Day-long mission workshop
challenges EPC churches to reach out
By Edward Terry, The Layman, June 25, 2009
BRIGHTON, Mich. – Before getting down to official denominational business, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church spent a day learning how to be better missionaries in their own communities.
The 27th General Assembly, hosted by Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Brighton, Mich., kicked off June 24 as commissioners packed the sanctuary for soulful singing and lively worship. The opening plenary session featured international speaker Dr. John Perkins who set the tone for the day.
His sermon was on the Church moving away from its foundation as “self-defined” Christians spend too much time on issues, rather than being a light to the world.
“We’ve defined Christianity based on the mood we’re in … we can be Christians and accommodate racism and bigotry; we can be Christians and accommodate war and violence,” he said. “The Church is to be the replacement, the continuation of Christ’s body here on Earth. That’s what makes the Church significant, and we’ve individualized it.”
Perkins, who spoke on issues such as racism and justice, offered a five-point plan for the Church to build its foundation on Jesus Christ. He called on the Church to return to truth, de-hijack prayer, take the Gospel to all mankind, restore the communal body and to be intentional.
Following the group session, Perkins taught a small group workshop on “Evangelicals and Overcoming the Problem of Race in America.”
Perkins, author of Let Justice Roll Down, helped form the Christian Community Development Association, as well as founding Voice of Calvary Ministries in Mendenhall, Miss., the Harambee Christian Family Center and the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development.
The Rev. Nate Atwood of Kempsville Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach, Va., and moderator-elect, was pleased with the four-day assembly’s strong start and hopes participants walk away feeling glad they came.
“We’d like it to be a training and equipping event, as well as a getting-the-business-of-the-church done event,” he said.
Of course, the business of the church includes reaching out to the poor and the “unchurched,” which were covered in a variety of presentations and workshops.
Morning and afternoon breakout sessions focused on subjects such as mercy ministries and urban-suburban partnerships. All were under with the umbrella theme “Mission Possible: Serving the Weak, Wounded and Without in Your City.” Guest speakers included Perkins, Dr. Robert Lupton, Dr. Amy Sherman, Dr. Rodger Woodworth, the Rev. Kevin Brown, Chris Martin, Dr. Randy Brown and Dr. Eli Morris.
The small-group sessions offered in-depth looks at a variety of philosophies and strategies for mission work. For example, Morris’ session, “How to Start an Effective Inner-City Mission in Your Non-Inner-City Church,” outlined the mission work of Hope Presbyterian in Memphis, Tenn. The 5,000-seat church offers a variety of missions, including a tutoring program at an elementary school, urban vacation Bible school, neighborhood development and financial coaching for the poor.
Morris stressed that congregations of all sizes can put their resources to work for the poor with a little creativity, and offered ideas and strategies for doing so. He encouraged developing three levels of mission commitment, specifically for those who are “testing the waters,” “starting to swim” and have “taken the plunge.” He also offered a list of roadblocks, such as fear, apathy and distance, and strategies on overcoming them.
“There’s a Biblical mandate to serve the poor,” he said. “We can all do this. It’s going to look different in every place, but we can all do this.”
According to the afternoon plenary session presenter, Dr. Robert Lupton, president of Family Consultation Service Urban Ministries in Atlanta, suburban congregations won’t have to go far in the future to serve the poor and downtrodden as traditional inner-city populations begin moving into the suburbs.
Looking back several decades, Lupton recounted the migration of investment, residents and the Church from inner cities to the suburbs. Through a process called gentrification, the inner cities are coming back to life with new investment. Though it’s improving conditions in urban areas, it’s also pushing out the poor.
“They will be moved out like sheep – scattered without a shepherd,” he said, adding that many churches aren’t prepared to serve this population.
He sees two options for urban missions in the future: migrant ministries that follow the poor and community development, which ultimately helps the poor stay in communities where they are being priced out.
Lupton challenged all churches to use the variety of talents, such as members with real estate experience, for those ministries. Citing his organization’s work in Atlanta, Lupton has helped fight the challenges that the poor in his neighborhood face through creative solutions to all-too-common problems.
He told of Christians in his inner-city neighborhood banding together to purchase and rehab a home that a member of his church could no longer afford to rent. They then sold her the property at a discount, which made her house payment half what she was paying in rent. The effort helped a fellow Christian and brightened the neighborhood, leading to more neighborhood residents stepping up for similar assistance.
“The church in our country is not at all proud of what we did in the ‘60s and ‘70s when we suburbanized with the rest of our population,” he said, adding that the move abandoned the most vulnerable. Now that the inner city is re-emerging economically and pushing out the disenfranchised, he offered a challenge for suburban churches.
“Will we move again?,” he asked. “Will we repeat a history we are not proud of?”
The day was capped with the evening worship celebration, which featured the host church’s Cornerstone Music Ministry. Day 2 was scheduled to begin with Dr. Richard Alberta preaching at the opening worship session and two assembly sessions scheduled. Dr. S. Donald Fortson III will speak at the evening worship session.