On Sunday, November 23, I was present at the federation offices for the training day “Tools for a Church that Serves,” organized by the Formation & Training Department.
Jonathan Lo Buglio, director of ADRA Belgium, began with a fascinating presentation about the various ways a church can be of service in its environment. João Martins, director of ADRA Europe, was also present. We were shown an overview of actions through which ADRA is already actively involved in different areas. For example, there is the ADRA food truck, which provides free healthy and vegetarian meals for the homeless and which can also be used at local community events. There is the annual Christmas Box campaign. During the flooding in Wallonia in 2021, dozens of ADRA volunteers were actively involved in the cleanup.
Several questions were posed to us: Are we an engaged church? Are we connected with the people and social organizations in our neighborhood? As a church, are we aware of the needs in our surroundings? And this concerns not only the needs of our own members but also those of the people who live around our church, in our community. Do our neighbors know who we are and what we stand for? Do we, as a church, maintain contact with our neighborhood and our city? Do we ever invite them for a moment of encounter? Are we aware of activities organized by the neighborhood or the city in which we, as a faith community, could potentially be of service?
These are many questions that I bring home with me and that I hope to discuss soon in our church committee and later, hopefully, also with the other members. How beautiful it would be if something fruitful could come from this in Bruges.
The question that stays with me the most is this: What kind of church do we want to be? Are we a church IN the city, a church WITH the city, or a church FOR the city? Are we simply present, do we occasionally lend a hand, or do we actively commit ourselves to our neighborhood and city?
And finally, something that touched me personally. Often, when considering whether or not to organize an action, we ask ourselves what the outcome will be. Will it bring more people to our church? Will people become believers/Adventists because of it? During the training day, I received confirmation that this is not what it is about. It is not about whether people will or will not come to our church. What matters is that we go to the people.
To put it in the words of Ellen White:
“We must weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. Accompanied by the power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God, this work cannot and will not be without fruit.”
Then, as a church, we are not only blessed, but we ourselves become a blessing.
Nadine Van Parys
Links to the videos:
