Community Not Product in Christian Formation
It is that time of year. I have watched a parade of posts on Facebook over the last few weeks. We are knee deep in VBS season. It is that wild and wonderful season where we sink months of planning and prayer into what will span five, short days. So much love and so many resources are invested⊠and just like that, it is over. The same is true for mission trips and summer camps. How can it be more? How can it last longer? How can it go deeper? How do we stretch it out so that it isnât about episodic ministry but rather a part of a woven fabric of faith building and sharing? It is an amazing gift to have such a condensed amount of time together, a time that can be so much more than the 45 minutes we have on Sunday. During my time as a professional organizer, I preached the âgospelâ of staying ahead of yourself as a way to organize. (If you had a container to put the outgrown clothing into then it wouldnât pile up on the floors of the closet. If you had a recycling bin in your garage then the junk mail didnât have to even enter your door and become a landslide on your kitchen counter.) The same is true in ministry. What could we have in place and ready to go to support the ongoing sense of community? How can we make connection more than just an afterthought? Each place has its own answers but I will offer a few to get your brain percolating.
Emily is the Director of Children and Family Ministry at Saint Michael and All Angels Church – Dallas, TX. Emily has also served as a social worker, professional organizer, and educator in addition to being a mixed media artist and mother of two daughters.
- What if we really wanted to create âsticky faithâ and not just put on a top notch Jesus party or be Theo-tourism guides?
- What if there was a spiritual component that could be shared with the parents/grandparents/adults for evening conversation?
- What if resources from the week could be posted and shared online for families who were unable to attend?
- What if there were videos (as short as Instagram and Vine or as long as a produced video) posted each day?
- What if you used the music in worship through the year?
- What if there were prayer partners given on the last day and a plan for a reunion?
- What if the email lists were used for targeted communication throughout the year?
- What if there were small groups that people could join?
- What if a list of other summer activities was posted in many forums?
- What if clergy were present to pastoral care and connection? Mission trips, VBS and camps often attract inactive members who could use love and support beyond the event.
- What if the group would blog about their experiences and then after the event, it remained a place for reflections, resources, online message boards? (Tumblr is an easy platform for this.)
- What if families were given faith in the home resources as a thank you for participating?
- What if you selected points in the year to send out photos and remembrances of the event along with an invitation to something else?
- What if the counselor or leader continued contact with their groups throughout the year?
- What if there was a resource website that could be shared as a way to curate helpful, real life resources for all the situations of life?
- VBS, camp and mission trips can be so much more if we focus on community and not about product. Together we can write a faith story that is filled with love, connection and grace. It is the place where faith can take root like no other places if we just notice the power of the moment and the gifts of the people gathered.
- What if we stepped away from the distancing language that says these events are âcrazy busyâ and âeat usâ? It causes a culture of leadership avoidance because it leads people to believe that their gifts arenât big enough or good enough⊠or that they donât have enough time.
Emily is the Director of Children and Family Ministry at Saint Michael and All Angels Church – Dallas, TX. Emily has also served as a social worker, professional organizer, and educator in addition to being a mixed media artist and mother of two daughters.