Articles
MISSION: RESEDA
07/02/10
MISSION:RESEDA is a dynamic community outreach split into three phases. The success of the mission requires that three components be fully operational prior to initiation. These parts are outreach, prayer and community service or what we like to call Door-to-Door, Intercessors, and Acts of Kindness. Following is an outline of the three phases. The Mission:Reseda handbook is a detailed directive for Phase One and is available upon request.
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Phase One: Adopt a Block
Phase One is intended for the church to do as a group. In this phase your congregation will move in teams of two through the neighborhoods that your church selects to adopt with the purpose of making connections with the people who live there. This is an opportunity to meet the people, practice acts of kindness, pray for them, and find out how your church can respond to the needs of the neighborhood. There is no end to the creative ways to extend love to your particular community. We cleaned alleys, painted houses with a local housing association, trimmed trees, washed cars, and made our church a home to free community resources like a foreclosure clinic and the LA River Revitalization program. Phase one is vital not only for the local community, but also for your congregation. Immersing your congregation in the larger community dispels the fear that many may have of relating to people in the neighborhood. It builds confidence that they can bring the love of God to the person down the street in a natural and nonreligious way.
Phase One also breaks down barriers in your community and can alter the negative stereotypes that many have about the church. When people begin to see that we can love them without a coercive spirit, they start to see us for who and what we are. They can move beyond stereotypes and in some cases, past negative experiences as well. There is a reason that Luke states in Acts 2:47 that there was a favorable response to the church on the part of the community. He writes about the church “…having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.” (NIV®) It was a loving community of believers that positively impacted the lives of those in the city of Jerusalem.
Phase Two: Follow Up
Phase Two is a transition phase in which we follow up on those neighbors who responded favorably to their Door-to-Door visits and/or Acts of Kindness experiences during Phase One. For example, those that had expressed a desire to receive prayer are revisited to see how they are doing. Here is a chance to hear how our neighbors feel about the recent move of the church. One woman from our community attended a Sunday morning service following Phase One and shared with the congregation why she came to our church that day. She closed with this: “What you are doing is working. Don’t stop.” She enthusiastically attends regularly as a result of God's people moving beyond the walls of the church.
Phase Three: Houses of Light
Phase Three is where all of these efforts are leading. This is where the real work begins. Now the ministry in the community moves away from a top-down leadership structure and moves into neighborhood ministry, with the people of the church beginning to take responsibility for their own neighborhoods. The following direction Jesus gave to His disciples has had a profound impact on how we view ministry in our community: “Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town,” Matthew 10:11-14. We believe Jesus was not just speaking to His disciples, but He seems to be laying out a strategy for His Church for the spread of the gospel and His kingdom. We try to reach out to the lost in our community, but it is often in very unnatural ways. We have now appointed Neighborhood Ministry Coordinators who serve where they live and are establishing what we call “Houses of Light.” Each "House of Light" continues to employ "Intercessors" and a "Door-to-Door" team for regular support and it is here that we become tiny seeds of yeast being worked through the massive dough of our city transforming it from the inside through kindness, authentic friendship, and community.
For more information on how to become a part of Mission: Reseda at the Valley Vineyard or to receive a detailed packet on how to implement this mission in your church, contact Pastor Lynn Cory at lynncory@valleyvineyard.org
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