Every year we take small groups of Gathering participants on trips outside the country to visit work being done by people who are involved with The Gathering. Earlier this year we went to Cuba and decided we would do something inside the United States in December.  We had read about Portland through a series of articles in Christianity Today titled "This Is Your City" that had featured innovative cooperation of government corporate church and civic organizations. As one of the participants put it "This is what the church looks like in Babylon when it seeks the peace of a city in which it is in exile and not in charge." That was true…and would prove to be as interesting as any outside-the-country trip we have made. We learned a few things ” and I want to share just three:

1.  Going back to Robert Schuller and the 80's model of church growth” congregations filled with boomers have concentrated their efforts on growing attendance giving facilities staffing and programs. They have been "attractional" churches creating ways to bring people to the church and giving what Bill Hybels called rightly so ” "the home court advantage." It worked and hundreds of megachurches now ring urban areas. The younger pastors we sat with made a clear distinction between what they are doing today and the Boomer churches: "We are more about being interested in people and not just interesting to people. We see our mission as serving the city – not conquering the city."

2.   Instead of "homogenous" growth” these churches are looking for intentional diversity. And rather than congregational growth they are focused on encouraging people to be actively engaged in their community in ways that benefit the community – not just Christian or religious organizations. This means working with secular groups that do not share their values but they share a common goal. We met with city commissioners in Mayor Sam Adams’ office and they described the three major issues for city government: family homelessness ” violence and hunger/food security. The Christians have found ways to work on those – much to the delight of the city government.

3.  All this requires a well-respected and neutral convener who has knowledge of the community. Kevin Palau and the Season of Service play this role in Portland. Kevin "connects the dots" in a way that everyone (even those who have seen many "one and done" projects) trusts and does it with grace and enthusiasm.

If you are interested in knowing more about how your own community can begin to move toward cooperation and serving” please contact Season of Service at www.seasonofservice.org.