Bridging the gap: London ministry lessons for New England
If you find yourself on the London train, or the "Tube" as the locals call it, you'll see and hear the phrase "Mind the Gap" often. It is a warning from the conductor to watch your step as you board, because there is a space between the platform and the train.
I think many of us have come to the conclusion, through working in ministry in New England, that there is a similar "gap" when trying to reach those outside of the church. I believe this gap requires proactive and creative efforts to to bridge it. You may be asking yourself, "Why did she start this article talking about trains in London?" And the reason is because I just returned from London on a mission trip through a BCNE sponsored training program, and I'm excited to share what our team has learned over the past year. I'm hoping the following takeaways from the program are helpful, thought-provoking, and encouraging as we collectively continue to bridge the gaps here in New England with the goal of getting everyone on board!
Worldview through the London Eye
Our team met monthly and had training sessions led by missionaries Edson & Marcilene Messor and Pastor Joe Souza. One session in particular that was very impactful for our team was the philosophy of "Worldview". We learned how to step outside of our own view of the world and to be open to understanding another person's perspective. Like taking off our own glasses and wearing a different pair: uncomfortable and disorienting at first, but with time and patience, can bring us clarity, different vision, and can even help us to see things we couldn't see before. On our mission trip, the concept of worldview that we learned was highlighted because we began to see the world through the London eye, which gave us vision to see different and diverse cultures, perspectives, opinions, and ways to do things. I think this approach and promoting the philosophy of worldview can help us to bridge gaps in New England because of the diversity we have.
Big Ben and big ideas
Bridging the gap in London is something that is of top priority of the ministry leaders we met. How they did that was very creative and proactive and our team gained a lot of insight that we want to bring back to ministries here in New England. One way they try to bridge the gap is through a ministry we visited called "The Living Room Club". They use a club membership model to do outreach, where interested individuals in the community can sign up for a free class (Baking, Photography, ESL, etc.) that the ministry leaders provide and oversee. These classes have led to friendships, church invitations, and Gospel presentations. Another proactive organization we met with is "The London Project", which solely focuses on bringing all churches together in regions of the city to do outreach as one. Finally we met a group who runs a coffee shop and they were brewing up conversations with the locals and being a light in the midst of darkness. There's something about a shared cup of coffee that creates an environment of conversation and openness. This ministry group is using that through their cafe to reach people who are lost. All of these ministries communicated that it is requiring big ideas and untraditional ways of doing things in order to bridge the gaps between the church and those outside of it.
The next stop on the train
So what's next? Where is New England ministry headed? What can we learn from our faith community in London as they are a few stops ahead of us? Our team found that there are three main things contributing to their success in ministry:
1. Empowering young leaders
Older ministry leaders are seeing value in younger leaders and their ideas. They are giving them a voice and giving them more responsibility with proper support in that. This is resulting in the ministries being able to adapt to modern culture, which is helping bring more people into the faith communities. It is also raising up leaders of the next generation.
2. Embracing multicultural and diverse communities
We were told by someone we met in London to never ask anyone where they are from. They will be offended and say "I'm from London", whether they were born there or have only been there for a few months. The city, the people, and the ministries have embraced diversity and have allowed it to strengthen and develop into multicultural communities. The leaders admit at times it can be difficult to reach or meet the needs of such a diverse population, but it is so rewarding to see how God brings people together and creates a family of faith.
3. Thinking outside the box
For ministry leaders in London, thinking outside the box is not an anomaly anymore, it is a requirement for continued ministry. They have realized that doing the same thing year after year is damaging to the ministry, is not helping reach people in the community, and is not enabling regular attendees to grow. Their ideas may sound crazy at times and sometimes they may fail, but trying new things has proven to be very successful for them.
On behalf of our team, I want to thank the Baptist Churches of New England, Pastor Joe Souza, and Edson & Marcilene Messor for supporting, planning, organizing, and praying for this training program and mission trip that we had the opportunity to be involved in. We look forward to continuing the partnerships and friendships we formed in London during this trip, and are excited to apply what we have experienced and learned into the New England ministries we are a part of. Thank you!
Charlotte Mullane serves as the Administrative Assistant at Hope Chapel.
