Why Our First 3 Articles? Listening to Love
- Ben Ward
- Feb 11, 2022
- 2 min read
If you haven't seen our most recent articles (also our first three!), then you can check them out on the home page. These are three examples of using qualitative research in a missional context. Specifically, each project helped a church build engagement opportunities with its surrounding community.
Why is that important?
Well, its kind of like marriage counseling. You to have to listen to your spouse to love them well. Similar to the call to love our spouse in an understanding way (1 Peter 3:7), church's need to love their neighborhoods in an understanding way.
One of the authors of the articles, Nathan Ivey, told me an amazing illustration of this principle. A church he helped wanted to reach out to their community, and so they decided to put on the most amazing summer street party the community has ever seen. After all the planning, resources, and volunteers put the party together; the turnout was laughably poor. They didn't know what happened and why no one showed up.
After going through a process listening to the community, Nathan and others were surprised to hear the community actually wanted the church to host a street party. But they begged for a Fall Festival not a summer street party. So, the church adjusted and partnered with the community to host a Fall Festival the following year.
The next year, the church saw 1000 people show up.
By simply listening before loving, the church capitalized on an amazing opportunity to engage with their community in a reciprocal relationship.
Read the articles, and daydream engaging your own context through listening
Don’t take my word for it, read the examples. When you do I encourage you to reach out to Seed to Oaks to do your own neighborhood assessment for your ministry. At the very least, begin a rhythm of listening to those God has called you to love and see how it turns into an opportunity to engage.
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