WE ARE THE CHURCH IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Within the last six months my wife and I have readjusted our lives with a new mission to our simple south Toledo neighborhood. I was at a conference before then where some comments were made about living “missionally”. It is a popular buzz word in churches these days - but, the truth of it has changed something in our lives.It is easy to say I care about lost people. It has been easy to pat myself on the back for inviting my neighbors every year to our big services (Christmas, Easter, etc) and think - I am doing my part to “reach the lost”. The reality is - I don’t know many of them. The truth is I am doing little -if anything- to engage them. Living missionally simply means that I see my neighborhood as a place where Jesus wants to reign, be worshiped, and heal human hearts just as much as he does in our auditorium on Sunday morning. In fact, the timing of this rescue seldom takes place on Sunday morning and doesn’t fit into a neat little compartment in my life. It is every day, intentionality of loving those right next door.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like a light bulb switched on. This process is still just that - a process. But, the other day, my wife and I organized and threw a block part for our street. We believe it has been around 35 years since any such event has taken place on Bronx Dr. Recently she emailed her team about the event…I will let you read it for yourself.
My husband (Ben) and I have lived in our home in South Toledo for about 4 1/2 years. Day after day we drive past the same people, sometimes with a wave, but often without so much as a glance. We finally decided that something had to be done, so we threw a block party! We barricaded the street, pulled out a grill, passed out some fliers, and about 40 people actually came! We discovered that many of our neighbors are single-parent households, many are older individuals who can’t get around well, and as far as we could tell, few have a relationship with Jesus. We spent 4 hours eating, playing corn hole, and just connecting with one another. By the time the barricades stopping traffic came down, it was obvious that many barricades that had been preventing relationships with one another had come down as well! Now we have the joy of being able to put names and life stories with faces; we can dream about our next steps in connecting (my daughter, Lydia, is working on some “paintings” that we’ll be delivering to single older folks on the street, and I’m even pulling out the mixer to whip up some cookies!); and we can pray specifically for people who need Jesus.
It’s easy to get wrapped up in your life, and not see the people around you who need to know about Jesus. It’s easy to assume that “mission work” takes place in third world countries. It’s easy to forget that we are supposed to start in our “Jerusalem,” our neighborhood, our school, our workplace! Each day God lays multiple opportunities to impact people right in front of us . May we live in such a way that we take advantage of those opportunities!!!
So this is the beginning. We are praying for other missionally minded couples to join us in our humble south side street to be the Church for the people on Bronx Drive.
TEN MONTHS LATER:
On the outside very little has changed. The collective impact here remains to be seen. it is much like the seeds we plant, and wait for life to break through the surface. It doesn’t have quite the thrill or excitement found within increased attendance. However, the redemptive impact need not be diminished. Just like the seed that shows little signs of life at first, so our work here may be doing more than we see on the surface.
We are connected to a neighborhood organization. We know and use local businesses. We are connecting with people from the neighborhood…and we are still praying for people to come and join us =). Lauren attends story time at a local library. I coach at the local school. We have done a food drive for needy families of Burroughs Elementary. Two guys moved in who are huge ND fans - which means we will have to watch games together this fall. And there are a few more people from the creek within walking distance of our house
This next year we are praying that God help us bring the gospel into conversations with our neighbors. We are waiting and searching for more opportunities to serve and love. Hopefully when my Thesis is done, we will begin a LifeGroup specifically for our neighborhood…and we will see who God brings to our home.
What might God want to do in your neighborhood?
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Great blog! We moved to a new neighborhood last August, and we’ve similarly been making connections and seeing what God wants us to do here. It takes time, but I think the Spirit is moving here. In his book “Making Room for Life,” Randy Frazee calls this the First Church of the Neighborhood.
Comment by Jesse Lahey — June 16, 2008 @ 10:04 am