Innovation in a Church Context

For this post, I am looking at a church in my hometown of Lancaster, which is a sister church to my own church. Westminster Presbyterian is an example of using the resources of a congregation to create new and innovative outreaches and is also an example of partnering/networking to better expand the Kingdom.

First, Westminster has a large and well-known ESL program. It is in a city that welcomes many immigrants and refugees every year, so this ministry is appropriate to the needs of the growing community that the church wishes to serve and reach with the Gospel. Its ESL classes facilitate relationships between students and the congregation. Some of these students are already Christians, and receive encouragement and fellowship with other brothers and sisters, but some are unbelievers, and are thus exposed to Christ through a caring, welcoming, and genuine environment. The ESL program is an excellent testimony for those outside of the church and is a way for nonbelievers to connect on a personal level, perhaps for the first time, with Christians. Westminster has also begun a women’s Bible study in connection with the program, as a way for students to practice their English in a different setting and also to study scripture and hear the Gospel. The ESL program demonstrate a way a church can adapt to a changing environment/culture graciously and effectively, while still remaining relevant and keeping the Gospel in whatever they are doing.

Westminster exemplifies partnership as well, which is an essential part to creating sustainable ministry and also fostering a better understanding of what it is to be a church. They have connected with a Congolese congregation in Lancaster and support them by providing a church building. Together, the two congregations work to connect ESL students or recently arrived refugees/immigrants to people who can help them and a place where they can hear about Christ. The fact that these two congregations are partnering to complete a unified goal is a fantastic example of what it means to be a part of the Church–not simply by existing and working as individual congregations but by being the Church in Lancaster together.