The Resurrected Church at Hope

I cannot help but become annoyed when I hear lectures about church growth or dying churches. What we often forget is that this is not our church. This is Christ’s church! The passion of the church has become more interested in the business of Jesus rather than the important mission of the church. This blog post will come across as a lot more reflective than our usual blog posts and in many ways a lot less academic. Why? Because I think it is important to get this information out into the world. I want people to recognize what is important, and I know this is a shot in the dark. I am also not naive enough to think that I can somehow change the church, even when I am ordained. We cannot single-handedly change the church! That aside...

I have been placed in a congregation that is centered in Reading, PA. This congregation is in the midst of an impoverished community, people do not live extravagantly, and the congregation suffers financially. These are woes, nonetheless, these people know how to do ministry. It has taken me all of eight months to figure out specifically what they are doing right! This church suffers financially because the congregation does not have much disposable income to give to the church. The pastor does not ask people to give until it hurts because the pastor does not thump the prosperity gospel. Yet, this is such a life-giving place... how? How do they do it? If everyone could figure out how to use a “dying” congregation to do real ministry we would see resurrection everywhere.

This congregation’s ministry is driven by a food pantry and an after school program. These two ministries have sustained the people of Hope Lutheran Church for years! That is not it! The pastor at this congregation also has a heart for ministry and a deep, passionate, whole love for God’s people. How often do we see pastors of various denominations burnt out and lifeless? How do we make the clergy come to life? We can see the need for resurrection!


Sometimes worship is bumpy, sometimes people get up in the middle or worship at the most inopportune times to go to the bathroom, sometimes kids get noisy, sometimes people drop huge chunks of consecrated bread on the ground, sometimes these things happen, but this is God’s house. This is holy ground! God loves the people that come in and go out of Hope! These things just don’t matter as much as ministry matters. We are the hands and feet of Jesus because the Holy Spirit lights a fire under our bums and we move. We feed the people of God (all the people) because they are hungry, we give clothing to the naked, we give encouragement to those who are down, why? Because this is what God calls us to do! We don’t do it because this is how we get to heaven, we just do it!

It seems like in this Easter season we all need to reflect on death and resurrection. We see churches dying, and this is an undeniable fact. Yet, the one who was resurrected and has done everything for us has the power to resurrect the church, its leaders, and its people! We don’t need to worry constantly about the huge ministries that we cannot seem to do. At Hope, we recently embarked on a young adults group at a local bar! Things as small as this can be wonderfully life-giving experiences! We, as wonderfully made creations of the Almighty, can gather to love one another! That is what the church is about: loving one another! Out of this is born a church that grows and thrives! That is who we are and that is who the Triune God is forming us into and calling us to be!

-LB