What does it mean to be a ministry that goes beyond the walls of our church?

Well, let’s say we offer some ministry at Bethany, and then do some effort to invite people in the community to come to our church. That’s great! Let’s always be doing that, a lot of that!

But note that is still an approach where we are inviting people to come to Bethany, and while it’s important, we miss out on ever meeting the people who are in the community around us but never respond to our advertising.

A fully “beyond walls” ministry would be one that actually goes OUT into the community and connects with people in the neighborhoods around us through some common interest or they are our neighbors on the street where we live, or people we tend to see as “regulars” at the coffee shop where we hang out, or a book study group we’re involved in, or maybe some community service project and we engage participation of the community around us, or… (the possibilities are endless).

In other words, in a beyond walls ministry, we are literally DOING our ministry beyond the walls of our church. It’s not as hard as it might seem. Remember, it’s not about us and our abilities. This is God’s Holy Spirit working through us, and with God, all things are possible.

Consider Matthew 18:12-14: “If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? And if he finds it, doesn’t he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who stay put? Your Father in heaven feels the same way. He doesn’t want to lose even one of these simple believers.”

Leave the 99. That’s what Jesus did.

We’re excited to enter into this new year at Bethany! I encourage you to explore this website, read, and reflect on how we might do more in loving our neighbors in the community around us.

As you explore this website, you’ll see there are a lot of churches and denominations across the globe who are also looking at ways they/we can take the church beyond the walls we’ve created. In fact, you’ll find there are major movements in Christianity today doing exciting things in this effort.

You can see a wide range of examples on the Inspiration web page.

After you’ve looked at all of the info I’ve presented, you might have several different reactions:

• “Wow, I had NO idea this was such a big movement happening in Christianity today.”
• “I never realized how much this ‘post-Christian era’ has led to a decline in Christianity and has caused many churches to decrease in size or even completely shut down.”
• But also you might react:
  • “I am amazed at all the new creative ways Christians are breaking out of the traditional model of ‘doing church’ and are finding ways to connect with their neighbors more in sharing the love of Christ, including folks who might never come to my traditional church on Sunday morning.”
  • “There are so many fantastic ideas shared here that I am a bit overwhelmed. We can’t possibly do all that at Bethany.”
• We don’t have to do it all… let’s just do something. Let’s try things. Let’s get out of our comfort zones a bit and try something new and watch God do something amazing.
• All it takes is a few inspired people to say “yes” it’s time for us to get about the business of loving our neighbors more than we ever have before.