After getting back from D-Fest, I've been thinking seriously about mission and what and how it could (and should?) be. There is one particular issue that's been on my mind in various forms, and is simply this:-how do we reach those who don't fit? I'll explain in a bit, but the background is that most of the talk I've heard about mission/evangelism over the years has been based on basically one premise. We have a community that we are part of, which we call 'church', and at some point, the idea is that people will become part of 'our' community. This often involves going to 'them' first and developing some sort of relationship, but, eventually, we expect/hope that 'they' will join 'us' in 'our' community-and become part of 'us'. Leaving aside for now the point about us all being one church (a different issue, and for practical reasons, not really relevant to this post), I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that. It works for a lot of people, to the extent that we do have genuine community; and the more we work on that, the better it will get. However, what I've been thinking about, as I said, is those who don't fit. I'm not talking about those whose behaviour is not really conducive to the growth of commmunity (all of us?), but those who for one reason or another can't fit into our version of community.
There are lots of them, for one reason or another, and some of them the church (this time I mean all of us) is better at reaching out to than others. The most obvious are students, those in jail, and people serving in the military in some capacity. It's fairly obvious that each of those groups 'don't fit' in the sense that their lifestyle doesn't allow or encourage them to be part of a local Christian community. Strictly speaking, students can-there is nothing physically stopping them-but they would tend to live in a way that sets them apart from non-students. Now, there are official church chaplains for all of those groups, and other forms of Christian outreach for at least two of them; Christians who are there with them, living alongside (or, at least, visiting often), and who build a community there from a postition of understanding. However, there are many other groups and individuals, who for one reason or another or another 'don't fit'. What about travellers or circus performers, for instance? Or people who work at holiday camps, like Butlins, who live onsite? (After going to Spring Harvest for 3 years in a row and seeing several of the same staff, I did start to wonder what their life is like). People in care homes of one sort or another-or hospices? Or even long term patients in hospitals, especially those whose family can't or don't visit? Now, in some ways, I recognise this is somewhat unfair, as most of these people simply cannot leave their situations easily; so, anyone wishing to take Jesus to them would have to be committed to it for the long haul. It's not something you can really do half heartedly.
So, what about those who could physically join a local Christian community, but live in a way that they are unlikely to come across anyone who might want to introduce them to Him? I mean, for instance, those who mainly work at festivals (as cleaning staff, security, stallholders, etc). Or, on a somewhat subtler level, how about those who work in local nightclubs or music venues:- owners, bar staff, AV guys, even DJs and bands? I'm not saying that they wouldn't ever come across Christians (most of us do believe we're allowed out now and again), but that when they do, they probably wouldn't notice. With probably hundreds of people passing by them every week, how are any of them going to stand out? The only answer I can think of is the answer Jesus modelled, and what He told us to do, indirectly; and that is to build relationships with them. On an ongoing basis. For as long as it takes. In whatever way we can. Which for some of us may mean becoming bar staff, or even a DJ/musician. But not, repeat not, in order to 'reach out'. The only way we can 'reach out' and earn the opportunity to share Jesus is to live. With integrity and living a full life, the life He promised. So, if He has given you a gift of music, then use it and enjoy it to the best of your ability. But, if you just happen to be someone going along to the pub or club on a fairly regular basis, you can do so without leaving Jesus behind when you go. And then maybe, you may end up leaving Jesus with someone when you leave there.
These are just some thoughts, some questions, maybe some answers. Let me know what you think. . .
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