Friday FOCUS

INVITE – WELCOME – CONNECT

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ final words of instruction are for the people (us) to “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

In the late summer, several members of St. John’s, Duncan joined with others from across the diocese in an on-line introduction to a program called, “Invite * Welcome * Connect.” 

A review of the program is offered here:

‘This ministry of transformation hinges on the intentional practices of evangelism, hospitality, and connectedness; and it calls upon each of us to engage in practices of storytelling, and holy listening, so that we may come to know, and cherish, one another as members of the body of Christ’.

J. Neil Alexander, Dean of the School of Theology, University of the South

The program is based on the three principles of Invite, Welcome, Connect.

• Invite is to explore Evangelism.
  Often in parish church communities Evangelism is not a welcome topic.
  We think of "those TV evangelists" we have witnessed over more than one generation.
  The principle task of evangelism is the simple invitation.

My recollection of the seminar was to reflect on the many ways St. John’s already lives out this basic tool of evangelism. At the same time, our work is to take the invite one step further: to intentionally make a personal connection. A second basic work of the ‘invitation’ is to know the community around us. How do we reach out, or do we reach out, to the new residential communities in our neigbourhood?

St. John’s does engage in many aspects of the wider community here in the Cowichan Valley. At the same time, do they know that I/we are connected to the church?

• Welcome is the ministry of hospitality.
  One of the leading expressions of hospitality is to welcome the stranger in our midst.
  Then, the program asks, ‘Is your parish a “friendly community” or a “community of friends?” ‘
  Do we need to tweak our practices of hospitality? Do we take the opportunity to sit with others we may not know well, at parish gatherings?
  Every parish needs a strategy for welcoming newcomers.
  Do we take the opportunity to engage new people in the ministry of the parish?

The reader may respond, ‘these are all questions, you are not giving answers.’ The answers, I believe, are within each individual in the parish. Is it possible for us to do our ministry of hospitality differently? 

• Connect is the ministry of belonging.
  How do we model helping people discern their gifts for ministry?
  We are called to empower, equip, entrust, and affirm all for the work of ministry in the church.

This is the very nature of Jesus’ challenge when he says, ‘go and make disciples of all people.’

Each parish must develop a process to connect newcomers into the ministry of the church. This begins with listening. Listening is best practiced at the coffee hour as we practice being a friendly community. Connecting is best practiced when we employ the strategy of ‘being a connector’: “to interface with the newcomer.”            

The object of this ‘FOCUS’ is not to give answers. The objective is to assist us all ‘to question, to observe, and to ask questions.

Questions begin with us as individuals. Soon, we will have our Annual Vestry Meeting.

In my 30+ years of ordained ministry, I have observed AVMs as being ‘reviews of the past’. I believe the focus of AVM’s should be ‘to focus on looking to the future.’ We recall that ‘the shepherds were abiding in the fields, doing more than simply watching over their sheep. They were looking for signs of hope for their family and flock.           

Let us be like the shepherds, watching for signs and opportunities to “Invite, Welcome, & Connect.”

Blessings, 
Archdeacon Brian+