How churches can establish a presence in the community

An interview with Gordon McDade, Senior Pastor of Ballynahinch Baptist Church, – Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland.

How did community engagement start for you?

It all started when we asked the church what turned out to be a key question: ‘If the church ceased to exist would anyone in the community notice?’ The answer didn’t make us feel very comfortable.

So how did you start remedying that situation?

The first thing we did was go out and ask the community what was good about living here and what they felt the needs were? We then set about meeting those needs starting with the easiest.

When you say the easiest, what do you mean?

Many of the community mentioned the general untidiness in the community. So we launched a ‘litter lift’ where the church members tidied up the area and did work in peoples’ gardens. We had an artist in the church and so we also asked the council if we could paint a mural to enhance the area. They agreed.

How did the community react to these initiatives?

It certainly got us noticed and people started to ask questions about the church. The council also started to warm towards us and we have been able to build a very good working relationship with them since those early days.

What did you tackle next?

The community also said that there were few places for people to go and meet. We approached the council who offered us a building in the centre of the community at a peppercorn rent. This is now called Bridge House and has become the centre of many community initiatives.

Why did you choose to use another building other than the church?

Firstly, because it was more central to the community we were seeking to engage with. Secondly, because it was a neutral space. We felt that it may be a little threatening for people’s first contact with us to be the church building. Finally, because the building at the time was not considered particularly fit for purpose.

So what initiatives do you now run from Bridge House?

We will run anything that the community requests and we feel we can resource. At the moment there are stress and beauty classes, coffee mornings, photography classes and that sort of thing.

How long has it taken for you to establish such a presence in your community?

We started four years ago. We are discovering that any sort of community engagement is a slow, long term process that will require a great deal of sacrifice on the part of the congregation.

What other discoveries have you made?

The biggest is that it has to be unconditional service. It cannot be a means to a different and hidden agenda. We are involved in many evangelistic initiatives, but we have tried to keep them distinct and separate from the work we do in the community. If people choose to step over and explore faith then the opportunities are there, but it is up to them to make the move.

Have you partnered with any other organisation as yet?

We have started, but it is still early days. Apart that is from the council and the community itself, we have started a Besom Project there are at present only two in Northern Ireland. This project puts us in touch with some of the neediest in our community and enables us to help them in practical ways. In all that we do we want to engender excellence. That is also true in who we choose to partner with.

What have been the biggest challenges?

The biggest has been stopping community engagement becoming marginal. We don’t want this to become the preserve of a few people in the church but something built into our very ethos as a whole church.

How have you tackled this?

We have run 6 monthly vision/community Sundays. Here we restate the vision and we ask someone from the community to come and speak. One of the things we often do at this event is to ask the community speaker what they think of us as a church. We also get the congregation to tell their good stories of engagement, which is very powerful. We are so committed to this that we are exploring expanding this to be a community week.

What are your plans for the future?

Recently we employed a Community Family Worker. We have also redeveloped our church buildings, but we are still operating our community engagement out of Bridge House. We want to run classes for those struggling with GCSE English. We are increasing the number of community groups. We want to open a coffee and book shop. We are involved with others in Street Pastors. We also want to start a Debt Advice Centre with Christians Against Poverty.

We want to do all we can to turn the inside out and see the church fully engaged. We have come along way and that is largely due to our fantastic team not me. What we are discovering is that the more you show willing to engage the more the community will pull it out of you and pull you into the community.

Last Updated 08 January 2010