St. Nicholas, Bulverde/Spring Branch is a Church Plant in the Diocese of West Texas. Community engagement has been key in building awarness and congregational growth for St. Nicholas. Guest authors the Rev. Beth and Jeremy Wyndham share guidance from their journey on ways churches can get outside of the building’s four walls to spread the love and word of Jesus Christ.
St. Nicholas’ History
In November 2018, the Wyndhams were called by the diocese to plant a new church in one of the growing areas of San Antonio. After performing demographic research in early 2019, they decided to plant in the Far North San Antonio/Bulverde/Spring Branch area. Following months of meetings with the launch team, the first service of St. Nicholas Hill Country Episcopal Church was held on December 8, 2019. As the COVID pandemic shut down in-person worship, St. Nicholas pivoted to on-line and house visits to keep the burgeoning church together. Coming out of the worst of the pandemic, St. Nicholas began meeting in-person again, first with outdoor only meetings and worship, and then eventually inside. With the growth that St. Nicholas was experiencing, the diocese decided to help St. Nicholas purchase the Front Porch Bar & Grill building, and the congregation went to work converting it into a welcoming, flexible worship space. Through the process of the purchase and the obtaining of the Special Use Permit, Jeremy and Beth were introduced to the leaders in the City of Bulverde. These initial meetings, and the continuing relationship-building that has happened, have proven instrumental in the success and continued growth of
St. Nicholas.
Five ways for the church to leave the building:
1. Prayer Walks
We know from our experience and from our holy scriptures that all good things start with prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 encourages us, saying, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Prayer takes many forms. One form that is helpful when leaving the building is to engage in a Prayer Walk.
Pray and walk in your neighborhood, asking God’s presence to be made known, seeking God’s blessing for the people in your area, and asking God to open your mind and heart to how you and your church might be a good and holy neighbor, sharing the love of Jesus.
Gather a group together and choose a park, subdivision, or local businesses near your church. Go out two by two into your area and ask God to show you what he sees. Seek God’s heart for your neighborhood. Set a time to come back and share your experience: What did you see? Who did you meet? What did you learn?
As you continue to live and love your community, continue to pray for its needs and God’s blessings for the people.
2. Demographic Research
Utilize demographics to understand how you can better know your neighborhood. While many of us think we know our neighborhoods and their needs, it is important to periodically do research into how your neighborhood is changing over time. Three excellent resources for churches to gain information on who they are serving are:
Click here for resources.
3. Listening and Learning
Engage in the spiritual discipline of curiosity. Be curious about your neighbors - the businesses and people who are invested in living and loving your community. A business owner shared she never bothered getting to know churches and pastors in our little town because they never bothered getting to know her. What a painful but beautiful conversation to have.
The spiritual discipline of curiosity leads us to build God’s Kingdom. We are released to love freely without condition. Which is a very polite way of saying we are released to be friends with our neighbors without pressuring them to come to our church. The point of being spiritually curious is for us to trust The Holy Spirit in leading us to deeply and truly care for our neighbors. When we listen deeply to our neighbors and learn about their hopes and dreams, we begin building the Kingdom of God with them.
4.
Neighborhood and Community/
Civic Engagement
A key way of leaving the building is to seek out and engage with activities and ministries already established in your neighborhood. Examples include arts and crafts fairs, walks/runs for a cause, holiday events, etc.
5.
Offer Yourselves in love;
Be a Third space
Third Spaces are places where people gather other than home or work. Make friends through community and civic engagement – open your space so you can become a third space - to groups, businesses, schools, other ministry groups, and the people in your community. It is certainly not a new idea. Cathedrals in the Middle Ages became centers for religious, commercial, and cultural activities and events.
It is no small task to undertake God’s call to love our neighbors or to encourage and ask our churches to leave their beloved buildings and engage in the community. Embracing a life of curiosity, deep listening, and unconditional love of our neighbors is hard and vulnerable work. But what good and Godly holy work!
When first asked about writing thoughts on this topic, we joked about giving all of us five steps to effectively take the Church out of the Building. These steps are -
- Go out and meet your neighbors.
- Go out and meet your neighbors.
- Go out and meet your neighbors.
- Go out and meet your neighbors.
- Go out and meet your neighbors.
It’s really that simple. It’s what Jesus did. He traveled, prayed, walked, listened, and loved deeply. May Jesus give all of us the strength and courage to love our neighbors as He has shown us and loved us.
