Part One: To Fish and To Feed: The Life of Parish Mission

"Feed my lambs. . . Tend my sheep. . . Feed my lambs." (John 21:15, 16, 17)

Jesus calls Peter to fish for people. The risen Christ calls Peter to feed the children of God. Missionary outreach and nurture of the faithful belong together. The mentoring program is designed to facilitate mentoring pairs which nurture faith as well as to connect with those outside the church.

Think of your congregation and community as networks of relationships. Where do the people gather? What goes on in your church building during the week? In most congregations people are gathering for one reason or another all during the week. The choirs rehearse. The altar guild prepares for worship. Committees meet. Church school teachers prepare. The pastor's office hosts those who need comfort, guidance, counseling. The down and out knock on the door. Bible classes, youth groups, and other programs of the congregation gather at the church. The community gathers in AA groups, community organizations. The parish nursery school, latch key programs or vacation church school draws member and neighbor to the building. Babies (or adults) are baptized, the dead are buried, couples are married, people are prepared for first communion, confirmation, church membership. And in the center is the presence of Jesus in Word and Sacraments at the public liturgies of the church. Make your own list. You will be surprised at the number of ways people gather in the life of a congregation.

Now ask yourself two questions. First, "who's missing?" One answer would be that many of the congregation's members do not participate in these gatherings, including the weekly gathering around Word and Sacraments. One could also answer that the majority of our neighbors, who have no relationship with any faith community, are also missing.

Second, "What difference would it make if we attached an invitation to everything we do, directed to those who are not a part of any church or who are inactive members?" Can we think of all of our activity as potential "ports of entry" into the life of Christ’s Body? That means that pastoral acts would cease to be "events" and become ongoing activity of the Spirit. Baptisms would lead to support for parenting; funerals would lead to support in bereavement; weddings would flow toward marriage enrichment. And the community would be invited to participate. Youth group members would invite their friends in the community. Music programs would invite the community to sing along. Bible studies would make public invitations. Support groups would invite and welcome the stranger. Social ministry would invite those served to the life of the parish. Those who attend worship services and the church’s education programs would be visited and invited. The local congregation would be seen by the community as an ally in raising their children, dealing with life’s most probing questions, and answering the hunger for human community. The church would continually be offering credible invitations for its neighbors to explore their deep, but unfocused spiritual hunger.

It is in this mission context that a systematic and disciplined program of one to one mentoring can enhance a congregation's faithfulness to the Great Commission. For many, incorporation into support groups, Bible classes, and other communal activities will be their "port of entry" into the life of a community of Jesus. But there are many others who could be touched by personal encounters. Remembering that the Word always takes on particular flesh in this world, consider some of the trends shaping the present world in which we live:

In the previous generations of American religious life support for church activity flowed across the generations. Today's generation of spiritual seekers often has no support, family history or experience in the life, language, discipline or beliefs of the church.

Remember with me a former time. A grandfather and grandson, fishing poles in hand, plumbing the mysteries of grace and creation. Grandpa was a pastor, theologian, seminary professor. He was passionate about three things above all: the Greek New Testament, fishing, and the wet mystery of baptism. It was grandpa who sent me letters containing the Greek alphabet and then a Greek grammar when, as a boy of nine or ten, I expressed an interest in the pastoral ministry. As we fished together in the sweet lakes of Wisconsin, he would recite parts of the "Iliad." One day he turned to me and said: "Stephen, in your baptism, the only death you need fear is behind you."

As we hovered over the lake waters, Grandpa recalled for me the spirit that hovered over the waters of St. Paul's Church in Chicago, connecting the baptismal waters being poured over my infant head with the saving intention of the God of all creation through the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Such encounters with mentors in the faith occur less frequently in the lives of today's emerging generations, yet people are no less hungry for spiritual wisdom.

• Even with less formal support from extended family as spiritual wisdom-givers, the spiritual hunger remains. A Gallop poll finds that 59% of Americans surveyed said religion plays a very important role in their lives, up from an all-time low of 52% in 1978. Studies indicate that both women and men are searching for at least one other person to walk with them, to be a listener and wisdom giver.
   
• Studies have shown that less than 40% of any congregation will join a group, either because they do not set aside the time for study or because they are reluctant to join a class or group.
   
• In our mobile society it is increasingly difficult to put down roots in long-term groups. Twenty percent of Americans move each year.
   
• The population of "baby boomers" and those younger are very sensitive to top- down authority. They are often more at home in conversational styles of learning where both have insights to share. This mentoring model is a relational way to get at insights which in a former day were passed on by authority figures.

In a life where available time is stretched to the limit it can be very important to connect with one other companion on the spiritual journey.

As we reflect on the list of "truths" about our present society, we want to remember that the church never exists to merely reflect society. This program is not meant to reproduce another evidence of and emphasis on the individual. The mentoring pairs exists in the community of Word and Sacrament. They are opportunities to renew spiritual lives within the communal life of the church.

Religion literally means "to connect again." ("re"=again; "ligione"=ligament, connect). This is Biblical. Witness God's plan of salvation unfold encounter by encounter, one on one: Moses and Joshua; Jesus and Nicodemus, the woman at the Samaritan well, at table with Zaccaeus, at the seashore with Peter; Philip and the Ethiopian huddled over Scripture together, the glistening water of baptism nearby; Saul and Annanias in catechesis 101; Paul with Timothy and Titus plumbing the depths of ministry.

Think about your own experience. You can recall those who have influenced you in the development of your own faith. A grandparent, a pastor, a friend, a spouse. Think of your day to day experience as a Christian. People at the job and neighborhood who know you are a Christian and active in a congregation may not make much of it (or may even be put off by it).

But to whom do they turn when their lives are being torn apart? We keep talking about "getting the church in the world." It's there already, wherever we live our lives. An intentional mentoring program can help unfreeze the assets.

I invite you now to think about starting and nurturing the conversations which will help your congregation to fish and to feed in the Name of Jesus.

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Written by: Stephen P. Bouman

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