Media Presbyterian Church: Holistic Ministry in the Suburbs Medier presbyterianske kirke: Holistisk ministeriet i forstæderne

Media Presbyterian Church: Holistic Ministry in the Suburbs Medier presbyterianske kirke: Holistisk ministeriet i forstæderne

Can a church be holistic if it is not in the inner city? Kan en kirke være holistisk, hvis det ikke er i indre by? Media Presbyterian, nestled neatly in the heart of a comfortable Philadelphia suburb, demonstrates that it is not only possible, but that the rewards to church and community are just as great when the social needs are not as obvious or close at hand. Medier presbyterianske, nestled pænt i hjertet af en komfortabel Philadelphia forstad, viser, at det ikke kun er mulig, men at de belønninger til kirke og samfund er lige så stor, når sociale behov ikke er så indlysende eller tæt ved hånden.

Rev. Bill Borror's vivid, Christ-centered preaching lays a strong foundation for holistic ministry. Rev Bill Borror's livagtige, Kristus-centreret prædiker indeholder et stærkt fundament for holistisk ministerium. He consistently reminds the congregation, "The purpose of the church is to be an instrument for redemption." Han konsekvent minder menigheden, "Formålet med kirken er at være et instrument til indløsning." This means emphasizing the mission of the church in outreach to needy neighbors, whether that means a neighboring family struggling with divorce or the neighboring impoverished community of Chester. Dette betyder at understrege den mission i kirken i opsøgende til trængende naboer, uanset om det betyder en nabostaten familie kæmper med skilsmisse eller naboens forarmet samfund af Chester.

"Holistic ministry is incarnational ministry ... It's God's people fleshing out the truth of the gospel," says Rev. Borror. "Holistisk ministerium er incarnational ministerium ... Det er Guds folk konkretiserer sandheden af evangeliet," siger Rev Borror. This means making a personal commitment to service, not simply donating money from a distance (though the church does this as well-fully a third of its budget goes to mission work far and near!). Det betyder, at et personligt engagement i tjeneste, ikke bare at donere penge fra en afstand (selvom kirken gør det så godt fuldt en tredjedel af sit budget går til missionens arbejde videre og i nærheden!). The Faith In Action committee was formed with the goal of involving at least half the congregation in some form of hands-on ministry. Den tro i aktion udvalget blev dannet med det mål at inddrage mindst halvdelen af menigheden i en form for hands-on ministerium. Church members are recruited for an array of service projects: running summer day camps for kids in inner city neighborhoods; wielding a hammer in the Carpenter's Club to help elderly and low-income homeowners; covering books and reading to children in the library of a Christian elementary school; visiting "throw-away parents" in nursing homes; linking professionals in the church (including many retirees) with non-profits needing skilled consultation. Kirkens medlemmer er ansat for en vifte af service-projekter: kører sommerdag lejre for børn i indre by kvarterer; wielding en hammer i Carpenter's Club for at hjælpe ældre og lav indkomst husejere, der omfatter bøger og læsning for børn i biblioteket af en kristen elementære skolen; besøger "smid-væk forældre" på plejehjem, der forbinder fagfolk i kirken (herunder mange pensionister) med non-profit behov for faglært høring.

The value of these ministries lies not only in helping people outside the church, but in enriching the spiritual life of church members and expanding their relationships outside their cultural comfort zone. Værdien af disse ministerier ligger ikke kun i at hjælpe mennesker uden for kirken, men i berige åndelige liv i kirkens medlemmer og udvide deres relationer uden for deres kulturelle comfort zone. "I hope that at the end of the year, everybody that participates in urban ministry knows somebody on a first name basis," said the Faith in Action committee chair. "Jeg håber, at ved udgangen af året, alle, der deltager i byerne ministerium kender nogen på et fornavn grundlag," sagde Faith in Action udvalgsformand. Rev. Borror has modeled this in his friendship with Bishop Dickie Robbins, the pastor of Life in Christ Cathedral of Faith in neighboring Chester, PA. Rev Borror har modeled dette på sit venskab med Bishop Dickie Robbins, præsten af livet i Kristus Cathedral of Faith i nabostaten Chester, PA. In the world's eyes, the two men and their churches have little in common. I verdens øjne, to mænd og deres kirker har meget lidt til fælles. But "United in Christ, Laboring in Love," as a banner heralds their joint work on a housing rehab project, the congregations witness to the community about their oneness in Christ. Men "Forenet i Kristus, Laboring in Love," som et banner varsler deres fælles arbejde på en bolig Rehab projektet, menigheder vidne til samfundet om deres oneness i Kristus.

A major focus of the church's outreach is an annual Habitat for Humanity "blitz build" project in rural North Carolina. En stor fokus i kirken's opsøgende arbejde er en årlig Habitat for Humanity "blitz opbygge"-projektet i landdistrikter North Carolina. In 1999, 150 members and friends of the church spent their summer vacation sweating and sawing together to give a poor family a home. I 1999, 150 medlemmer og venner af kirken brugt deres sommerferie sveden og savning sammen om at give en fattig familie et hjem. They completed the whole house from the foundation up, as well as several smaller rehab projects. De udfyldte hele huset fra fundamentet op, samt flere mindre Rehab projekter. Merle (not his real name) the owner of a trailer home where Media Presbyterian folks built a handicap ramp for his wife, was skeptical at first. Merle (ikke hans rigtige navn) ejeren af en påhængsvogn hjem, hvor Media presbyterianske folk bygget et handicap rampe for hans hustru, var skeptiske i starten. He couldn't believe there were people out there who were willing to help him regardless of who he was or what he had done. Han kunne ikke tro der var folk derude der var villige til at hjælpe ham, uanset der var han, eller hvad han havde gjort. "Why would you want to do this?" "Hvorfor vil du gerne gøre dette?" he would ask. han ville spørge. "Well, because Christ directs us to," came the answer. "Nå, fordi Kristus leder os til," kom svaret. "Oh, it's that simple?" "Åh, det er så enkelt?" Over the course of the week, volunteers at his site watched him soften. I løbet af ugen, volontører på hans site set ham blødgøre. He allowed the volunteers to pray with him, and even prayed himself. Han gjorde det muligt for frivillige til at bede med ham, og selv bad selv. "I never really knew what or who Christians were before," Merle said, "but now I do." "Jeg har aldrig rigtig vidste, hvad eller der kristne var før," Merle sagde, "men nu er jeg." Though Merle did not make a clear profession of faith, it was clear the church's presence had a dramatic impact on his life. Selvom Merle ikke gav et klart erhverv tro, det var klart kirken's tilstedeværelse havde en dramatisk indflydelse på hans liv.

Involvement in service projects like the Habitat trip also aids personal evangelism, as a lay leader notes: "A good approach is to go and do this kind of ministry, then tell people-tell your neighbors, tell your friends, tell your coworkers-what you're doing. And they'll ask you why you're doing it. It's a good opportunity to witness." Inddragelse i service projekter ligesom Habitat turen også hjælpemidler personlige forkynder evangeliet, som en lægmand leder bemærker: "En god strategi er at gå ud og gøre denne form for ministeriet, derefter fortælle folk-fortælle dine naboer, så fortæl dine venner, så fortæl dine kolleger, hvad du laver. Og de beder dig om hvorfor du gør det. Det er en god lejlighed til at vidne. "

One of Rev. Borror's models for mission is the early church. En af Rev Borror's modeller for mission er den tidlige kirke. A second century pagan writer sent Caesar a report about Christians: "Not only do they take care of their own poor, but they're taking some of our poor, as well." Et andet århundrede hedenske forfatter sendte Cæsar en rapport om de kristne: "Ikke alene skal de tage sig af deres egne fattige, men de tager nogle af vores fattige, så godt." Media Presbyterian has the same witness to the surrounding community. Medier presbyterianske har samme vidne til det omgivende samfund. "The secular world and school districts and politicians can't say that what is here at this church isn't real," Rev. Borror affirms. "Den verdslige verden og skole distrikter og politikerne kan ikke sige, at hvad der er her i denne kirke ikke er reel," Rev Borror bekræfter. "They can't dismiss us as merely being another cultural clique, or a socio-economic ghetto. We may not be doing things they are comfortable with, or they understand, but they cannot write us off as being insignificant and not impacting our community." "De kan ikke afvise os som blot er en anden kulturel klike, eller en socio-økonomisk ghetto. Vi kan ikke gøre ting, de er komfortable med, eller de forstår, men de kan ikke skrive os ud som værende ubetydelig og ikke påvirker vores samfund ".

The chair of the Faith in Action committee, describes the evangelistic impact of the church's social ministries this way: Formanden for Faith in Action udvalg, der beskriver den evangelistic virkningen af kirken's sociale ministerier denne måde:

The people that are in the community watching us know that we are from a church, and they know that we are doing what Jesus taught us to do. De mennesker, der er i samfundet ser os vide, at vi er fra en kirke, og de ved, at vi gør, hvad Jesus lærte os at gøre. ... The newspaper article said that we're practicing what Jesus preached. De avisartikel sagt, at vi praktiserer, hvad Jesus prædikede. ... When we did our blitz build we got attention and that was good, because Rev. Borror was on television talking about why we were doing it. Da vi gjorde vores blitz bygge vi fik opmærksomhed, og det var godt, fordi Rev Borror var på tv taler om, hvorfor vi gjorde det. I just hope somebody watched that newscast that may be frustrated with [televangelists] and said, "Hey, maybe all these Christians aren't such bad people after all." Jeg håber bare, somebody set, at newscast, der kan være frustrerede over [televangelists] og sagde: "Hey, måske alle disse kristne er ikke så slemt folk jo."

Media Presbyterian folks know well that spiritual and social needs are not limited to the inner city or the rural poor. Medier presbyterianske folk kender godt det åndelige og sociale behov er ikke begrænset til den indre by eller den fattige landbefolkning. Though the scars may be less visible than in poverty areas, people come to Media wounded by the maladies of middle-class culture: divorce, substance abuse, domestic violence, eating disorders. Selvom arrene kan være mindre synlige end i fattigdom områder, folk kommer til Media såret af maladies af midt-klassen kultur: skilsmisse, stofmisbrug, vold i hjemmet, spiseforstyrrelser. In a society driven by materialistic values, many kids are bounced from activity to activity without parental supervision or attention. I et samfund drevet af materialistiske værdier, og mange børn er returneret fra aktivitet til aktivitet uden forældrenes tilsyn eller opmærksomhed. Rev. Borror describes the impact as "the fragmentation of the youth culture." Rev Borror beskriver virkningen som "opsplitning af ungdomskulturen." In one year, the community reeled from the death of five high school students in an auto accident, several youth suicides (the youngest in sixth grade), and a murder. På et år, samfundet reeled fra døden af fem gymnasieelever i en bil ulykke, flere unge selvmord (den yngste i sjette klasse), og et mord. In response, Rev. Borror and Media's youth pastor have come to be known as unofficial chaplains for the community-hosting funerals for unchurched families, providing counseling for the local school district, and inviting youth to participate in the church's active youth group. Som svar, Rev Borror og Medier's ungdoms-præst er kommet for at blive kendt som uofficiel chaplains for samfunds-hosting begravelser for unchurched familier, der giver rådgivning til den lokale skole-distriktet, og at invitere unge til at deltage i kirken aktivt ungdoms-gruppe. The church also hosts several support groups, such as for divorce and grief processing. Kirken også vært for flere støtte grupper, såsom skilsmisse og sorg behandling.

Media Presbyterian has also become attuned to the "hidden" poverty of the suburbs. Medier presbyterianske er også blevet tilpasset til den "skjulte" fattigdom i forstæderne. People regularly call the church with urgent requests for food, or a month's rent, or intervention in a domestic crisis. Folk regelmæssigt kalde kirken med hastende anmodninger om mad, eller en måneds husleje, eller intervention i en national krise. Church members in social work positions, such as one who works for the local public school, also refer families with special needs to the church. Kirkens medlemmer i socialt arbejde holdninger, sådan som en der arbejder for den lokale offentlige skole, også henvise familier med særlige behov til kirken. Through the deacons and Rev. Deb Miller, the church's associate pastor for mission, the church either meets the needs or refers people to other appropriate agencies. Gennem diakoner og Rev Deb Miller, kirken's associate præst for missionen, kirken enten opfylder behov eller henviser folk til andre relevante organer. By helping people, a deacon explains, the church is planting "seeds of goodness" that may eventually bear spiritual fruit, even if they never see the person again. Ved at hjælpe mennesker, en hjælpepræst forklarer, kirken er plantning "frø af godhed", der kan i sidste ende bærer åndelige frugt, selvom de aldrig se den person igen. "Many people come to us who are not Christians and who don't understand why we do this. You can't make people understand, but you can say we do this as a representation of Christ's love. It's easy to appease people by taking care of their material needs, but we constantly have to remind ourselves that we are doing this for a reason-that we are God's hands here in Media." "Mange mennesker kommer til os der ikke er kristne og der ikke forstår, hvorfor vi gør det. Du kan ikke gøre folk forstår, men du kan sige, vi gør dette som en gengivelse af Kristi kærlighed. Det er nemt at berolige folk ved at tage pasning af deres materielle behov, men vi konstant må minde os selv, at vi gør dette for en grund, at vi er Guds hænder her i medier. "

One particularly needy group the church has encountered are grandparents who for various reasons end up raising their grandchildren. Et særligt trængende gruppe kirken har fundet er bedsteforældre der af forskellige årsager ender med at hæve deres børnebørn. The grandparents face multiple pressures from fixed incomes, failing health, depleted energy, and adult children in crisis. De bedsteforældre ansigt flere pres fra faste indkomster, i mangel sundhed, nedfiskede energi, og voksne børn i krise. One grandmother asked the church to host their "Second Time Around" support group, and Media welcomed them with open arms. En bedstemor spurgte kirken til at være vært for deres "Second Time Around" støtte gruppe, og Media hilste dem med åbne arme. Every year, the church throws a Christmas party for the families and buys gifts for the children. Hvert år kirken smider en Christmas part i sagen for familier og køber gaver til børnene. The youth pastor leads a parenting class for grandparents raising teenagers. Den unge præst fører en forældreskab klasse for bedsteforældre hæve teenagere. If a grandparent needs home repairs, they call on Media's Carpenter's Club. Hvis en bedsteforælder behov hjem reparationer, de kalder på mediernes Carpenter's Club. In emergencies the church helps out with food, medicine, or financial counseling, as well as an open door to the pastor's office for personal counseling or prayer. Ved nødsituationer kirken hjælper ud med mad, medicin, eller finansiel rådgivning, såvel som en åben dør til præsten kontor for personlig rådgivning eller bøn. "I can call Rev. Miller at any hour and say, 'Stop what you're doing and pray,'" says the group's coordinator. "Jeg kan kalde rev Miller på ethvert tidspunkt og sige, 'Stop det, du gør, og bede," siger gruppens koordinator. "If I knew there was a need for one of the people who attends the group, there's not one thing I wouldn't go to the church and say there's this tremendous need, and they wouldn't find a way to help. We know they're there for us and we're so grateful." "Hvis jeg vidste at der var behov for en af de personer, der deltager i gruppen, er der ikke én ting, jeg ikke ville gå til kirken og sige, at der er det enorme behov, og de ville ikke finde en måde at hjælpe. Vi ved de er der for os, og vi er så taknemmelig. " Three of the families in the group now attend church services at Media, though the church puts no pressure on them to join. Tre af de familier i gruppen nu deltage i kirkelige tjenester på Medier, selvom kirken lægger ikke pres på dem til at deltage.

Evangelism in their suburban context is most effective, Media Presbyterian Church has found, when it is low-key. Forkynder evangeliet i deres forstæder sammenhæng er mest effektive, Media presbyterianske kirke har konstateret, når det er lav-nøgle. The church has found that up-front strategies like Evangelism Explosion tend to alienate people. Kirken har konstateret, at up-front strategier gerne forkynder evangeliet Eksplosion tendens til at fremmedgøre folk. Rev. Borror stresses the importance of lifestyle evangelism: "Evangelism is to take place in your neighborhoods, the PTA, the soccer fields, the workplace." Rev Borror understreger betydningen af en livsstil forkynder evangeliet: "forkynder evangeliet skal finde sted i dit kvarter, PTA, FODBOLDBANER, arbejdspladsen". For example, when a deacon's company was going through a difficult time, another contractor asked him, "How do you stay so calm in this rat-race business?" For eksempel, når en hjælpepræst's selskab var på vej gennem en vanskelig tid, en anden entreprenør spurgte ham, "Hvordan får du opholdet så roen i dette rotteræs virksomhed?" The deacon surprised him with his answer. De hjælpepræst overrasket ham med hans svar. "It's simple. I have a very strong faith, and the Lord continues to direct my life. I feel sorry for people who don't have that. It's much easier for me, having the ability to let go of certain things and entrust them to the Lord." "Det er enkelt. Jeg har en meget stærk tro, og Herren fortsat direkte mit liv. Jeg ondt for folk der ikke har det. Det er meget lettere for mig, der har evnen til at slippe af visse ting og betro dem for Herren. "

Another innovative way that Media witnesses to their community is through what Steve Sjogren calls servant evangelism. En anden innovativ måde at Media vidner til deres samfund, er gennem det Steve Sjogren opkald ansat forkynder evangeliet. During summer street fairs, the church hosts a booth that gives out cups of cold water. I løbet af sommeren street messer, kirken er vært for en kabine, som giver ud kopper koldt vand. A brochure available at the booth asks on its cover, "Why would a church offer free water on State Street?" En brochure til rådighed på kabine anmoder om sin dækning, "Hvorfor skulle en kirke tilbyde gratis vand på State Street?" Inside, along with Biblical passages about Jesus, the text concludes: "We just thought that you might be thirsty for the water in the cup or for the water from which you will thirst no more." Inside, sammen med bibelske passager om Jesus, hvis tekst konkluderer: "Vi prøver bare troede at du kan blive tørstig for vand i kop eller til vand, hvorfra du vil tørst ikke mere." The results are not immediate or dramatic, but still meaningful, as the chair of Media's evangelism committee explains. Resultaterne er ikke umiddelbare eller dramatisk, men stadig meningsfuld, da formanden for mediernes forkynder evangeliet udvalget forklarer. "Later, when someone is in crisis or hurt, they will remember -'Hey, they were out there giving out cold water, so maybe I'll walk down a couple blocks to the church and talk to someone.'" "Senere, når nogen er i krise eller ondt, de vil huske - 'Hey, de var derude give koldt vand, så måske jeg vil gå et par blokke til kirken og tale med nogen."

As Media celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2000, a long-time member of the church reflected, "I think there is a spirit here in this church that will keep on bringing new members in, a lively program that will certainly serve the people, and do what Christ wants us to do, which is to reach out into the world and serve those who are in need, and broadcast the good news to everyone." Som Media fejre sit 150 års jubilæum i 2000, lang tid medlem af kirken afspejles "Jeg tror, der er en ånd her i kirken, som vil holde på at bringe nye medlemmer i en livlig program, der vil sikkert tjene folket, og gøre, hvad Kristus ønsker os at gøre, hvilket er at nå ud i verden og vise dem, der er i nød, og sende de gode nyheder for alle. "

[chap. 1, pp. 1, pp. 26-29]