For our next Church in Motion at Bellville the focus shifted to look more at our personal roles as part of God’s story in his creation. This meant we needed to look at the different parts of being church we are involved in or not involved in enough. The parts of being church we highlighted was worship, fellowship, teaching and serving with different congregations being better and/ or worse at these different parts.
In our discussions the churches’ role to serve and promote fellowship was mentioned most often. The worship part of being church got the least amount of attention. Being reminded of Pentecost and the need to live in expectation of the Holy Spirit was a challenging discussion, forcing us to look at ourselves and the gift and talent we’ve been given. The question was whether we promote congregants to use those God given gifts and tal- ents to be active in our congregations or whether we leave it to others or the pastors.
Being reminded that we are part of the God’s story was something we needed to hear again. Between the Bible and the end, as we read of in Revelations, we might feel like we live in a period of waiting for the end. But we should rather ask ourselves to what end are we living, what are we to do as church. There was a repeated call to journey together and support each other in various ways. Most noted was the need for Bible studies during the week. This would be a place for fellowship and teaching, with the pastors playing only a supporting role. What was interesting in this, was that the church building and the idea of full-time pastors were not seen as the most important things to have for us to be a church.
Suggestions for the way forward
In the suggestions for the way forward from the 2022 Church in Motion, the need for continual meeting in various groups was noted. Some of these have been picked up, with a music group and a youth group having been formed. There is still need for a group to work on the serving part of being church, to help our congregations think differently about how we can serve in the communities we are placed.
In this last Church in Motion, it became clear that our congregations need to look into ways for promoting Bible studies or small groups where congregants can take time to learn from the Bible and support each other in ways not possible on a Sunday morning. There are challenges that come along with meeting in groups during the week.
Many people don’t have the time to meet after a busy day at work or with children needing to be sorted for school on the next day. Some older congregants might not want to drive at night or have transport during the day. This is something congregations can investigate and develop more.
The need for having an online presence was not something spoken about as much as in the 2022 Church in Motion, but it did come up. How can congregations use the internet to connect and support better is a question that needs to be addressed. Communication is key in building relationships and with the internet we have a powerful tool at our disposal.
Lastly, the discussion does not end here, and we don’t need to wait for the next Church in Motion to speak about our role and place as congregations in the CCW. Promote that congregants attending other congregational events and support other congregations in what they are busy with. Take time to think about small groups and if you feel prepared to do so, start one in your congregations. Live with the expectation of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your congregation and pray for guidance as we play our role as being church as part of God’s story.
Ps Schalk Treurnicht
