If you spend a little time driving around NE Minneapolis, you will notice a few things. You will probably notice that once you get into our target area (which Steve has coined the “Miracle Mile”), the houses are not quite as nice and the neighborhoods not quite as safe and sheltered as other areas of NE Minneapolis. Driving down Central Ave, you’ll see Colombian and Ecuadorian, Middle Eastern, East African, Thai, and Indian restaurants, just to name a few. You’ll see signs in various languages. You may notice the Islamic Cultural Center and a Buddhist Temple, but you’ll also notice this: there are a lot of church buildings. In fact, I am told that NE Minneapolis once held the world record for the most churches meeting on one city block.
So, if there are so many churches around here, why am I dreaming about seeing another one started? Well, that’s what I’m going to be blogging about for a while. While a lot could be said about how these churches fall short, that’s not my focus here. I’m thankful for these churches and hope to work with them as much as possible. May God bless their socks off and give them a powerful impact in this community! But the fact is, there are a whole lot more unchurched and unreached people here than these churches are able to reach. So we keep praying to the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His harvest field.
And as I pray, there are some things I especially ask God to do. I ask that we would be a community centered on Christ, listening like sheep to their shepherd, and living in the power of the Spirit. I ask for proper leadership: elders, deacons, staff people. I ask that our church would be filled with people of all ages from this community and would reflect the ethnic diversity of this neighborhood. I ask for a family of families that meets each others needs so well that the watching world sees that there’s something awesome going on. Yes, and I ask that God will begin this work by raising up leaders from Northeast and relocating people to Northeast.
May we be an incarnational church.
A google search shows me that the words “incarnational ministry” get tossed around a lot. I suppose I better define what I’m talking about. I’m using it in a very general sense to refer to following Jesus’ example in living among the people He ministered to. When Jesus came, he came to the very place we lived. He relocated and dwelt among us—literally “pitched his tent” here on human turf. God incarnated himself in human flesh and breathed the same oxygen molecules that we breathe. And Heaven invaded the culture of Earth.
Jesus shared life with those He ministered to. We see the same thing with Paul, Silas, and Timothy and the Thessalonians: “You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake” (1 Thess. 1:5). “Being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (2:8).
Oh, how I long for a church full of people who live in the same community and work as allies day in and day out to reach that community for Christ. To my knowledge, most of the churches in this area are filled with people who do not live in NE Minneapolis. They are “destination” churches—you come in from the suburbs and go back home—and don’t visit again until next week. Unfortunately, if you don’t live in the community, your impact there is minimal. In the past 17 years, Steve has seen church plants come and leave or rise and fall for that very reason.
People who go into missions overseas understand this. If you’re going to reach a people group, you need to live among them, learn their language, and live somewhere near their socioeconomic level. Then you will be able to develop meaningful relationships with them, show them that you’re there for the long haul, and contextualize the gospel for their culture and situation.
It’s true here too. I wish I had a dime for every time a parent or student here asked me where I live. Living in Northeast Minneapolis (rather than commuting from a suburb) has made an impact on my ability to minister effectively here, and it has helped me gain a lot more trust. Last summer when our whole staff lived here and worked here, we were able to accomplish so much more since we were a team, an alliance, an army in this territory.
Right now we are far from this ideal picture I have in my mind. Don’t get me wrong; I’m extremely thankful for the large force of volunteers that come from Roseville, Downtown Minneapolis, and multiple suburbs! But please pray with me that God will work to raise up leaders from this community and call some to move in.
