A Marketplace Community?
April 11, 2010
A MARKETPLACE COMMUNITY What if you hadn’t been to church in years, were looking for a spiritual community, loved to hike and ski, and wished you could come down from the mountains and soak up a great discussion over hot chocolate and cinnamon toast?
What if you were from a church where they had great speakers and a great praise band, but you just felt lost in the crowd and wished you were a part of something a bit more intimate where you really had a vital role to play?
What if you were from a church where things were pretty well set when it came to format and style, you had some ideas for something new and different and wished you had some group support for creativity?
What if you weren’t interested in church or religion, but felt strongly about current moral or social or environmental values of your community, and wished you had a place where you could openly explore your personal values?
What if you have been a Christian for a long time, you feel like your really just going through the motions, even feeling downright bored, and wished there was a group with a strong sense of mission that was tangible, where you could wear your flannels and get dirt under your fingernails?
Join us this weekend at ConneXions as we explore how in practical terms we can take our mission and ministry to the next level; to do what we’ve really felt called to as honest followers of Christ.
“Okay, Craigan, we’ve heard you the the other leaders talk about mission and ministry for the past six months. Now we’re hearing about a church plant? This is crazy. What’s the scoop?”
“True, there is more to the story. In fact there are some very serious questions on the table. So, as a preview, I invite you to read on.”
Question: Isn’t the thrust of the Bible a call to unity? Why would we even consider separating?
Response: The Bible calls for unity. Christ also says his disciples will be known for their love. There are some members who are just plain uncomfortable with change, even if there are good reasons for change, even if it is in separate services. We want to respect their need for a sense of security, their desire to hold to tradition. That is our way of showing them love. As far as the call to unity, both groups are absolutely united in a desire to further the Kingdom of God, just using separate methods for separate people groups.
Question: What are you wanting to do that is so radical?
Response: The bottom line is that the more we have studied and prayed as leaders, the more we have felt the call to ministry to our Bend community…our unchurched community. That requires us meeting them where THEY are. Which, believe it or not, means getting out of the church, getting downtown, developing a place and space where people of varying walks of life feel safe. Perhaps it begins with a Sunday evening series on C.S. Lewis. Perhaps we move Band of Brothers downtown, turn on some music, pull out the blender and make Oreo milkshakes, invite some guys down for a brainstorming session on forming a team for habitat for humanity. Perhaps we turn up our praise band and let it go for 45 min on a Saturday night and follow it with some simple sharing on how God is working in your life, how you need prayer for a battle you are up against, how God seems to be drawing you into a new intimacy with him. Perhaps we open up on a Friday night for soup, bread, blankets and may some clean laundry for the homeless hungry of Bend. Sure Christ went to church to worship, but when he went to minister, he went and mixed with the people.
Question: What about First Serve and ConneXions, are they going to continue?
Response: Wouldn’t it be great if they just continued and we started this Marketplace Community as an outreach or extension of what we’re already doing? The answer to that really comes down to people power, resources and comfort levels. If First Serve or ConneXions better serve Bend at church, Amen to that! If they better serve Bend downtown, Amen to that! We really want just want to follow God’s lead!
Question: Speaking of resources, how exactly to you see the nuts and bolts of this type of outreach coming together?
Response: A search online last week lead a couple of us to check out a spot downtown. About 1500 sq ft between the old down town and the mill district; actually right near the WebCyclery if you know where that is. Adding in the triple net, they are asking about $0.81 per sq ft comes to around $1,300 a month. There’s a large room for worshiping, some smaller rooms for discussion groups, a bathroom and a kitchen-type area. A bit of a warehouse feel which would respond well to some tables, chairs, painting, and lighting to give it the cozy café’ setting we’re looking for.
Question: Okay, but who’s leading out?
Response: That’s the beauty. You are. We are. This is lay lead. People don’t come to attend. They come to participate and to find out how they can contribute. This is a ministry in action. If there is something truly radical about the concept, it is that this community is one of faith in action, of Christ’s love made tangible. This is point. The prime directive. There is no other reason for this Marketplace Community to exist.
Question: What does the conference think about this? Are they and Pastor Jerry supportive?
Response: They are supportive of a group stepping out in faith that 1) has a vision for mission, 2) has a core group of committed leadership, 3) has local church support. There are also some things they would not support – leaving because of some kind of rift, leaving over music style, or leaving as part of abandoning the Adventist beliefs. So they know we are gnawing on this, but it is up to us to make it happen. What about Pastor Jerry? Pastor Jerry has been itching for action for a long time. You can ask him.
Question: Do you have a specific time line?
Response: Of course. Not. We are depending on God on the timing. So some of you may be surprised by the suddenness of all of this. But the leadership has been grappling with these issues since before the inception of ConneXions, much less First Serve. There has been a looming question: Where are the young adults, the young families, the college and high school kids? How do we connect with people who came to Bend because they were seeking a different life from the pace of the big city. And of course, from the very roots of our church itself, the founders of Adventism, there has been the question: What message does God have for us to bring to this generation? And a willingness to break from the status quo in order to make that happen. Not as a rebellion, but as a call so compelling, there was no turning from it.
Question: Shouldn’t we be giving this a lot more study and prayer?
Response: Of course. Absolutely. That is our and your first and most important task. And know that your leaders have been studying it and praying over it. And we can no longer sit on it. I can honestly tell you, we can no longer be silent. We feel compelled to share the vision that we believe is biblical, God given, and burning in our hearts. And people we have spoken to and church groups we have met with even in the past two weeks have confirmed the path we believe we are compelled to take if we are going to honestly be able to continue to consider ourselves as followers of Christ. And so we must begin, now, to study and pray…even fast in whatever way is relevant for you…so we will have the ears to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd and be willing to follow.
A Parting Thought: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to read the rest from this author. Craigan Griffin is a local doctor and outdoorsman, who loves his family and living in Bend. He is a lay leader in ConneXions and has a passion for exploring the Word and pursuing the Way. 
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