May 14, 2009

What is this place? Missional leaders gather for inspiration and renewal

By Brian Yoder Schlabach

For Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership and Mennonite Mission Network

Beth Jarrett, associate pastor at Neffsville Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa., talks with her table group. Photo by Brian Yoder Schlabach

DENVER, Colo. — Mennonite missional leaders from across the country gathered May 2 through 4 to discuss what it means to be a missional church in our current culture. The event, held in Denver, and hosted by Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church USA Executive Leadership, drew 33 attendees.

Participants heard from several local pastors, both Mennonite and non-Mennonite, on the ways they minister to urban congregations. They practiced “dwelling in the word” with the story of Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4:1-29) throughout the weekend. An “urban plunge” was organized so participants could experience urban culture by venturing into the heart of Denver.

Jeff Wright, president of Shalom Ministries in Pasadena, Calif., spoke about how to read social contexts from a missional perspective. Quoting the first line of the Mennonite Hymnal: A Worship Book song, “What is this place,” he said that a missional church must understand the context of “the place” to be effective.

Wright spoke about the need for the rehabilitation of evangelism in the North American church as it moves toward mission in a post-Christendom environment. “Evangelism is not a way to get people to conform to our way,” he said. In the same way that Jesus came to the well with nothing but the need for a drink, Wright explained, evangelism begins with our need. “We have to come with nothing but a question. We ask questions, that’s our job as a missional church.”

Participants in the Missional Leaders Meeting spend time in table groups. Photo by Brian Yoder Schlabach

Church in my context

Two local Mennonite leaders shared their stories of new church ventures in the context of the city. Phil Ebersole, pastor of The Bridge, a new Denver church that has been ministering to mostly young adults since September 2008, spoke about reaching out to them from an urban perspective.

Ebersole described how he is able to engage young people who are looking for something other than a traditional church setting by using a mix of “orthodox historical Christian beliefs and a strong commitment to action.” Members meet weekly in Ebersole’s home for a light meal, discussion, community time and prayer.

Dayvid Graybill, founder of Another Way, presented new ideas on how to experience God through creative and non-traditional means. Another Way is a gathering of people who use the arts as a guide on their spiritual journey, and has been active in Denver since 2008. Graybill describes Another Way as an “unchurch,” or “a Denver adventure,” a way to experience God in the creative works of others.

“The medieval church saved the arts,” Graybill said, “but today the arts will save the church.”

Being Christ-like in our communities

On Saturday evening, three Denver pastors talked about how they have found ways to serve in their urban setting. Steve Johnsen, pastor of the Denver Inner City Parish, Phil Abeyta, pastor of His Love Fellowship, and Age Sandoval, pastor of Tha Myx International, all spoke about their mission in the inner city.

Sandoval, a former felon turned Christian hip-hop recording artist, described his ministry to inner-city residents by using a message that they can relate to. “In an urban church,” Sandoval said, “you need to be someone who looks like the urban industry they’re used to seeing.” Tha Mix International, which Sandoval calls a “hip-hop church,” has ministries that include gang intervention and prevention, a Christian car club, basketball ministries, food drives, mentorships, and many more urban-focused outreaches.

Johnsen, who has been at the Inner City Parish for over 40 years, described what it means to be a multigenerational, spiritual and educational presence on Denver’s west side. The Inner City Parish’s task is “to be a liturgical and progressive church within the main stream community,” Johnsen said. This includes holding food drives, hosting night school and GED classes, summer day camps, a summer lunch program, a senior citizen program, a support system for recently released prisoners, and La Academia, a private school of about 80 at-risk students.

Minister of Peace and Justice for Mennonite Mission Network, Leo Hartshorn of Lancaster, Pa., participates in the urban plunge by drumming as a street musician in downtown Denver. Photo by Brian Yoder Schlabach

Down the street at His Love Fellowship, Abeyta is working with the same type of low-income, mostly Latino “West-siders” as Johnsen is. His Love Fellowship began in 1994 as a response to what has been called Denver’s “summer of violence,” and has been ministering to community members since. Abeyta tries to be a relational church “where people can simply find a relationship with God.”

Urban plunge

After worshiping in area churches on Sunday morning, participants broke into groups to spend the afternoon experiencing the city through an “urban plunge.” Four different groups ventured into the city with the question “what is this place?” on their minds. On the lookout for signs of hope, despair and the Holy Spirit in the city, participants walked the streets and rode public transportation into areas of Denver that might be considered out of their comfort zones.

Groups saw neighborhoods such as Five Points (known as the “Harlem of the west”), East Colfax (once called the “wickedest street in America”) and downtown Denver. They experienced “soft demographics,” Wright said. “Not what you’d find on the census bureau’s Web site.” The goal was not to become experts on the city or to evangelize, but to discover ways to experience a new area.

Eve MacMaster, pastor at Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Gainesville, Fla., said, “We were engaged in conversation with people (on the streets) and intensely with each other by sharing our own stories of being in the city.”

Groups encountered people begging on the streets, homeless people searching for food in dumpsters, and one participant, Leo Hartshorn, minister of Peace and Justice at Mennonite Mission Network, stepped into the shoes of a street performer by bringing his drum and performing on a busy street.
“It was a reminder to be focused on our environment rather than on ourselves, to be aware of who these people are,” MacMaster said. “We aren’t here to give a package of answers, but to be in relationships with the people we encounter.”