Beyond Sunday

I have been in my placement for just over three months. I am aware that it's not a good idea to make too many changes in the first year, let alone the first three months. It has been interesting to hear people in the congregation say changes have happened just because my style of leadership is different to the previous Minister. Of course those changes I haven't really been aware of as I wasn't in the church when the previous Minister was there. However, I am conscious there are changes that I know have happened that I have either started or been part of, not out of deliberately changing things but as part of what I think, is a natural flow.

One of those changes is the segment in our order of service which we have named "Beyond Sunday". (Which is also the inspiration for the name of this blog :-))It started out as part of our Mission Month focus where we heard from people each week who had either recently been on a mission trip, about to go on a Mission trip or who were part of a local mission experience. We then heard from someone who talked about mission in their work place, and there was such a positive response to hearing what someone was doing in their every day life that we felt it was important that others were also able to tell their own experiences. This is a way we can encourage people in our congregation and acknowledge that people don't have to go overseas to be in mission. Mission can happen wherever we are.It is also an opportunity to encourage people as they seek to be missional in their own work/family/school context.

Beyond Sunday has also proven to be a good communication tool. Our weekly groups, such as playgroups, small groups, fellowship groups have the opportunity to share with the wider congregation what they are doing and encourage others to join in or support what is happening during the week. It's much more exciting hearing someone tell their experiences than reading a snippet in the Sunday newsletter.

Having a Beyond Sunday spot also encourages people to see our Sunday service as a celebration of what God has been doing the rest of the week. As a Minister of a church it is easy to make Sunday the focus as many hours are spent preparing for Sunday. There's a sermon to prepare, there are meetings with coordinators of the teams that are involved in the Sunday service, and Sunday is the one chance a whole week where Minister's have the opportunity to remind the congregation of the church's vision, so energy is put into making sure that is communicated well. Meanwhile, the rest of the congregation are busy being the church during the week and focused on what is happening Monday to Saturday. As a church we can celebrate together the fact that God is with us all the time and not just on Sunday, in church.

For me personally, Beyond Sunday helps me to get to know people and know what their interests and passions are. It's great to hear people's enthusiasm for what they are doing in the week and hear their stories of how God has lead them to a specific project or mission.