I spent the weekend in Ft. Wayne, visiting my sister and her various amazing friends. They are hosting two kids from our home church for the month of July, giving them a real ministry experience. And this is nothing new to my sister and her roommate Hannah, or their neighbors Todd and Joe. The past two years have been cram packed with full-time ministry in that community, most specifically to the international teens and their families. But recent changes in responsibilities and living situations have given a new twist to the possibilities.
If you keep up with her blog [link], you'll notice that Connie can't stop talking about "organic ministry" and living in community. This has been her heart for a long time, but as I witnessed this weekend, it is finally becoming a reality. For these kids visiting for the month, missions projects aren't looking like your normal youth initiatives. They're not passing out tracks or working at soup kitchens or putting on puppet shows for backyard bible schools. These things are all great, but there's more to ministry than planned programs.
Instead, Richard sits on Todd's porch for an afternoon and the two of them rebuild a pile of 17 broken dining room chairs; next thing they know, neighbors are joining in with power tools and conversations. We wandered around a festival downtown and explored the park, running into friends that Connie and Hannah have come to know over the past few years. We ate ice-cream and hung out at an outdoor concert, mingled with strangers and visited new churches outside our norm.
We weren't an outside ministry coming into the community, we were the community - just as much a part of it as the homeless guy on the bridge or the family at Sub-way (eat fresh!). And within that, as an intricate member of that community, we shined Jesus. Organic ministry is this; living in such a way that you not only look for Christ in everyday life, but you show Christ in everyday life. It's the epitome of giving your all to Him, because then there is no "off-day" or vacation in ministry, it's just who you are.
So the missions trip experience Richard and Moriah are getting is really a life lesson we all need to grasp onto - that ministry is not a 5-day program, it's the life you lead and the testimony you walk. We all know the mission trip high, the mountain of spirituality you come tumbling off of a week after you get home. I don't think there's room for that decline here in this experience, because it's not a dynamic high, it's not a change in your routine, per say; it's just your life.
Quick ad here: If you want to go up and do life with Connie and Hannah and their whole posse sometime, for any length of time, you're invited. They've been told they live in an African house because their door is always open and they always have company around. So give them a call if you have one of their numbers, or leave a comment on Connie's blog [link again] and they'll make it happen. Just prepare yourself for two things - nonstop action, and an all-out wild card in your concept of ministry.
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