Churches in Mission

Churches in Mission collaborates with congregations who…

See a significant social, economic, or physical change in their neighborhoods that they want to explore.
Notice that the Holy Spirit is leading their church into renewed local mission engagement.
Desire to know and listen to their neighbors, participate in acts of gratitude and story sharing, and are looking for new co-conspirators in ministry.

…all with the goal of clarifying and engaging local mission.

The Team

Shari Oosting

Director for Churches in Mission

Hannah Stevens

Grant Coordinator

About Churches in Mission

The local church operates in a climate of declining religious affiliations, growing polarization, and splintering denominations. Many pastors are pushed into leadership roles and decisions they are ill-equipped to live into. Theologians and ministers turn to solution-oriented approaches identifying best practices to fix problems as they emerge, invest in rapid church growth and renewal models, or tweak business approaches to appeal to market trends. None of these strategies have functioned as desired across the board. Individual churches must take into account their unique and particular history, geography, neighborhood, finances, population; they cannot discount the texture that makes them who they are.

The Churches in Mission approach to help congregations thrive focuses on cultivating a congregation’s shared vocation. What is the mission of God’s church, and how does a local congregation live faithfully in the beauty and mess of their particularities? This requires slowing down and paying attention, which is difficult and daunting. This project is designed on the premise of providing ample time and resources for discernment. Faithful ministry in a culturally complex and increasingly secular moment is, at its core, local work. It is also communal, public work.

The Churches in Mission project prioritizes congregations who know that their next chapter of mission is a local one. It attempts to cultivate shared vocation within local church bodies, moving beyond simplistic individual expression of the Christian faith toward communal practices and expressions of ministry. The shift is from us-them and tribal expression of mission toward friendship, reciprocity, and proximity. This shift is necessary for churches to become a vital part of their local neighborhoods and a critical factor in both church and neighborhood thriving together.

Churches in Mission goals is to clarify and engage in local mission.

How do I get involved?

Learn about your church’s neighbors with the help of our one page Listening Guide
Read some of the books we are learning from:
- Having Nothing, Possessing Everything by Michael Mathers
- Ethnography: A Pastoral Practice by Mary Clark Moschella
- We are Here Now by Patrick Keifeert and Pat Taylor Ellison
- Congregations: Stories and Structures by James F. Hopewell
- How Your Congregation Learns by Tim Shapiro
- Church Forsaken by Jonathan Brooks
Check out stories about churches in mission at the bottom of this page
Sign up for the monthly newsletter here
Consider joining our next cohort – application will open in the fall of 2022. Email Hannah.stevens@westernsem.edu with questions

Participating Congregations

Bridge to Grace Covenant Church in Roswell, GA is located off Holcomb Bridge Road, the largest connecting highway in Roswell. In addition to their proximity to a major thoroughfare, Bridge to Grace is witnessing an influx of affordable housing via newly built apartment buildings on their street. Along with the population and demographic shifts come questions about who God is calling their congregation to be in the neighborhood. They are growing in compassion and love for new neighbors as they ask to hear their stories and share life with them.

First Reformed Church in Zeeland, MI is located in a residential area with many single family homes on the streets that intersect with their building. The building is within walking distance to parks, main street shopping, and restaurants. Amidst the idyllic neighborhood image, they are curious about the ideological tensions, income needs, and social struggles that are often hidden. They are gaining awareness of neighborhood vulnerabilities and are eager to become a place where facades can safely be dropped.

The Community Church in Ada, MI is located in a newly redeveloped main street shopping and business district, near the intersection of two rivers. They are a small, but highly engaged congregation. Team members have observed a competitive housing market that limits the number of young and lower-income families’ ability to move into the area. Additionally, the team is listening to neighbors in order to learn how the pandemic has affected their spiritual, physical, and emotional needs. The church seeks to be an inclusive and welcoming community in the midst of a changing suburb.

Highbridge Community Church in Highbridge, NY is housed in a landmark building. When you walk the neighborhood, you will see residential homes and apartment buildings neighboring the church building. There is also an elementary school directly across the street. Highbridge is a unique neighborhood that is diverse in many ways. It is a place where neighbors help neighbors and children play in water from the fire hydrants in the summer. Sometimes the community feels desolate, but other times life and energy is present. Financial and material needs are evident among many of the neighbors, these have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This congregation is becoming curious about the talents, gifts, and potential of their neighborhood and the people who reside in it. They are leaning into their physical location and asking how God might use them next to be a light and make a lasting difference in the community.

First Presbyterian Church in Flint, MI has a nearly two-century long history in Flint. The surrounding neighborhood has shifted through economic growth and decline as well as population and demographic transitions. Though some churches moved out to the suburbs, First Presbyterian Church of Flint continually chooses to stay downtown. Today, their team feels a sense of anticipation for how new city resources may benefit the neighborhood and they are curious about how to empower the diverse gifts of all the people in their congregation and neighborhood. They are eager to discern what faithful neighborhood engagement will look like in this era of their church’s story.

Hopewell Reformed Church in Hopewell, NY is a rural hamlet of East Fishkill which is centered around a quarter mile strip mall with minimal sidewalks. This historic church is located about 1 mile away along rural roads. Cars dominate as the means of transportation and much of local social life revolves around kid’s activities, town events, sports, and the Senior Center. There are only a few housing options affordable on local salaries. Therefore, many people commute to work in surrounding urban areas such as Poughkeepsie or NYC. Among this commuter culture, their church team is asking how the church can be part of bringing people together in this locally scattered community.

Mission del Sol Presbyterian Church in Tempe, AZis located in a landlocked residential neighborhood. Few neighbors know each other well or spend time together. The summer heat keeps people indoors and there are few communal spaces. The church team is asking questions about the needs and longings of their neighbors when material and financial deficits are uncommon. The team also wonders how their church can be part of a neighborhood culture in which people’s needs to be known and belong are fulfilled.