And Then There Were Three: Death and Resurrection in the Mission of God
By Nancy Moore and Paul Detterman
Once upon a time, in an era that seems a long time ago, in a culture that now seems far away, five Presbyterian congregations thrived in Northeast Los Angeles, California. They were middle class congregations proclaiming Christ in middle class neighborhoods with choirs and youth groups, children and families. Then the freeways came through and people moved further from the city. Once-stable neighborhoods began to change and once-stable congregations began to struggle. Four of the five survived.
The four remaining congregations tried to take on the challenge of change, each identifying an area of need. One fed over 200 families weekly in their food program, another offered its building to a range of area ministries, another opened a preschool, and another cared for a growing homeless population. But gangs soon claimed more of the streets and drugs became a common commodity. As the faces of God’s people continued to change their need for the Body of Christ only intensified. The challenge, at times, seemed impossible.
The four Presbyterian congregations dwindled in membership but continued in ministry until last week when another church closed. Some wonder how long the three remaining ministries can survive. Can they forgo even more individual history and distinctive identity for the sake of mission in the Body of Christ?
This scenario describes thousands of congregations in neighborhoods across the USA, all of whom are facing similar challenges albeit in differing contexts. Many wonder when they will die. But Christ’s resurrection destroyed the power of death and, in Northeast LA, God’s resurrection people are fighting back. The Body of Christ is alive and on the move—in the face of seemingly relentless evil, Christ’s people are offering hope and healing, comfort and shalom. Here is just one story.
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church is no stranger to adaptive change. A 1971 earthquake destroyed their sanctuary. They responded by repurposing the fellowship hall for more flexible worship. That was only one of the changes God would use to prepare them for participation in his current mission.
Eighteen months ago the congregation began a worship service Sunday afternoon at 5:30, offering an alternative to the style and the hour of Sunday morning. Employing her spiritual gift of hospitality, the pastor’s wife prepared a weekly meal. People in the community have responded—including an increasingly large number who are homeless. Some come for worship—some come only for the meal. But the number of people being reached with the truth and the justice of the gospel has continued to grow as has the impact of this ministry. They packed the worship space for the baptism of the first homeless believer, Pastor Jeff Howard recalls, offering the opportunity to both explain and embody the love of Jesus to many people who had little knowledge of him. Three homeless men now prepare the weekly meal, and an abundance of donated food and other commodities is available to help people in need begin their week. People may come to the building for church, but they quickly discover that Christ lives on the streets.
Another new opportunity for worship has begun on Sunday afternoons at 3:00. Still in its infancy, attendance at this service is also growing. This multi racial, multi cultural, multi generational, multi social congregation that includes a growing number of children is intentionally building connections with community leaders who are encouraged to become a more integral part of the community they serve. “Church is not only about meeting Jesus,” says Nancy Moore, parish associate and lead pastor for the 3:00 service, “but about meeting Jesus and connecting into his life in the community.”
And networks of ministry are growing. Because people in this urban neighborhood tend to trust the churches more than they trust municipal authorities, ministers are building networks of information, support, and mission, among the area’s radically different congregations and also with the police department, the schools, the health department, and children’s services. Presbyterians bring unique gifts to this consortium, speaking to municipal leaders on behalf of the Body of Christ in language and systems they understand.
These collaborations have born amazing fruit: a peace march involving over 2500 people; a day-long fiesta in a dangerous drug enclave that paved the way for ongoing ministry to area children in need; engaging neighborhood people to safely escort children to school and mentor students in the afternoons; even a prayer vigil on the site of a horrific school shooting, providing comfort and hope to the families and friends of the victims, and uniting police, neighbors, and the community in a witness that evil cannot prevail here—
Jesus Christ is alive!
Death and resurrection are realities in the Mission and in the Kingdom of God. Congregations, like individuals, must be willing to die to further the mission of Christ—reaching people, whatever their need, with his promise of love, and life, and resurrection. The death of beloved congregations, like the death of loved ones, is painful. In a neighborhood where five congregations once lived, now there are three. But painful ending can birth new and greater purpose and mission. The living Lord Jesus Christ still walks the streets of Northeast LA, embodied by people who, in the name of their risen Lord, are reclaiming his Father’s world, one transformed life at a time.
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