Dear Rose Park,
Over the course of the last few years, I’ve read and re-read Tod Bolsinger’s book Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory. It’s been a fascinating book to read and critique while in the crucible of pastoral ministry. Essentially, it tells the story of explorers Lewis and Clark who were prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves facing the Rocky Mountains. In that moment they knew they no longer needed their canoes, instead they needed to find new navigational tools.
There are several ‘canoes’ that Bolsinger mentions throughout the book that we have relied upon in ministry for decades. One ‘canoe’ I might add has been loyalty to the church as an institution. For example, when a new family moved into the neighborhood in the 1950’s or 1960’s not only would they look for a church to be involved in, but in all likelihood they would look for a specific denomination of a church. This canoe no longer exists; rarely does a family look for a church within a specific denomination, if they look for a church at all.
As I think about this dynamic as it relates to Rose Park, if we are waiting for ten or twenty new families to move into the neighborhood and knock on our door looking for the local Reformed church we are going to be waiting for a very long time. Of course, there are many facets of church growth to consider (e.g. spiritual maturity and service engagement), but if we desire to see numerical growth within Rose Park we can no longer row in the ‘loyalty canoe.’
Instead, we must lean into our relationships because there is a far better likelihood to introduce someone to the Gospel and sustain their faith in Christ when it is paired with a personal invitation to be a part of the Church. In other words, if we desire to see more new faces and families at Rose Park then we must be willing to invite them, sit next to them, have coffee with them, disciple them, and serve alongside them because in all likelihood they won’t be moving into the neighborhood and knocking on our door.
For a variety of reasons, our culture has shifted. No longer is the church in the center; a large portion of our nation has known this for quite some time, but this is a relatively new dynamic for West Michigan. In a sense, we are now standing alongside Lewis and Clark and facing the mountains. We have a choice: we can carry our canoes and try to row up the mountain or we can leave our canoes behind and embrace new navigational tools for this unchartered territory that lies ahead. Some of this will require change and adaption, some of it will be scary and anxiety-producing, but one thing will remain steadfast and true: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore (Psalm 125: 1-2).
Grace & Peace,
