Service Provider or Spiritual Community?
Low attendance at an event can be a real downer. It causes me to ask questions that are sometimes productive and other times unproductive. Perhaps the program is failing? Maybe we should stop and/or try something else? Sometimes we might just need a shift in perspective.
Recently I have been chewing on the following… What if we viewed church not as a place to go or as a service provider but as a spiritual community?
The church has programs, worship services, activities, and projects, but it’s more than that!
The church could be thought of as a place that really is the people. Church could be a place where we learn to live out our faith as the young and old, the wealthy and poor, with people of varied backgrounds. There is great diversity in God’s church.
The church is not a place that only talks about intangible, spiritual concepts, but a place that helps us to recognize that everything in life is spiritual. Work. Play. Celebrations. Suffering. Family. Neighbours. Money. All of it has a spiritual component and is developed better in the life of a community.
I was recently watching a man who interviewed people between 75 and 100 years of age. He would ask them the same question. “If you could go back and tell your younger self some advice, what would it be?” Almost all of them said something to the effect of, don’t spend so much time pursuing material things and value my relationships more.
What if the church, as a spiritual community, could help you by providing routines for you to participate in that keep the important things of life in the foreground?
Instead of a program / service provider, a spiritual community develops rhythms and patterns that, through repetition, begin to imbue life with meaning. We build connections, find ways to contribute and grow relationally through conversation. Together we discover meaning and purpose as we journey in the ways of the Lord.
This way of thinking puts low attendance in perspective. Instead of thinking, “We must have done something wrong so let’s change / stop this activity.” One might simply note that fewer people were available to participate in our routine this week and pray for those you missed.
The legitimacy of our activities is not found in the number of people who attend, but rather the way in which the activity contributes to the growth of the community members and connects to our values. Through the days, weeks, months and years, gathering again and again, we begin to notice that slowly, steadily, God really is at work in and through us!
As people are willing and able, they can join in the events that make up the rhythms of the spiritual community… the life of the church. Sunday services, Refuel dinners, Playgroup, Car Care Saturday, Trunk n’ Treat or the Upcycle Toy Drive are all pieces of the practices we participate in as a spiritual community that endeavours to grow as disciples of Jesus who love our neighbours. Church really is about so much more than attendance!
Your Brother in Christ:
Pastor Nate
p.s. I'd love to hear your thoughts in response to these recent musings.