I led an evangelism training seminar yesterday – my first since moving to Michigan. It was different from those I had led in the past largely because the church who hosted the seminar was a country church. That’s different because the other seminars I’ve done have been conducted in metropolitan areas – the thinking is different, the experiences are different, the culture is different…so much is different.
For the most part the seminar went pretty smoothly. I actually really enjoyed the crowd – probably the most interactive I’ve experienced yet. But as I was driving out to the church, I began to realize that many of my usual examples and illustrations simply could not transfer to the audience I was about to speak to. Initially, I wasn’t too concerned about it…I did grow up in a small farming community, in a farming family, and ran around with mostly farm-kids. I overestimated my ability to relate to an agricultural community. Over the past 7 years I’ve largely forgotten what it’s like to live in a small town.
I did manage to develop a good rapport with the group (so much so that they put me on their list of guest preachers despite the fact that I’m not yet licensed in the CRC) drawing on my experience in Sumas, WA, a town probably twice the size of where we were. The audience understood what I was talking about, I communicated on their terms, and when all was said and done, it was a good day.
But the experience drove home for me the importance of considering the context within which ministry is occurring. I realized very quickly that I was not going to be able to address this group in the same way I had with other groups. Ministry looks much different in an agricultural setting than it does in an urban or suburban setting. And it’s absolutely necessary that a ministry leader take those different dynamics into consideration when working with people. You can’t talk about sharing the Gospel over a “Grande no-whip 3-pump peppermint peppermint mocha” with people who live 30 miles from the nearest Starbucks and drink their coffee black. Likewise, you can seldom talk about the local coffee shop where the same group of people go every night and sit at the same table after the evening milking with city-dwellers.
But it was fun and I learned a lot through that experience.
Oh, and just for information…the August, 2008 Banner will be publishing an article I wrote entitled “Re-Applying the Great Commission” (assuming they don’t change the title). Be looking for it. Also feel free to check out the Evangelism Training page on my blog. For more information about what happens, feel free to email me.
Filed under: Christianity, Church, Evangelism, Leadership, Ministry, Random
