by Rev. Paige Adams, associate pastor at Staunton Alliance Church
Each August, Staunton (Virginia) Alliance Church hosts a community outreach event called Explore. This one-day family affair capitalizes on our town’s interest in hunting, fishing, wildlife, and outdoor activities.
Kids’ activities include an adult-instructed rifle range, archery range, casting games, and some fun inflatables. Adults enjoy informal conversations with expert instructors at various exhibits on bow hunting, muzzle loading, and fly fishing.
This year we reached out to our local wildlife center and added several live-animal exhibits: hawks, owls, snakes, and a falcon. Our wildlife game department also provided us with live demonstrations featuring a bear and the game warden’s forensic tracking dog. We supplied a free barbecue lunch and some nice door prizes throughout the day.
After our second year of hosting Explore, we spent some time reflecting on what we learned. Here are three of our takeaways from this year’s event
1. Look at what you already have.
Several years ago as we prayerfully considered how we could reach our community, we realized that we had a number of people in our congregation who either worked for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or who had significant hunting and fishing expertise. This was the catalytic starting point for Explore.
On several occasions in Scripture God asked a very basic question: “What do you have?” In the account of the burning bush, Moses asked God what he should say if the people don’t believe him. God’s response was, “What is in your hand?”
In Mark, when Jesus wanted to feed the crowds, he asked the disciples, “How many loaves do you have?”
God wants us to use things we have already been given. He does not invite us to fret about what we don’t have but rather to see “what’s in our hand.” How are we to use the resources He has already given us for His glory?
Similarly, God has uniquely gifted and positioned your church body with many of the resources needed to carry out His unique call in your community . So what’s in your hand? How will you use what He has already provided to help fulfill His call?
2. Know your community.
A second lesson for us has been to identify the needs and interests in our community. Many people in the Shenandoah Valley enjoy hunting and fishing, so we have used Explore to help fulfill those needs and interests.
We have also learned that parents like to see their kids experience and appreciate the things God has revealed through His creation. So this year we offered more kid-friendly activities.
What are the needs and interests intrinsic to your community that your church family can help meet?
3. Serve together.
We believe Explore has blessed our community. However, we didn’t consider how it would impact our church family. Many have expressed how blessed they were by the experience of serving side-by side and getting to know their neighbors better.
Sometimes churches just do the“church things”—weekly services, business meetings, etc. The routine can become perfunctory, and relationships can become anemic.
Serving together in a larger context allows relationships to deepen as gifts are discovered and unleashed. It sweetens the joy of serving Jesus together.
What Are the Results?
Honestly, we don’t know—yet! In ministry, we often focus too much on whether our strategy is working, when it’s not about our strategy at all. Rather it’s about being faithful with what we have and leaving the results to Jesus. We have prayed and served and are now waiting to see what He will do.
Ministry can be tediously slow, yet signs of growth from our investment are starting to show and are truly rewarding to see. Here are just two examples from Explore.
John attended with his kids, and at the end of the day he asked me about our services, saying he’d like to come sometime. It took two years of attending Explore for him to even think about something more.
Lisa, another attendee, told one of our members that her kids could attend but she would never come to the church property. It was clear that she had negative perceptions about church. But through the Explore event, our Awana ministry, our welcoming posture, and our ongoing prayers, she’s broken her promise several times, eaten several meals with us, and become less suspicious about church.
Little by little, God is working.