Daily Discussion Question: What is your church doing to reach your Samaria?
Jeremy Geerdes
evangelism out of Acts 1. Indeed, Jesus' words in verses seven and
eight stand as a compelling mandate for a comprehensive outreach
program, and we've probably all seen the diagram of outward-extending
rings designed to illustrate the Jerusalems, Judeas, Samarias, and
ends of the earth in our lives.
The classic interpretation and application of this commissioning is
that Jerusalem represents the people who have already heard and, in
many cases, embraced the gospel message. We'll call them the people
that already attend our churches. Judea represents those who have not
heard but are geographically and culturally just outside our doors.
We'll call these our neighborhoods and communities. And the ends of
the earth represents people who are substantially distinct, culturally
and geographically, from us. We'll call this the mission field.
Traditionally, our churches tend to emphasize local ministries and
outreaches, and missions. To be certain, these are essential, and it
is not my intention here to detract from them, but I wonder how many
of our churches are neglecting Jesus' mandate to reach Samaria, or
those people in between the next door neighbors and the other side of
the world. These people are similar to us in culture or geography,
but they are still different enough that it will be difficult for our
existing church to minister to them. Rather, we must make deliberate
efforts to overcome a few significant obstacles to effectively
minister to these people.
A couple of examples from my own church and community would include
the area south of Hickman Rd. along Martin Luther King, Jr., Parkway.
This neighborhood, while geographically less than two miles from our
church, is dominated by African Americans and Hispanics of a somewhat
more depressed economic status than our neighborhood and church. To be
certain, their culture is different from our own, even though their
geography is similar.
Another example for our church would be the various suburbs
surrounding Des Moines. Many of these are culturally virtually
identical to our own church and neighborhood, but it can take up to a
half hour to reach them by car. This is a significant geographic
hurdle to our ability to effectively minister to the people there.
Of course, all sorts of people have proposed all sorts of means to
reach these Samarias, including specifically-targeted outreach
programs, additional services, and even church planting. Our district
even has this church planting initiative. I am curious, though, what
our churches are actually doing. Is your church engaging in any or all
of these? Something different? Are you neglecting the Samaritans
altogether?
So here's the question: What is your church doing to reach your Samaria?
Rev. Jeremy R. Geerdes, Pastor
Debra Heights Wesleyan Church
4025 Lower Beaver Rd.
Des Moines, IA 50310
p/f: (515) 279-5212
h: (515) 277-7491
jgee...@mchsi.com
jgeerdes.wordpress.com