Missional in Suburbia
Tomorrow I’m teaching a day of a Missional Church class the my friend Rob does at Whitworth University. In the past I’ve found that a lot of folks in class struggle with seeing what being missional looks like in urban settings but have a much harder time getting it for suburban and rural areas. I asked my friend Matt Bowen to share a bit about his experience of being at a larger established church in Beaverton as it has experienced transition towards being more missional in its alignment, and thought I’d share it here as well.
Has the church in suburbia any chance at success in missional engagement? I recently met a church planter in my city who works in an urban context. When I disclosed the fact that I am a pastor in one of our city’s suburban areas, he became noticeably uninterested in our conversation. I concluded that mission in suburbia didn’t make the cut for this planter when it comes to worthwhile conversations.
My sense is that both the great commission and Jesus’ sending statement in Acts 1:8 leave no room for turf wars when it comes to the necessity and urgency of the missio Dei in all contexts.
However, I understand the church planter’s dismissal as well. Aren’t larger suburban churches known for high program overhead, internal focus, and large staffing budgets? Are they not the progenitors of Christian subculture rather than missional counter- culture? These are important questions, not to be avoided.
However, as with all mission activity, the validity of the endeavor is not rooted in the opinions of others or the historical baggage associated, but in the call of God and the movement of the Spirit of God. Here are a few ways that we are paying attention to and attempting to live in harmony with the Holy Spirit’s movement of the church into suburban mission:
Community: Our best expressions of mission have been the smaller communities in our church that believe they are called to share life together. The hospitality they demonstrate to neighbors and friends and the love they have for one another bears fruit for mission, even in the ‘burbs. We believe that even though people close their garage doors the moment they drive home, they have an innate longing to belong. Thus our groups are a powerful expression for mission when they take their call seriously. The more “successful” expressions of community have intentionally cultivated a presence in both public/social space among neighbors and place a high value on relationships. One group began a community garden that mostly hosts un-churched neighbors. Another group has embedded in a network of jazz musicians and offers a space each week to jam. Another group is making inroads into parents of teens by getting involved in the public schools and offering a place to be with other parents wrestling through similar issues. They key in each group seems to be a place to be oneself among others who accept and care in a context that is typically indifferent.
Service: A church that serves its neighborhood without asking for anything back makes a dent. Recently we began a ministry that offers a free meal every week. It is offered in our building because we have the facilities to prepare a lot of food and host a lot of people. The reality of the suburbs is often very different beneath the surface than the way it appears above. Many people are hurting financially even thought they live in an area of town that appears comfortable and affluent. While people can receive a meal once a week, the real hope is that they will meet a loving family of faith that will journey alongside them. Another way our church is able to serve is through a food pantry that offers help to those in need. While these modes of service offer relief, some of the best service is the long term commitments we have with local schools or organizations that have primary expertise in transitioning people into stability and health. Much could be said about the resources available in suburban church contexts to serve the world. We seem to have an ever increasing population of people who are getting creative about serving their contexts and bringing others along in their mission.
Children: One of the elements often overlooked in much of the missional conversation is what to do with children. Many organic forms of mission might not always have some of the safety elements that the typical suburban parent would expect when considering the needs of their children. One way that we have found solid missional engagement is to serve families by providing space for kids that is protected and free. We have provided date nights for free and summer camps that many parents in the neighborhood take advantage of. Often times the gospel finds its road into the family through the kids.
In many ways our church is transitioning from a predominantly Christendom-era church to a more fully missional ecclesiology. Since it is a large suburban church we are experimenting all the time while moving the people we have into new forms of community and new contexts of service. We are frequently finding that many are already engaged and merely needing encouragement and validation that their lives are missional in orientation. It is important to keep mission at the forefront of our ecclesial imagination through teaching, telling stories and celebrating people who take risks. The more people catch a vision of the kingdom the more excited and inventive they become in living out mission in suburbia.
