The Results Are In
Texas came to Springfield to beat the street!
Just Ask the Question
I grew up in Springfield where our church is planting. In fact, if all works out, we will meet in the library of Springfield High School where I graduated a millennia ago. That’s gonna be a trip. But, I also wanted to know more about who it was that lived down there. The ones who frequented the many establishments downtown, those who ascended the steps to the public library, and who rode our public transit system. Do they go to church? Do they come from a churched background? What do they need?
So, per Pastor Brandon’s recommendation we just asked them! A novel thought I know.
A group of college students came up from Texas to help the labors of churches up here and were gracious enough to join us for two days. So we trained Tuesday and hit the street Wednesday. We equipped the students with a theological foundation and fuel for prayer, evangelism, and church planting. It was a great time discussing the differences in cultures, the church, and how prayer is the work.
So what did we find?
Slow down tiger, we’ll get there. The morning was dedicated to prayer. We sectioned the Pioneer-Mohawk window into three sectors and sent teams out to pray. We prayed for our city, its leaders, our neighbors, the schools, law enforcement, rich soil for evangelism, the right folks for the church plant, and ultimately God’s glory to be known there.
Then we had lunch! Gerry and several women from her small group provided meals both days for us. They were a huge blessing for our team. Just as good if not better than the food was that they stuck around and visited with the college students and got to know them and encourage them in their faith. It was a delight to see God’s body working across generations.
After lunch we finally hit the street. We broke up into three groups again and sent teams to Willamalane Park, downtown Springfield Main Street, the bus station, the Public House, and the public library.
Total Surveyed: ≈15
Churchgoers: 4
Family Churchgoers: 13
Interested in Follow-up: 1
If the math doesn’t math, just trust me. There weren’t as many people as we’d hoped, it was a beautiful day but also midweek. We didn’t qualify any of the questions. However, from our discussion it was clear that even those who attended church maybe 1 attended a Gospel church. Additionally when asked how a church could make an impact in the community, much of what we heard was around material needs. Primarily food.
Now what?
Well we learned that most people have no experience with a church. Those who do only know of it through family such as grandparents. While a fair amount of people didn’t want to talk with our groups, nobody was openly hostile. Maybe two showed anything less than a polite decline.
The first thing that is clear is that if this is an accurate snapshot of our neighborhood, then the soil is full of potential. While we have Catholic, Lutheran, and various other churches in the neighborhood, there doesn’t seem to be a strong conviction among the people. This only confirmed my theory that our area was largely unchurched, perhaps spiritual but not religious. This is helpful when considering how we can approach Gospel conversations with folks.
The second thing that is clear is that in the minds of the those we surveyed, the church could be a source of food. This is not a bad thing. However, that is not the church’s primary purpose. There are many open doors to the church, figuratively speaking, and food can be an effective one. Jesus fed thousands, but He also condemned them for seeking the food and not the bread of life. This has given me some more food for thought.
Sunday Sermon
Our third week in Habakkuk brought hope and assurance in the presence of suffering by rooting us in God’s justice and mercy. Take a listen!
Moving Day
Next Tuesday 6|30 we will be moving Linda one of our planters with us into a new spot! We’re thrilled for her and her husband Andy to be able to have a place of their own, but we need help getting them there. If there are any who are willing to help me help her move, please let me know! We’ll be meeting in the morning, grabbing lunch, and then finishing up afterwards.
Prayer Requests
Pray for the outreach team as they are still at work in Albany. Our hope is that this was a spiritual productive time for them and that they go back home and to their college with something they didn’t have before.
Pray for a dear sister of Gerry’s, her name is June Johnson. She has been a long-term missionary and is now battling an aggressive form of cancer. She’s pictured below.
Pray for Teresa, a woman we met in our surveying, who has breast cancer.
Pray for Pastor Matt as he will be flying back from Oklahoma this week from vacation.
