A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to “sit in” (via videoconference) with the Out in Faith action team meeting.  Out in Faith is a ministry led by Katie Peterson and Williston Faith UMC that reaches out to the people of the Williston, ND area, in particular, those who are migrating to the area in response to the oil rush.

One of their key ministry activities is a Saturday night worship service and meal.  During our meeting, one of the team members, in reference to the volunteers who serve and attend the meal, said, “We make it a rule that we don’t sit with each other.”  Rather than gathering with their friends or fellow congregation members, they are intentional about stepping out of their comfort zones in order to sit with people from the community who attend the meal.  They know that although the meal they offer is nourishing in its own right, it is the fellowship and human connection that truly ministers to people in an area where isolation can be overwhelming.

Her comment - or rather their intentional practice - really made me think.  How often do we pay more attention to our comfort zone than to the desperate need someone has to connect with another person even for just a brief time?  I felt incredibly convicted by this.  I may be an extrovert but my default, in large gatherings, is to find people I know to sit with or visit with.  When I find myself in a large group setting or even at the end of the potluck line, it’s as if I revert back to junior high—scanning the room for someone I know rather than SEEING the people God wants me to get to know.

This past week, members of the Common Table, CCFA, Missional Congregations Link, and Extended Cabinet gathered in Watertown to receive the report on our feasibility study for the Capital Campaign for Congregational Development.  After a thorough explanation of the report and wonderful time of conversation, the group voted unanimously to move forward with the campaign and continue to contract with Tyler Associates to lead the process. 

As exciting as this is, it’s also a step of faith that will call us to move beyond our comfort zones.  That starts with the campaign itself requiring bold steps of giving, asking, and sharing the story.  But the bigger picture of WHY we’re launching the campaign and the intended outcome will be a continued call for steps of faith.

For some, those steps beyond our comfort zone will include engaging in one of the church revitalization processes, which requires an honest self-examination of our churches and bold steps to reach new people.  These steps of faith will come through the courage it takes to be re-tooled as a leader, and the humility to learn from others as well as invite others to be leaders in our midst.  Above all, they will come through the reaffirmation of our call to SEE a world in need of Jesus and to step beyond our comfort zone to do whatever it takes to grow in our love of God and neighbor, reach new people and heal a broken world.

Jesus said that we would, “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on [us]; and [we] will be [his] witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) In essence, he said, we will be his witnesses in new neighborhoods, in new communities and even at potluck tables with new people.  But he also assured us that his Spirit would enable us to do this—to step beyond our comfort zones—in order to experience something more than comfort—to experience a glimpse of the Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.  May that be our challenge, as well as our reassurance, as we step out in faith together.

-Rev. Rebecca Trefz, Director of Ministries