Saturday, April 8 was designated by the United Methodist Church North Central District as the day for district churches to take it from The Steeple to The Streets.
“We are encouraging people to get out of the pews, get outside and have God show them where to join him,” said District Superintendent Rev. June Edwards. “As a church we need to make meaningful connections with the community. I am very passionate about this. I always ask people to show me in the Gospels where Jesus put out a sign and asked people to come see him on Sundays between 11 and 12. I believe we should come alive in the community and be God’s people in the world and connect the world to Christ.”
That said she also said today was not about getting people to come to their church but to go to different areas of the church’s community and pray, observe and listen.
One of the participants Wildwood United Methodist Church has had great success with going out in to the community.
“We have gone from 30 congregants with an average age of 80 in 2012 to 200 congregants with an average age of 30,” said Pastor Michael Beck. “We did that by meeting people where they are.”
They have tattoo parlor church which includes Bible study and communion. They have a group that organizes Paws for Praise in a dog park. Beck’s wife Jill operates a program for children called Connect in the Martin Luther King building on Saturdays.
Congregants of Wildwood UMC had various ways of participating in today’s Steeple to the Streets. Village of Lynnhaven resident David Young was leading group going to one of the shopping centers in Wildwood. Saturday’s event was described as not old-fashioned evangelism, but meeting people in the community.
“When we talk to people if there is interest we will talk about Christian values and pray with them,” he said.
Water Oak residents Patricia and Fred Theroux were going to set up a coffee table in their neighborhood. “We will talk to people, have coffee and some goodies,” said Patricia. “We are not evangelizing, but if anyone needs prayer we are there to do that to.”
Steeple to the Streets is part of a larger process called Fresh Expressions.
“It encourages people to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and not get locked inside a church, but to go out and show the love of God that is in us and show people that it is real,” said Edwards.
