felt sad when he saw all the people experiencing homelessness. He started to brainstorm and decided to bake and sell cookies.
Why? “Dad has some friends who help homeless people. So we are going to give some money to them. Also, we might buy some pizzas and drop them around to people on a cold night for dinner too.”
Fred brings a childlike humility to this idea. He says, “I didn’t come up with the idea of helping the poor. Jesus did. It's kind of how I show I love God and love people.”
When an eight-year-old can contextualise and live out Mark 12:30-31 (the “love God and love your neighbour as yourself” verses), I begin to realise how overthinking ministry gets in the way of just doing it. We love ourselves by feeding ourselves, and Fred is loving his neighbour as himself, showing Christ’s love, through the simple acts of baking biscuits and getting pizza. This has the potential to positively impact the lives of so many individuals, but also Fred himself. As we give, we receive, and God will give so much more to Fred, by showing him his love for all people and shaping Fred to continue growing as an inspirational leader of local mission.
However, one could also argue that it’s the school holidays. Fred has a lot of time to bake biscuits.
So let’s visit the idea of a couple with a busy family who own and operate a café in Nelson.
When a local gym closed down, Nick and Beth Schryvers noticed it was not just physical wellbeing that was negatively impacted, but also social wellbeing. Instead of accepting this and moving on, they started a running club that meets at 6:30am every Tuesday until Christmas.
Although they work in the hospitality industry, Nick and Beth are restoring the heart of hospitality by creating a welcoming space of kindness, respect, inclusion and belonging. This run club not only chats (between breaths for me) during the optional three or five kilometre run, but connects afterwards over a quality Victus coffee. It has quickly become a place where people can be who they are, with no judgement, and be able to chat about whatever they are passionate about. It not only restores individuals' physical wellbeing, but also their social, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
For the Schryvers family, time is precious. But organising this costs a few minutes on social media to advertise, and the time it takes to run 5km, which hopefully is getting faster.
When I was a builder, we had a safety check called the “five by five”. We would step back five metres from the building site and look for hazards for five minutes.
I want to offer the five by five in a slightly different context. What if we walk for five minutes and then pray for an additional five, asking God to show us where he is at work? By faith, all we then need to say is “here am I, send me.”
We all have gifts, we all notice different things. Is God breaking your heart about something? Maybe you are exactly the right person to do something about that. Partnering with God in his mission makes every day so exciting.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
