Hope at work
Congregation-based organizing offers a different way of ‘doing church’
By Bob Sitze I
f you want to be hopeful, you have to work toward what you hope for. So goes a central axiom of posi-
tive psychology. Hope doesn’t play out very well if it’s just another Christian character trait. Like faith or grace, hope is strengthened and realized in
actions. You can see hope at work. You can: • See it in the faces of worshipers at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Oakland, Calif., where East African immigrants add richness to worship and join with other members in working for immigration reform. • Hear it in the laughter of children and families enjoying a park in Milwaukee brought to life by Incarnation Lutheran Church. • Find it in the labors of Faith Lutheran, Lexington, Ky., where members work side-by-side with 21 other community churches to address injustices. • See it in the faces of children and teenagers in Farmington, Minn., where Light of the World Lutheran, a new congregation, evangelizes and grows partly because of a strong youth ministry. (Read about these congregations on pages 22-25). These hopeful efforts aren’t completely new, of course. The ELCA and its predecessor bodies have a history of putting faith into action as a way of sustaining congregational life. Over the years we’ve seen the worth of asset-
Sitze, a church consultant, lives and writes in Wheaton, Ill., and is a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn, Ill. He also blogs about “simple living” for The Lutheran (
www.thelutheran.org/blog).
based planning and care teams, and led the way in hunger and justice ministries and stewardship. We’ve encouraged each other toward excel- lence and effectiveness. For the most part, we’ve avoided long-term com- mitments that could have sucked the energy out of a significant proportion of our congregations. A few years back, congregation-
based organizing (CBO) appeared as another approach to congregational health. Pastors, lay leaders and semi- narians were trained in its methods. Leaders and congregations fit orga- nizing principles into their skill sets and identities. Now CBO is an estab- lished feature of ELCA identity.
But what is it?
Congregation-based organizing is an approach to mission that’s based
20 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
JAKUB MOSUR
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