In this episode we explore the hidden impact of local context on our ministries. Then we’ll give some practical strategies, from assessing commute times to interviewing community members, that can help you create an engaging and transformative environment in your ministry.

Show Notes

• The local and general location are massively important to our ministries!
  • Jesus came to a local context and made the cultural commute to where they were.
  • Local contexts can determine things like dress-code norms, expectations about churches and pastors.
• Examples of things to think through for your local context:
  • Commute times – Are people used to driving a lot for things like school, work, and shopping? What are they used to driving? Are they willing to drive more? Do parents feel comfortable
  • Temperature/Weather – Are people looking for a place to go and be cool (air conditioning) or warm?
  • Felt needs in the community – What are people looking for?
  • When are people around? Do people leave the area in the summer or the winter?
  • What perspective do people have toward community and building relationships? Are they skeptical and difficult to connect with? Or more ready to connect? Can you just create the relational environment and expect that people will want to engage with it? Or does it take a little more work to convince them to get involved?
  • Are people more in a hurry? Do they tend to pack their schedules more tightly?
  • The grocery store clerk test: Does the grocery store clerk want to talk as you are checking out?
• Once you begin to determine those things, develop goals and strategies around those things.
  • Example: One church realized that many people in their area tended to only stay around for a couple years before taking a better paying job somewhere else. They built a goal that the community at their church would be so engaging that people would actually turn down a job opportunity because they were so plugged in at their church.
• A great approach to this is to interview people who are taking the kinds of actions you want others to take and interview them. Try to get a sense of why they are making those choices. Then you can build strategies around those things to try and get others to engage in similar ways.
• If you don’t feel that local context is important, it could be that what you’re doing now is already working! But it’s still helpful and important for the long-term is to identify and record those things.
  • If we’re not careful, we can begin to associate the approach with success rather than the principles of the success.
• If you find yourself consistently thinking, “That idea would never work in our context.” Maybe give it a shot! Don’t be afraid to try and fail and learn from that.
• Terminal Uniqueness – so convinced that our context is so specific that “Nobody has it like us. No one else would understand.” That can become a trap. Jesus is doing things in similar contexts around the world. What can you learn from them and how could that translate into your context?
• Things that universal in ministry, no matter the context:
  • Jesus! People need Him.
  • Greif – everyone grieves and we can love and help them in that season.
  • Everyone wants to be proud of their church an will invite people into it if they are.
• How to get started assessing your local context:
  • Ask people at the grocery store about your church. What does the community think about it?
  • Ask people what some of the major issues are happening in the community (both inside and outside the church). Then listen! What is Christ calling you to do for your community.
  • Have a hobby! And make sure it’s something out in the community.
• Check out one of our cohorts! They are an excellent way to learn from other churches in similar contexts.
• Connect with Anthony Prince – anthony.prince@ministryarchitects.com | Facebook | Instagram
• Connect with Werner Ramirez – werner.ramirez@ministryarchitects.com
• Connect with Brandon Collins – brandon.collins@ministryarchitects.com | brandoncollins.org