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Manitoba Church on Mission to Bless Its Community

July 25, 2018

Diaconal Ministries Canada

Mission statements are wonderful, aren’t they? They tell us what an organization is all about. They proclaim to the entire world, “This is why we exist!” They give us a picture of what motivates a certain group of people to do what they do.

For instance, here’s one:

“To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”

Can you guess whose mission statement that is? Nike! It’s spot on, right?

Here’s another one:

“To refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions. To create value and make a difference.”

Hmmm, that one’s a bit tougher. Could it be a church or faith organization? Nope! It’s Coca-Cola.

At First CRC in Brandon, Man., their mission reads like this:

“To foster Christian growth, develop our spiritual gifts, and engage our local and global community through acts of love, mercy, and justice — all for the glory of God.”

Wow, that’s pretty clear, isn’t it? Isn’t this what being a Christ-follower is all about? Isn’t this what church is all about? Loving God (fostering Christian growth and developing spiritual gifts) and loving others (engaging the local and global community through acts of love, mercy, and justice — all for the glory of God). It’s simple, comprehensive, and theologically sound.

Now, while a mission statement often clearly communicates what an organization is trying to accomplish, and even why they are trying to accomplish it, sometimes the how can get a bit messy and be a bit more challenging.

For First CRC, they’ve been discovering that one practical way to fulfill their mission is to partner with a community ministry where one of their members is already serving! They call this new initiative “Opportunity to Bless,” or OTB for short.

OTB is a ministry that Pastor Doug VandeKamp (a former diaconal ministry developer with Diaconal Ministries Canada) heard about at a Brandon Ministerial Association meeting back in April. Pastor Vern Kratz of Calvary Temple shared that his church’s OTB ministry was one of the biggest catalysts for moving their church from being inward-focused to becoming outward-oriented — and that caught the attention of Pastor Doug.

Shortly after that initial conversation between the two pastors, the OTB ministry at First CRC in Brandon began. Here is a quick look at how First CRC’s  OTB ministry works:

1. The church compiles a list of agencies in which their own church members are involved: anything from the local Mennonite Central Committee Thrift Store to the Crisis Pregnancy Centre to Youth for Christ.

Once an OTB partner is confirmed, the church maintains a list of partners and then approaches a different partner agency each month to ask what some of their current practical needs are (e.g., diapers, baby food, etc.). Then a presentation is given in First CRC to challenge the congregation to bring in the needed items for the OTB partner and place them in a designated collection area.

2. Since there may not be a ministry designated every month through a First CRC connection, the church’s council, which fully endorses this new ministry, can be asked for their input on other ministries/opportunities in the surrounding community.

Another option is to pair up with Calvary Temple (which started the OTB ministry) and support whatever their monthly cause is, or to check with a neighboring church to see what local agencies its members support. The ultimate goal is to consistently provide the congregation at First CRC an opportunity to bless a local agency.

3. On the final Sunday of the month, a leader of the OTB partner agency is invited to visit First CRC’s worship service and share how the OTB items will bless their organization, and they retrieve the items collected over the month.

Besides OTB’s being a natural and practical fulfillment of their church’s mission to “engage [their] local community through acts of love, mercy, and justice,” the leadership is discovering it offers  many other benefits for their church and its members, and of course for their community.

First and foremost, Pastor Doug hopes this will be a constant reminder to his church’s members that God is always at work in their community and that they can be a part of God’s work in a variety of ways.

One of the best aspects of this ministry is that everyone can be a part of this exciting new venture! No matter a person’s age, background, or abilities, each member can be involved by buying and dropping off donations, offering prayer support, spreading the word, and more.

And since First CRC is a small congregation with only one deacon at the moment (normally they have two or three), it makes sense to cultivate a ministry that engages their entire church, with little to no volunteer recruitment needed.

One of the first recipients of the OTB ministry was the MCC Thrift Store in Brandon. Shelly, the store manager, had never been to a Christian Reformed church before and knew little about the denomination.

Nonetheless, one of her volunteers at the store is a member at First CRC, and she had a special birthday coming up. To help her celebrate, the church wanted to honor this particular member by donating to one of her favorite charities. The member suggested the MCC Thrift Store, so the church got in touch with Shelly.

Since most thrift stores see an abundance of donations come in each day, Shelly wondered if the church could help their thrift store bless one of their partners!

Several times throughout the year Brandon Correctional Centre, the local jail, calls on the thrift store to see if they can donate clothing for someone who is set to be released. Oftentimes the men being released have nothing to their name but the outfit they arrived in, so a few more pieces of clothing can offer them a sense of dignity and a helpful start.

Shelly asked the church if they could collect Men’s plus-size clothing (something they typically never have enough of at the store).

When Shelly came to visit First CRC on the last Sunday of the month, she thanked the congregation for their kindness and support and left with three stuffed Rubbermaid totes of men’s clothing.

She was struck by the way a church she knew nothing about would want to help her so that she could help others in the community who depended on her agency. It reminded her of how no matter what church we attend or what faith-based agency we work for, we are all part of God’s church.

And ultimately, Shelly remarked, it’s about what God is doing in us and through us: “The more we see what God is doing in the community, the more we can marvel at him.”

While this new OTB ministry continues to unfold, “part of the delight,” remarks Pastor Doug, “will be in discovering God’s blessings along the way as this ministry gets up and running.”

As members of the church continue to learn about what it means to live on-mission through the OTB ministry, he hopes more and more people will be inspired to invite a friend, neighbor, or coworker to help out.

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