VIDEO: Serving Neighbors with Your Neighbors: A Wider Kingdom Approach in COVID-19

Going in to our digital summit I was asked to facilitate a convo on “How can churches work most effectively with their neighborhoods during a time of social distancing?”. At our church (aseattlechurch.com) we have sought to do so alongside our landlords, local medical professionals, and others who use our gathering space by day. None of those have professed to us that they follow Jesus. Instead, we found that COVID is a great equalizer that tears down traditional walls and has made room for our (and all) church(es) to be the parish it is called to be like never before.

I would share our quick experience and invite sharing from others?

Does this work?

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That’s a very interesting transformation Tyler!

From the breakout session what were some other questions about outreach and what it means to be “for the neighborhood” when everything has become virtual/digital?

Also, side-question, has your gathering space continued to be open amidst the pandemic?

Hey @chrislim

TO YOUR QUESTIONS:

Our gathering space has re-opened when we went to Phase 1.5. We did a modified Sunday filming in-person to begin to delve in to serving neighbors again from the space.

Questions raised in our breakout session about outreach and being “for the neighborhood” included, in this digital reality:

How do we replicate the unsaid that happened with neighbors after service? The connection that naturally happens in a lobby/narthex?

what does it say for a church to have simply one thing to do on Sundays in this digital time, versus all the things we used to do in person on-Sunday? How does that affect our ministry to neighbors?

How do we fight the role of digital fatigue and lack of resolve to stay online. Both for the experience of parishioners/clergy/neighbors looking in?

I’d be curious what questions folks may like me/us to engage in a video about neighborhood ministry in a digital world?

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Wow, good questions Tyler! I think these questions and your original point about the tearing down of traditional walls could be a good video conversation. Are you open to doing a socially distanced interview/recording sometime in the coming weeks?

Absolutely! Would be super-game for that video interview/recording.

Does Monday/Tuesday of this coming week work for you?