Most people equate community with neighborhood. This makes sense in the suburbs, but our congregation comes from all over. Last year we worshiped in four locations each week. The new paradigm defines community by where your people are, not your building. Plus, urban people live with the contradiction of a highly concentrated population that is highly disconnected and isolated. Effective community outreach, for us, is where we create community through outreach.

A year ago, we went to Ensenada, Mexico, to upgrade living conditions in the barrios. About 170 adults, both believers and seekers, picked up trash and painted murals. In another project, about 40 of us went to Thailand to serve 500 overseas workers for ten days.

In a 13-month period, over half of our adults were mobilized in a service project outside the U.S. These experiences not only build community within Mosaic, but draw those outside of Christ to faith through the power of biblical community.

A friend once said, "If people learn where your restrooms are, they'll be back." We've resolved to make our entire facility a familiar home for the community.

In the fall, we invite preschool children to our pumpkin patch. They sit among the pumpkins in a field adjacent to the church and listen to church members read stories. It's very popular. The schools have begun busing the children in.

When the GMAC Bowl Game is played in Mobile, the church parking lot will be the start and end of a 5-kilometer run.

Someday, our senior pastor dreams, we will build a community swimming pool.

Any visible participation in community life advances our goal.

At a busy intersection adjacent to our campus, the church opened a bookstore. When a man entered and asked for the "adult" section, a clerk took him to the Bibles and began a conversation. Before the man left, they prayed together.

"I came looking for pornography," he said, "but I found a spiritual encounter."

Given our ever-increasing diversity on Sunday mornings, we hosted a spring Cultural Fair that introduced ourselves and our new Ministry Center to the community. We highlighted our cultures through crafts, games, exhibits, and of course, food. The big draw was Hiroshima, a Grammy-winning jazz fusion band at a free outdoor concert. The band, which has a stellar reputation in the larger Asian American community, was our way of bridging that broader community and ourselves.

In the fall, we partner with numerous congregations in Rosemead to host a huge Thanksgiving luncheon. We distribute invitations through the local schools. (One principal asked for 2000!) This year we added a mariachi band, taiko drummers, and a young jazz trumpet prodigy to the festivities. We fed more than 800 people who would not have had such a feast otherwise.

We may not see loads of people making a beeline to our church afterwards, but it's been a wonderful opportunity for our faith community to serve the overlooked people around us.

Originally published in Leadership journal, January 1, 2002.

Read more from 'Ideas'

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