From the Abundance of the Heart

Today I've been with colleagues in Redbridge Deanery at our annual Deanery Residential. In addition to having some Q&A input from our new Bishop, Stephen Cottrell, we have also been reflecting on his book From the Abundance of the Heart: Catholic Evangelism for All Christians. In the session which I led, I shared the following material on contact, welcome and nurture from the book before leading into group discussion of the mission process commended by Bishop Stephen:

“There is a fantasy about evangelism: people hear the gospel, repent, and look around for a church to join. Then there is the reality: people come into contact with the church, or have some inkling of the possibility of God, and enter into a relationship with the church, either through its activities, its worship, or just friendship with its members. In the loving community of these relationships faith begins to grow. Or to put it more succinctly: belonging comes before believing. Therefore, right at the heart of any effective evangelistic ministry must be a warm and generous attitude to those who are currently outside the church community and a place of welcome and nurture within it.

Nurturing a generous attitude of welcome to newcomers is something that needs to be worked at over many years … Welcome is not just what we do when someone comes through the door. It is an attitude which seeks to get inside the shoes of the other person so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey.”

Blessing→Belonging→Believing

Key question: How can we serve the people with whom we have contact in such a way that the gospel is intriguing, challenging and appealing?

1. List the ‘people groups’ with whom you have contact

2. Selecting one or two groups list their interests and the issues they face.

3. List aspects of the gospel that speak to this group of people and their issues.

4. Think of an event at which you could gather this group of people together and, as a way of serving them, begin to address the issues and share something of the gospel.

5. Work out all the practical arrangements for putting on this event, as far as possible collaborating with the people you are inviting so that it is their event as much as yours.

6. Produce a response sheet and decide how you are going to use it.

7. Make sure there is a next step in place.

Examples:

• An evening for parents called ‘Questions children ask’;
• An evening focusing on Christ is represented in art for members of a local Art Club;
• A book club meeting on a book which raises spiritual questions;
• A course on Christian prayer and meditation as part of the local programme of adult education;
• An invitation to renew marriage vows at a mass service to all who were married at the church in the past fifty years;
• A party for all who have been baptised in the last five year;
• An evening called ‘Stress, Stress, Stress’ with a secular speaker on stress management and a church member on prayer and meditation;
• An evening at which the Christian ethos of church school was explained and commended to parents of children beginning at the school.

“Becoming a Christian is not just learning about the Christian faith: it is about becoming a member of the Christian community, and it is about relationship with a God who is himself a community of persons. Therefore, right at the beginning of the journey, people need to experience what it means to be part of a pilgrim church. Before people can become pilgrims themselves they need to feel happy to travel with us and be open to experiencing life from a Christian perspective.

The place of nurture needs to be a safe place, where people are at ease, where they can bring their questions, and where they will feel challenged, but not pressured. People need to feel comfortable: they need to feel that their questions and concerns are taken seriously.

I like to use the term ‘Travellers’ to refer to people who are beginning to explore the Christian faith, because it describes those who are on the way. They may not yet be coming to church, but they are committed to taking the next step. For many people the best next step is a course of enquiry where they can enter into dialogue with the Christian faith in the company of other Christian people.”

Possible courses include: Alpha, Emmaus, Faith on the Way, and Start!

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Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us.