My Story

I grew up in a Christian home and we faithfully attended Friends churches. My personal timeline for knowing that church life included something called outreach and evangelism goes something like this. My first exposure to evangelism was when my parents attended a Billy Graham event and they told me what it was about. Then we were part of a church that had an annual extra week of services where people were invited to give their lives to Jesus. About the time I entered high school, we were inundated by our pastor’s ongoing references to Robert Schuller’s drive-in theater church in southern California. We learned over and over that it was about attracting people to a different setting to present Jesus. When I was 17, my girlfriend and soon to become my lifelong spouse, Margie and I, took the plunge and attended evangelism training where we hit the neighborhoods in Estes Park and Loveland, Colorado, with the Four Spiritual Laws. Moving on to Friends Bible College (now Barclay) I was inundated with the writings of Donald Mc Gavran and C. Peter Wagner on Church Growth. My early pastoral years were invested in learning about Breaking the 200 Barrier so church growth could continue. Then came the years of being pummeled with the great news that seeker-oriented mega churches were the way to get the news of Jesus out there. Oh, I forgot to include emergence of Rick Warren and The Purpose Driven Church.

Church Growth Cynicism

My life, and certainly my pastoral years, were immersed in wave after wave of varying emphases related to evangelism and outreach. While there were a variety of approaches, the heart of each of these movements and strategies was communicating the gospel to those around us. I believe my experience was similar to that of the majority of pastors and leaders; all the above pretty much went nowhere. I was still the lead pastor at Greenleaf Friends when we began to hear about Thom Rainer and Church Revitalization. At the risk of sounding satirical, my first response was to think, “Here we go again”.

Revitalized or Revitalization (+ what it is not)

With this experience in my background, it has been an interesting journey in working with our NWYM churches that choose to engage with the Church Revitalization concepts and materials. So far, the most common entry point for our churches, into Church Revitalization, has been through reading and processing Thom Rainer’s book, Scrappy Church. (Mindy Burns wrote a good summary of this book. Scrappy Church, A Review, is posted as a NWYM blog article, dated July 10, 2024.) As I’ve conversed with churches about this book and read CR articles and listened to a number of webinars, my “here we go again” skepticism has been replaced with an appreciation for where and how Church Revitalization engages our churches. Here are a few thoughts on what it is and is not.

Church Revitalization is not a new program or trendy way of trying to engage a post-modern culture. Whatever it is, it is not a cure-all, follow this program and all will succeed proposition. Thankfully it is not about trying to become a megachurch or assuming that the biggest church is the best church.

So What’s Revitalization?

Church Revitalization is (and this is why it may be so hopeful for Evangelical Friends) an open door to slowly but surely work on the disconnect between our churches’ cultures where we think we are committed to outreach but we really are not. Looking back, over my being a member and eventually a recorded Friends minister with an entire working career in pastoral and yearly meeting leadership among Friends, I’ve concluded that the real issue for Friends is culture. We believe that we are outreach-minded, when in reality our mindset is that anyone is welcome in our churches if they want to take us, just as we are. This is not a mindset that stands beside Jesus and sees that the fields are ready for harvest.

Church Revitalization is not about creating outreach and evangelism strategies that are an add-on to our current programing and life of fellowship in the church. If a church hangs with Church Revitalization it has the potential to vastly improve how it opens its doors to the community and reaches out to invite people in. In the process, the mindset and pace of Church Revitalization creates room for the faithful believers to adapt and adjust, so that they become effective at passing on what they’ve learned about cultivating an intimate walk with Jesus to new believers. It will help us reorient our church culture around the foundational assignment of Jesus to be fishers of men and to make disciples. It will help us reorient our church culture to be more balanced in nurturing our personal walk with the Lord, care for one another and ongoing investment in evangelism and outreach.

Church Revitalization is not about quick fixes. It is about healthy, long-term transformation and orderly reorientation. I compare it to a healthy diet. There is nothing fancy or trendy about eating a balanced number of servings of the right foods. But a person’s health is readily enhanced by a balanced diet. Church Revitalization is really about a balanced church life.

Are You In?

My entire pastoral and yearly meeting leadership years has been with Friends. That experience ranges from being in a church of 300 to a church of 30. Church Revitalization fits all these sizes. My growing vision is that NWYM as whole would benefit greatly if most or all of our churches would work with this material. It would help us renew strategic outreach throughout the yearly meeting, give us a common language for discussing outreach and discipleship and renew a sense of teamwork throughout the yearly meeting. I find this very hopeful. I am free to visit with any church about Church Revitalization.

I never expected to be an advocate for short-term service trips. As a matter of fact, after reading the two excellent books “When Helping Hurts” by Steve Corbett and “Toxic Charity” by Robert Lupton, I took the opposite approach and actively discouraged these types of trips. However, after stepping outside my comfort zone, living in Mexico for four years and interacting with groups on short-term service trips, I have a much better perspective on the value these trips can bring.

Hi, I’m John Laney and let me tell you how I got to this point. 

John’s Story

After spending 20 years in the Navy, our family decided we wanted to leave the Navy and return back home to Newberg, Oregon. But, before going home, we wanted to first take a one-year sabbatical overseas to both have a cultural experience and experience Christian service in a meaningful way. Due to COVID, we found ourselves in Northern Baja, California, just south of Tijuana and 60 minutes from the border. For the next four years, we found ourselves teaching English, volunteering at an orphanage and working with a building ministry.

Through that process, I saw many groups coming down to Mexico to bring their money, labor and energy. They would serve by building a house, cooking a meal, working on a road or simply hanging out and playing with kids. But what was most impactful was seeing the impact on the individuals that came to serve. These people would arrive with one idea of Mexican culture and leave with a different idea. They would come with their understanding of worship and leave with a different understanding. They would come down with one perspective and then would watch it change. I saw that in others and I saw that in myself. 

So, before answering the question, “Do missions matter?” I’d like to break that question down a bit. In my mind, short term service trips matter in three primary ways. First, they matter to the receiver. These trips allow groups to build projects, paint walls, bring food and money and otherwise aid the group that they are serving.  Second, they matter to the relationship and Christian bonds between the giver and receiver.  Finally, they matter to the giver, who oftentimes walks away with a life-changing service experience.

I’d like to give three concrete examples of this change.

Time

Not long ago, our pastor preached on the two types of time: chronos time vs. kairos time. Chronos time asks, “What time is it?” “What is the next event?” and “Why can’t he hurry up?” While kairo’s time asks, “What is my time for and how can I best use it?” Chronos was Martha’s mindset when she rushed around getting things ready for Jesus, while Mary, under kairos, just sat and listened.  

In the United States, chronos dominates our lives, while in Mexico, you will get a taste of what it is like to live under kairos. 

Money

While money dominates much of American living, Mexicans take a very different approach. In the United States, we view money as a symbol of individual success, independence, financial achievement, and the pursuit of the “American Dream.” In Mexico, there is a much stronger emphasis on community, family, and shared resources.  While Americans will carefully tithe out their giving percent, Mexicans will gladly give what is in their pockets.  

While in Mexico, one will see how the focus of money shifts to a means to support and care for loved ones, enjoy life, give and live in the present. 

Family

American family life is characterized by independence and self-sufficiency, and a child often moves out at 18. Young adults are often encouraged to move across the country in order to pursue personal and career goals at the expense of close family ties and community. “Make your own decisions” and “do what is right for you” is a common mantra. 

Not so in Mexican culture. Family takes precedence over career, and close multigenerational ties take precedence over independence. This family support is central to daily life, with a deep sense of duty to care for and be cared for by loved ones.  

While there are many more examples of cultural differences, I see the lessons from the Mexican view of time, money and family are much closer to the biblical model that we are called to emulate. And through embracing these lessons we get the majority of the value from a service trip. 

Your Next Step?

If this resonates with you, if you are interested in reciprocal service where you both give and receive, or if you or a family member might benefit from stepping outside your comfort zone to see and taste new experiences, then I would love to talk. Our website is below for an upcoming short-term mission trip to Mexico.

Do you know there is an online English outreach that you can reach college students in Taiwan from your living room?

There are about one million college students in Taiwan, and around 1/10 of them are from other countries, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, India, and so on. As the Christian population in Taiwan is only 3.9%, many of them do not have opportunity to interact with Christians nor hear the Gospel.

What Can be done?

Through online English outreach, we can partner with brothers and sisters in Taiwan to reach the young people and make disciples. I started the online English outreach in October 2022, and our Lord has been guiding this ministry beyond my imagination!

Some brothers and sisters have only been serving one or two months, while others have been serving for almost two years. Currently, there are 10 teachers serving 34 students in Taiwan (one sister in Christ is doing it three evenings per week). All the students have opportunities to hear their teachers’ testimonies, to talk about Christian faith, and participate in two classes that are doing Bible studies.

In June 2023, I asked one of the students to post an invitation on their student Facebook group. In a few days, 68 students signed up to join an English conversation class. Another post in February 2024, and more than 90 students signed up! They are from the top university in Taiwan, National Taiwan University!

How does the ministry operate?

Just an hour of online English conversations with three college students in Taiwan that I will connect you with. There is material provided of conversation topics you may use. If you want to observe a class first, we can arrange it.

All meetings happen at either 7 am or 7 pm (Pacific time). You choose the day that works best for you. One of the students will set up a Google meeting and send everyone the link through emails.

You just open your email, click the link and have conversations in English with them once a week. Through the conversations, you and the students get to know each other, build relationships and share your stories. Then, you are able to invite the students to learn the Bible and the Christian faith.

I had a professor in college who said that the saddest verse in the Bible is Judge 2:10. It isn’t maybe a super familiar verse with many people. The verse says this:

“After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10 NLT

He argued that this was at the core of youth ministry. It is super important to be sharing the faith with the next generation otherwise we are just one generation away from nobody knowing God. It certainly puts some serious importance on the role of youth ministry and makes it about more than pizza parties and lock-ins.

The Youth Pastor Decline

I was a youth pastor in Northwest Yearly Meeting (NWYM) for many years at Meridian Friends Church and I was also a youth pastor in Mid-America Yearly Meeting (MAYM) for a short time at Bayshore Friends Church in Texas. I grew up in a Christian home but it wasn’t until I was in middle school that I accepted Christ through interactions within my local youth group one summer at a church camp. So I have been passionate about youth ministry for a long time and it has personal importance to me.

But many churches (not just our Friends Churches) are losing dedicated youth pastors for one reason or another. It isn’t all on a downward trend though. I recently sat down with Jesse Penna, the Youth Superintendent of MAYM, to talk youth ministry. Jesse just recently had his position increase from part-time to full-time. Jesse said:

“…[T]here were individuals, churches, youth pastors, etc. who really just kind of came to the elders in Mid-America and just said we really value [student ministry]…”

Listen to the full conversation on the NWYM Podcast episode 24

Sometimes younger people can feel like a different culture to us. We don’t understand their language, their clothing choices, their interests, etc. So we feel like because we can’t relate to them then they won’t relate to us.

We both have so much to learn from each other if we can only get over the fear of feeling out of place or awkward when approaching and talking to a young person. Start by inviting a young person in your church to coffee and just get to know them. Don’t enter into the meeting with an agenda or a job for them, just be relational.

The Need for Youth Workers

Another larger step that we as a Yearly Meeting or individual local churches can take is to invest in some key leaders to be youth workers. Maybe your church doesn’t have the budget to pay a salary for a youth worker, but you can send a key leader to some training to help them be better at youth ministry.

This September is going to be the first-ever National Friends Youth Workers Retreat at Quaker Ridge Camp in Colorado. The goal is to gather youth workers (whether paid or volunteer) from across the country to come together for a time of training and encouragement.

If your church has a youth worker, would you please consider sending them to this retreat? Having them gather for a weekend to hear other ideas and encouragement from people doing the same work as them can be super valuable. Find out more about this retreat by clicking here.

Our Hope for the Future

Young people are not more important in the Kingdom of God than other older generations, BUT if we want our churches to be alive and thriving in the decades to come then we need to be investing and being inviting to the next generation.

Otherwise, our future may resemble that of Judges chapter 2.

Is your church considering an outreach event? At my home church, Entiat Friends, we were adventurous (and maybe desperate enough) to have a Community Fall Family Festival – something new to the community we serve in.

We approached it knowing that we wanted to make it an annual event and that it might take a few years to get rolling and that the event would likely evolve over time. After six annual Fall Festivals, we’ve learned a few things, had a lot of fun, and got to know our community around us better. Most importantly, we found another way to connect with people who otherwise might not even know we’re here!

Why Host an Outreach Event?

An outreach event is an effort and opportunity for your church to connect with people who might not otherwise have ANY connection with church at all. This is an informal atmosphere where conversations can flow, bridge relationships, and the community can begin to see who you are as a church.

Plenty of Time to Plan

Planning an outreach event can be overwhelming – especially if it’s something new. Help manage that anxiety by planning within the comfort of your church finances, volunteers, and facilities. This will ensure your event is sustainable and can be replicated from event to event. With annual events, you can always make changes the next year! Community outreach events can be any time but work well and can be easier to plan when connected to a holiday, a seasonal event, or being a part of a larger community event already happening.

Here is a short list of do-not-forget-to-include items in your planning for any event:

Get the Word Out

The more ways you find to do this, the better! Church bulletins, Facebook, and your church website are starting points. Distributing fliers through your local school district covers a lot of area, and printing is the only cost. Start by contacting your school district EARLY, be courteous (a thank you card after is a nice touch), and carefully follow their guidelines.  If you live in a small district, the fliers might go out to the entire school. If you live in a large district, you may want to send fliers to the school(s) closest to your church/event.

Be Ready to Listen

So if this is about outreach – ya’ gotta connect with the people who attend! If you are interested in people, that shouldn’t be too hard to do. Make sure you introduce yourself. Conversations usually just take off. Really, most people like to share their story, especially if they feel someone is genuinely interested in them. It is relationships with others that get people connected to the church.

Make a Great First Impression

Have a welcome table with volunteers who enjoy people and talking! This will be your guests’ first impression. If the entrance site is the same as the exit, the farewell is still an opportunity to thank your guests and tell them about your upcoming events. Be sure your volunteers at the event are aware of what ministries your church has to offer (because people often ask!) Include small informational cards or fliers in giveaway bags, and be sure regular worship times/groups/youth events, etc., are posted in plain sight at the event. Have any upcoming special events posted in several places as well.

Review and Plan Ahead

And don’t forget to have a follow-up meeting after the event to discuss what worked well and what changes should be considered for the next event.

Ready to talk with a Revitalization Coach? Contact Alan Weinacht today at aweinacht@nwfriends.org.