c. Community Engagement
Most respondents who consider there are gaps to be filled in rural mission or evangelism stress the overlap with another element: church engagement with the local community.
Community Engagement A Methodist minister from the West Midlands indicates: My own experience is similar to that reported in Faith in Rural Communities: most people in my chapels simply don’t think of what they do within the community as mission, let alone evangelism. For most it is either a Christian duty or simply a natural expression of their deeply personal faith. A vicar from a diocese in the East of England suggests: Some rural mission and evangelism resources are OK. But what is really needed is something that deals with the whole mission of the church within a rural community, not just evangelism; taking seriously the community responsibilities of the church. A URC minister from a large market town church in the West Midlands suspects: We shy away from evangelism ... Some in my congregation would say it is too ‘confrontational’ in the context of the good relationships the church seeks with the community. I think we settle for ‘community engagement’ instead, which is very valuable but I do wonder if it short-circuits one of the major purposes of the local church: to be a light on a hill.
Some respondents feel that serving the local community is the mission of the church, and the best way of encouraging lay participation is to encourage them into community involvement without overt evangelism. Others feel there is a balance to be struck, and several important needs emerge from this: • Encouraging and training the whole congregation to see the connections between everyday life, the wider community and their faith.
• Resources and teaching on gifting, helping lay people discover their gifts, while affirming and encouraging their use, especially outside the church.
• Broad-based teaching and resources on the interlinked issues of evangelism, mission and community involvement, taking into consideration rural community specifics.
d. Visitors to Churches and Churchyards
Significant numbers of respondents specifically mention ministry to three sorts of visitors who come to their churches and churchyards. Those coming to the churchyard, maybe to visit a specific grave: How can we offer something to the visitors who come to our churchyards; but not too obtrusive, and detracting from what they have come to experience? Those who come specifically to use the building but without any longer- term ties to the church: We had 12 weddings last year. We need help to develop something simple to explain what we are about and why – that this is more than a beautiful building. Those who visit largely as tourists: Training for rural PCCs and others Page 76 of 111
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