Media Presbyterian Church: Holistic Ministry in the Suburbs

Media Presbyterian Church: Holistic Ministry in the Suburbs

Can a church be holistic if it is not in the inner city? 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.

Rev. Bill Borror's vivid, Christ-centered preaching lays a strong foundation for holistic ministry. He consistently reminds the congregation, "The purpose of the church is to be an instrument for redemption." 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.

"Holistic ministry is incarnational ministry ... It's God's people fleshing out the truth of the gospel," says 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!). The Faith In Action committee was formed with the goal of involving at least half the congregation in some form of hands-on ministry. 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.

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. "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. 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. In the world's eyes, the two men and their churches have little in common. 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.

A major focus of the church's outreach is an annual Habitat for Humanity "blitz build" project in rural 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. They completed the whole house from the foundation up, as well as several smaller rehab projects. 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. 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. "Why would you want to do this?" he would ask. "Well, because Christ directs us to," came the answer. "Oh, it's that simple?" Over the course of the week, volunteers at his site watched him soften. He allowed the volunteers to pray with him, and even prayed himself. "I never really knew what or who Christians were before," Merle said, "but now I do." Though Merle did not make a clear profession of faith, it was clear the church's presence had a dramatic impact on his life.

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."

One of Rev. Borror's models for mission is the early church. 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." Media Presbyterian has the same witness to the surrounding community. "The secular world and school districts and politicians can't say that what is here at this church isn't real," Rev. Borror affirms. "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."

The chair of the Faith in Action committee, describes the evangelistic impact of the church's social ministries this way:

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. ... The newspaper article said that we're practicing what Jesus preached. ... 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. 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."

Media Presbyterian folks know well that spiritual and social needs are not limited to the inner city or the rural poor. 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. In a society driven by materialistic values, many kids are bounced from activity to activity without parental supervision or attention. Rev. Borror describes the impact as "the fragmentation of the youth culture." 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. 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. The church also hosts several support groups, such as for divorce and grief processing.

Media Presbyterian has also become attuned to the "hidden" poverty of the suburbs. People regularly call the church with urgent requests for food, or a month's rent, or intervention in a domestic crisis. 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. 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. 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. "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."

One particularly needy group the church has encountered are grandparents who for various reasons end up raising their grandchildren. The grandparents face multiple pressures from fixed incomes, failing health, depleted energy, and adult children in crisis. One grandmother asked the church to host their "Second Time Around" support group, and Media welcomed them with open arms. Every year, the church throws a Christmas party for the families and buys gifts for the children. The youth pastor leads a parenting class for grandparents raising teenagers. If a grandparent needs home repairs, they call on Media's 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. "I can call Rev. Miller at any hour and say, 'Stop what you're doing and pray,'" says the group's coordinator. "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." Three of the families in the group now attend church services at Media, though the church puts no pressure on them to join.

Evangelism in their suburban context is most effective, Media Presbyterian Church has found, when it is low-key. The church has found that up-front strategies like Evangelism Explosion tend to alienate people. Rev. Borror stresses the importance of lifestyle evangelism: "Evangelism is to take place in your neighborhoods, the PTA, the soccer fields, the workplace." 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?" The deacon surprised him with his answer. "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."

Another innovative way that Media witnesses to their community is through what Steve Sjogren calls servant evangelism. During summer street fairs, the church hosts a booth that gives out cups of cold water. A brochure available at the booth asks on its cover, "Why would a church offer free water on 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." The results are not immediate or dramatic, but still meaningful, as the chair of Media's evangelism committee explains. "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.'"

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."

[chap. 1, pp. 26-29]