Mapping Innovation

Discerning what ministry or ministries the Holy Spirit is inviting a faith community into is important, but equally important is what God is doing daily through each member of the
congregation. After Episcopalians remember who and whose they are, have a chance to confess things “done and left undone,” pray for their community and the world, and
are fed with the bread of life and cup of salvation, they are sent out “in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
 

As I mentioned in an earlier Faithful Innovation article, for years I was focused on my church and its ministries. We were interested in our church neighbors, but most people at St. Matthew’s lived in other neighborhoods. Thankfully, a lay leader and I attended a conference focused on equipping people to live their faith in daily life. The speaker showed us a diagram revealing the number of hours church members spend in church ministries vs. in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and the places they volunteer. The contrast was stunning!
 

In addition to doing ongoing adult formation series on showing up in every space in our lives as Jesus’ follower, I started “Way of Jesus” groups for different professions including social workers, teachers, and businesspeople. In these groups participants began by dwelling in a scripture passage pertinent to their work or Christian character and then talked about where the Holy Spirit was showing up in their workplace. They named their daily opportunities and challenges.
 

Additionally, the lay leader who went to the conference and I put up a map of the Twin Cities metro area. We asked people to place different color pins where they lived (white), worked (red), and volunteered (yellow). The pinned map was a powerful visual of where each of us was during the week. It was encouraging for the gathered church (on Sunday) to begin to understand the impact of the sent church (during the week) all over the metro. If we showed up in each of the locations pinned in a posture of love, and as a humble listener and learner desiring to learn more about what the Holy Spirit was up to in our neighbors’ lives and to join up with this movement if possible, the Twin Cities was a colorful place indeed. During the week we who are loved first by God and our faith community have a chance to share that love with others. 

God’s sent church has the greatest potential for impacting the wider community for good, in Jesus’ name. How is your faith community equipping people to show up as Jesus’ follower in every space in their lives? Where might parishioners share stories of how the Holy Spirit is showing up in their neighborhoods and workplaces, and the challenges they are facing? How might we learn more about what God is up to outside the doors of our churches?