I've been spending a lot of my time this summer working at a ministry of FBC Abilene called City Light. Its a sort of a combo soup kitchen/church/social ministry a la Mission Waco or Mission Arlington. The ministry serves lunch three times a week, offers personal assistance for bills and gas, provides showers and laundry, and offers a worship service every Sunday morning.
We are closed this week for yearly maintenance. Once a year the whole operation shuts down for a week so carpets can be shampooed, ovens scraped clean, floors waxed, and pantries sorted. It's a pretty massive endeavor.
Yesterday as I was helping scrub down a serving station, one the directors began to tell me about something that happened earlier in the day. A couple of the regulars are lending a hand during the week with all of the maintenance. She approached one of them to say thank you for helping out and his response was amazing. He looked at her and said, "Why wouldn't I help? This is my church."
"This is my church."
Before that moment I hadn't really thought of City Light as a church. After all, it is a ministry of another church, FBC Abilene, and I'm not sure that it does things like baptism or eucharist. But when I heard that statement I realized that City Light most definitely is Church for these people even if it doesn't have a couple of the hallmarks we normally associate with a local congregation.
In fact, City Light might be more Church than a lot of our churches. This place meets the needs of its congregation in holistic ways. It doesn't just provide a spiritual fix for them one day a week. No, it offers them physical nourishment with meals throughout the week. It gives them a place to clean up and helps them to make ends meet if they can't quite pay rent. It gives them a ride to work when their gas tank is empty. It provides a place of fellowship and solidarity with others that are having a rough time in life. Because of this holistic vision of redemption and service, I honestly believe City Light is functioning more like the Church than many of our churches.
What can I do back home to encourage this sort of holistic vision of salvation? How can I allow my congregation to play this type of central role in my own life?
We are closed this week for yearly maintenance. Once a year the whole operation shuts down for a week so carpets can be shampooed, ovens scraped clean, floors waxed, and pantries sorted. It's a pretty massive endeavor.
Yesterday as I was helping scrub down a serving station, one the directors began to tell me about something that happened earlier in the day. A couple of the regulars are lending a hand during the week with all of the maintenance. She approached one of them to say thank you for helping out and his response was amazing. He looked at her and said, "Why wouldn't I help? This is my church."
"This is my church."
Before that moment I hadn't really thought of City Light as a church. After all, it is a ministry of another church, FBC Abilene, and I'm not sure that it does things like baptism or eucharist. But when I heard that statement I realized that City Light most definitely is Church for these people even if it doesn't have a couple of the hallmarks we normally associate with a local congregation.
In fact, City Light might be more Church than a lot of our churches. This place meets the needs of its congregation in holistic ways. It doesn't just provide a spiritual fix for them one day a week. No, it offers them physical nourishment with meals throughout the week. It gives them a place to clean up and helps them to make ends meet if they can't quite pay rent. It gives them a ride to work when their gas tank is empty. It provides a place of fellowship and solidarity with others that are having a rough time in life. Because of this holistic vision of redemption and service, I honestly believe City Light is functioning more like the Church than many of our churches.
What can I do back home to encourage this sort of holistic vision of salvation? How can I allow my congregation to play this type of central role in my own life?
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