Author Archives: rob.haynes

No Pointing

By Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes

I know a man who works at a large, warehouse style home-improvement store. He shared with me a story about how to help people find what they are looking for. It seems that there is a sign in the employee break room that says: “No Pointing.” The message to the store employees is that when customers ask the location of an item, one should not merely point and say, “Over there.” Nor is it sufficient to give an aisle number and description of the location on that aisle. Rather, the employee should walk with the customers and make sure that they are able, together, to locate what the customers are seeking. Along the way, the employee might learn more about just what they are looking for. In addition, even at some small level, relationship and goodwill is built. The customers realize that they are not alone and lost in their search, rather someone with expertise and experience is traveling with them. We are in a time when people need to know that the church is not merely pointing at some far-off place and that they must go alone on the journey to that place. Rather, we go together on the journey.

No matter how we are called to serve in ministry, as a lay person or pastor, it is important to remember that we do not go alone. We are to join with one another in our mutual work for the sake of the Gospel. Examples of this are frequently found in the Scriptures. In Genesis 12, when God calls Abram to the land he would see later, he did not go alone. In Luke 10, Jesus sent the witnesses out in pairs to proclaim that “the kingdom of God has come near.” After the Resurrection, Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus with Cleopas and his companion (Luke 24). Paul and Barnabas are sent together in Acts 13. If you are a leader in ministry, are you merely pointing or are you joining others on the journey?

The same holds true for those who are trying to find their way in the Christian faith. The last few months have turned many of us upside down. People are looking for someone to show them the way in a dark time. Many people are afraid of what the future will hold, as evidenced by panic buying and the hoarding of basic necessities. They want direction on how to navigate these uncertain times. Social distancing does not, necessarily, mean going it alone. Rather, at this important time, people around us need to be reminded that they need not go on this journey by themselves.

In times of difficulty, many people of faith have turned to Psalm 23 for comfort. Frequently, Bible study teachers and pastors point to the fact that the psalmist walks through the darkest valley rather than remain in that dark valley. That is an important point. However, notice that the comfort also comes from the fact that the Lord walks with us in those dark valleys. The Lord does not simply point but accompanies. We take solace because we are not alone.

Though the problems facing the world today are significant, perhaps even unprecedented, this is not the first time that the church has faced ministry to those impacted by a widespread illness. In the second, third, and sixteenth centuries, the church was able to minister to people in times of plague and disease. Without minimizing the human toll, it is important to remember that the church served as a faithful witness in those times. The church has the opportunity to be a faithful witness again in a difficult time for many around the world. That does not come from hoarding basic necessities or spreading panic and fear. Rather, it is demonstrated in showing the mercy given to us by Christ and coming alongside others as we walk through these dark times.

As a response to social distancing, many churches have generated a great deal of online content in the form of services, devotionals, and Bible studies. I am grateful that there has been a proliferation of these types of resources. The internet certainly needs it. All the while, church leaders should ensure that these are not just inwardly focused—merely aimed at the people who are already connected with a church. People are asking some really big and really important questions about life, death, the nature of the world in which we live. The gospel is the answer to these questions. This is a prime opportunity for us to share these answers to the world that is asking. We need to do this in a way that is not merely pointing and saying: “over there.” This is a prime opportunity to show the world the One who walks through our valleys with us.

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Talking about Jesus in A Complex World

World Methodist Evangelism (WME) is proud to work with partners around the world to train indigenous, front-line evangelism leaders to talk about Jesus in a complex world. Usually lasting one week, these evangelism seminars provide laity and clergy in the Wesleyan Methodist family the opportunity to explore the nature and practice of evangelism in a cross-cultural environment.

Pastors and laity from the United States are encouraged to join with international church leaders in learning, worship, and mutual growth. We have three seminars in 2020: Indonesia, Fiji, and Romania.

These unique learning opportunities address topics important to Christ followers in these respective locations. Some topics include:
–Ministry in migrant communities
–Faithful creation care
–Providing a faithful witness under the pressures of an increasingly secular society
–The role of healing in evangelism and discipleship
–Addressing local and global poverty from a biblical perspective
–Ministering in places where folk religion is being mixed with Christian teaching

These issues are of increasing importance and provide helpful insights for leaders around the world. In addition, these seminars provide an arena for the World Methodist family to meet together for sharing, learning, and preparing for evangelism. Teaching is led by local church leadership as well as pastors and scholars from the United States.

These experiences are perfect opportunities to grow as leaders and faithful followers of Jesus, and to encounter the wonderful things God is doing in the church around the world. Additionally, continuing education credit is available while experiencing evangelism and church leadership in these exceptional environments.

Upcoming Opportunities:
– Indonesia
– Fiji
– Romania
To learn more, click HERE.

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Here is the Church

By Rev. Dr. Robert Haynes

When I was a child, my grandmother taught me an old saying, a little rhyme that she would act out with her hands. It went something like this:

“Here is the Church”

(She interlaced her fingers, hiding them inside a two-handed fist)

“Here is the Steeple”

(She pointed her two index fingers upwards to make a steeple”

“Look inside, there’s all the people”

(She turned her palms upwards, revealing her wiggling, interlaced fingers)

With all due respect to my loving grandmother, is it fair to divide the church and the people that way? What does the Bible say about what, or who, the church is?

The New Testament gives no formal definition of the church. However, looking at contextual clues for the church’s own understanding of itself provides important insight. From its origins, the church understood itself as a gathered group in, and for the sake of, the world. The term used in Acts to describe the gathering of Christians, the church, is ekklesia. At the time of the writing of the New Testament, the term was already in common use to describe the gathering of the people of the city at the bidding of the municipal leaders. Ekklesia is a term that was used in Ancient Greek to describe the assembly called by the town clerk. It was the role of this clerk to call the people to assemble for his purposes: to make an announcement, dictate a policy change, or conduct some business. The gathering, the ekklesia, was called together by their leader for the purposes that leader wanted to fulfill.

However, the early church was not just a gathering of people to fulfill a political purpose. Rather, they were the gathering of the people at the request of the Highest Authority: a Christian community proclaiming that God was calling all believers for his purposes. Such a bold proclamation said that Jesus’ lordship is over all aspects of life. As such, they were publicly declaring all other religions and societal structures as inferior to God, Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son of God. Even the government and its leaders were to be molded and shaped by the teaching of Scriptures and lived out by the people gathered and scattered—the Christians, the church. What made the members of the early movements of Christianity distinct from the world was that they saw themselves as not just a gathering of people, rather as the gathering of the people of God.

By choosing to call themselves ekklesia, the New Testament church desired to be a group gathered among the whole city and desired that they could, one day, be a gathering of the whole city. Christians, from the very beginning, were a movement of people launched into the public life. They lived in such a manner that the social, political, and economic structures would reflect Christ’s teaching. They expected others to be transformed by Word: the teaching of Scripture, Deed: their acts of mercy and service, and Sign: the divine works of the Holy Spirit. They did not leave this work to a select few, what we today might call the “clergy.” Rather, they understood this to be the work of every Christian.

John Wesley understood this at many levels. For Wesley, the empowering of the laity in ministry was the way that God’s Kingdom is demonstrated through a community of believers demonstrating the love of God and neighbor, therefore fulfilling God’s commandments. Wesley sought to revitalize the church by re-energizing the laity in the Christian faith they seemed to profess, but failed to demonstrate. The early Methodists exemplified the lesson that the laity embodies the church, visible in the world. The Wesleyan Methodist movement continues to thrive where this is embodied today.

It is important to remember, that from the earliest foundations of the Christian movement, the church is not first a building or the clergy leadership. Rather, the church is just that, a movement of people who have been transformed by Christ and are inviting others to experience that transformation as well. The church is not merely the building, nor is the church merely the clergy. Rather, as another old saying goes, “If the building burned down and the preacher left town, what you would have left is the church.”

Dr. Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism and the author of Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage. He is an ordained member of The United Methodist Church. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Residency In Mission Update

Annie Kate Leinius, Scott Layer and Rob Haynes at Central United Methodist Church (Lenoir City, TN)
Commissioning Service for Annie Kate Leinius (Center), Scott Layer (R) and Rob Haynes (L) at Central United Methodist Church (Lenoir City, TN)

WME’s launch of the Residency In Mission (RIM) has been a great success. Our first Resident, Eliza Edge, in now in her sixth month of service. Our second Resident, Annie Kate Leinius, arrived in New Zealand just in time for the New Year. Both Eliza and Annie Kate are serving in multi-ethnic congregations in the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand in and around Auckland.

In November, WME staff members Rob Haynes and Bonnie Hollabaugh met with our Regional Secretary in the Pacific, Rev. Dr. Richard Waugh and RIM Pacific Regional Coordinator, Rev. Josh Bowlin in New Zealand to visit ministry placements as well as partnering pastors and congregations. The ministry of the Residents is already making an impact and together we gave thanks to the way God is using them. In addition to meeting with current pastors working with RIM, we had the opportunity to explore placements in other locations in and around New Zealand and in other Churches in the Wesleyan Methodist family.

The vision for RIM is to foster evangelistic and missional engagement and learning among young adults in the Wesleyan Family through intentional service, guided mentorship, and robust theological reflection. The response from potential host churches has been strong and we are excited to see how the Lord grows it to include even more church and nations.

There are several ways you can be involved in the Residency In Mission:

  1. Pray for this ministry. RIM provides a remarkable opportunity to grow the work of the church while helping prepare the next generation of leadership. Will you pray for then in their service?
  2. Recommend An Applicant. If you know someone who is 21 year or older and resides in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, or the United States and is looking to discern a call to missional service, let us know! (see below for contact info)
  3. Sponsor a Resident. The Residency is a self-funded service opportunity. Host churches contribute to the living costs of the Resident, but there are other expenses.

Applications are accepted on a rolling deadline. The next round of applications will close on 15 March. To apply or to learn more visit ResidencyInMission.org.

Eliza and Annie Kate will finish their Residency in August, before returning to the United States for graduate studies. Follow them on this journey by visiting our RIM resident page.

Learn more about RIM  at www.ResidencyInMission.org.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Work and the Rest that is Worship

By Rev. Dr. Robert Haynes

In the midst of the Advent season, many church leaders are busy preparing for some extra special: Extra and Special worship services. These services generally draw people to church who have not been before or who have not been in a long time. These can be wonderful times of evangelistic energy. Newcomers to the church can be invited into the Christian community when church leaders work to prepare themselves and their congregations for authentic worship.

Though it may seem paradoxical, Christmas services maybe a time to demonstrate that the work of worship can lead to a divine rest. It is work that does not exhaust, but refreshes.

Church leaders will spend a great deal of time preparing for worship services. Every word to be spoken has been carefully prayed over. Music has been rehearsed. The worship space has been prepared. Leaders should also teach the congregation that worship takes some work on their part. It takes a holy work, and therefore, it is work worth doing. Whether we participate in a uniform, regular order of worship or not, we all participate in a “liturgy.” Liturgy literally means “the work of the people.” Liturgy does not have to be confined to something we read through in traditional worship.

It is indeed powerful to remember, participate, and celebrate the traditions of the centuries of worship that came before us. But all worship: traditional, contemporary, emerging, etc. can be a “liturgy” or a work of the people. Worship is not a spectator’s sport. True worship occurs when we bring ourselves to the worship of God. This requires more than our mere physical presence. This requires our entire being, our time, and our full attention. This can be real work sometimes, but it is always worth it.

Because the Holy Spirit is working in authentic, work-filled worship it is powerful! The power is already there in the Person and Presence of the Holy Spirit. We do not have to force it or make it happen. The Spirit is already there. When we open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit by reverent and careful preparation for worship God is glorified, and we transformed in the process.

Worship is also about rest. Let’s face it, many of us have trouble resting. Sometimes we even look down upon those who rest as lazy or unproductive. To be the child of God that we are called to be, we need to rest. We must take a deep breath: spiritually, emotionally, physically.

True worship is a time of rest. We rest in the arms of the God who loves us and desires that we too love Him. He wants us to cast our cares upon Him and take rest from the burdens that the world, others, or even ourselves have placed upon us.

In our worship we can sometimes get so caught up in singing about God or reading about God or hearing about God that we forget that worship is an experience of God. We experience God’s love so that we too might be changed more into the likeness of Him. Have you ever considered how you might move from all those things about God and move into a restful experience of God?

Our worship truly takes on a whole new meaning when we live out that which we say and do in worship. We affirm that God is all powerful, that He forgives sins, that the saints are to commune together, and that there is more to our being than just this earthly life.

If done carefully, prayerfully, and intentionally every worship service can be filled with holy work and holy rest. As new people come to our churches, may Christian leaders model this work and this rest some that others would come to know God’s work and rest for themselves as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism and the author of Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage. He is an ordained member of The United Methodist Church. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org. To learn more about, or to order, Consuming Mission, visit www.ConsumingMission.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Residency In Mission Accepting Applications

Residency In Mission accepting applications for placement
in New Zealand 2020-2021

In recent months, WME celebrated the successful launch of a new initiative aimed at developing evangelistic and missional engagement and learning among young adults in the Wesleyan Methodist Family. The Residency in Mission (RIM) is an immersive mission and evangelism experience designed for young adults who are called to serve beyond their home country in partnership with ministries in the Wesleyan Methodist family. RIM is a 9-12 month commitment that includes guided mentorship from mission and evangelism leadership experts. RIM also provides opportunities for host ministries to strengthen the work in their local contexts, while offering Residents an environment in which to grow in their ministry service.

RIM grew out of WME’s commitment to cultivating dynamic, young leaders who are committed to the wholeness of the Christian message, integrity in evangelistic practices, and reconciliation in relationships. The next deadline for RIM applications is 31 December. Residents in Mission must be 21 years of age at time of placement. Current or future university and/or seminary students are welcome to apply. The Resident in Mission should be a citizen or resident of Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, or the United States.

We installed our first Resident In Mission, Eliza Edge, at the Millwater Wesleyan Methodist Church in Auckland, New Zealand. Our second Resident, Annie Kate Leinius, will begin her service in New Zealand at the first of the calendar year. You can learn more about them here.

To apply or to find out more about RIM visit www.ResidencyInMission.org or contact Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes, Director of Education and Leadership: rob@worldmehtodist.org[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Show Up and Pay Attention

By Rev. Dr. Robert Haynes

I was recently visiting my son who is away studying at University, and we attended Sunday worship at a church near his school. After the service, quite a few people stopped us to thank us for showing up to church. The congregation was made up of mostly older members who seemed thankful, relieved, and overjoyed that people from a younger generation would show up to church. That is the way the church is supposed to respond when people show up to church, right? So why don’t more people show up?

In an age of increasing moral relativism, secularization, and skepticism, convincing those outside the Church to show up inside the walls of a local church to seek answers to life’s problems will only grow more difficult. Standing on the front steps of the church while yelling, wooing, or cajoling passersby (literally or figuratively) to come on inside is likely to fail. Rather, those who would seek to effectively share the life-changing message of Jesus Christ must move in another space.

Sociologists say that we live and move in three different spaces. The first is our domestic space: where we live, eat our meals, and spend time with our families. This is our most private space. The second is where we go to work/school. We build relationships here, but they are limited by the confines of the nature of our work environment or school situations. The third space is where we spend the rest of our time. This can be a coffee shop, restaurant, pub, park, or playground. It may be the gym, the athletic fields, or the shopping mall. Used to its fullest potential, the third space is where we do life together. It is where we catch up with friends and neighbors. It is where we are able to hear one another’s hopes and dreams. It is where we are able to talk and reason and learn from one another. The third space allows for an exchange of ideas in a reasonable and measured way.

Faith-sharing is important in all of these spaces. At home, families should worship and study together. At work and school, there is an appropriate way for one to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ who shares love and hope with others. However, it is in the third space where a great impact can be made on non-believers. When people come together around a common interest or on common ground then Christians find themselves entering into spaces where God works in some remarkable ways.

Consider the example of the Apostle Paul in Acts 19 in which we see Paul living and working in Ephesus. In verse 9, we learn that for two years Paul and the disciples went daily to the hall of Tyrannus (an Ephesian third space, if you will). It was there that Paul taught any who would hear, Jews and Greeks, to the point where God did “extraordinary things through Paul” including healing people with the handkerchiefs and aprons that Paul had touched. Wow! Notice that it was not a cleverly devised outreach event where this happened. Rather, Paul deliberately and consistently moved out of the confines of his home and the marketplace of tent making and moved into a third space in Ephesus.

A mentor continues to remind me that in order to share your faith, you must show up and pay attention. Show up in people’s lives. Show up in the momentous and the mundane. Show up in times of joy and of sorrow. Show up for celebrations and for struggles. And pay attention. Pay attention to their hopes and dreams. Pay attention to their doubts and fears. Pay attention to their questions and curiosities.

Most importantly, pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is doing. When Christians show up in other peoples’ lives and pay attention to what is going on, the Holy Spirit will work in ways we could never imagine. As Wesleyans we know that God is calling each and every person to life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. We also know that we have the privilege and responsibility to use our presence, our works, and our words to be a part of God’s invitation to others. So, pay attention to the promptings and urgings of the Spirit to speak words of comfort and hope. Pay attention to the nudges you feel about when to speak of your faith and when to remain silent and to listen more. Pay attention to the doors that open for you to declare with loving kindness God’s saving grace.

So, move out into your third space. Show up. Pay attention. Then, celebrate what the Holy Spirit does in and among you!

Dr. Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism and the author of Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage. He is an ordained member of The United Methodist Church. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org. To learn more about, or to order, Consuming Mission, visit www.ConsumingMission.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Meet 2020 RIM Resident, Annie Kate

WME is excited to build on our successful launch of The Residency in Mission (RIM). Annie Kate Leinius will serve as the 2020 Resident in Mission in New Zealand. She joins Eliza Edge (2019-2020 RIM), who began her service in New Zealand in August. Annie Kate is working now to build financial and prayer support for her Residency. In addition, she is working with WME staff to gain important skills and training as she prepares for RIM and further lifelong ministry. We invite you to meet Annie Kate, by hearing more of her own story:

In just a few months, I will be leaving home and traveling alone to New Zealand to serve as the 2020 Resident in Mission (RIM) for World Methodist Evangelism.  I will leave behind everything and everyone that is familiar to me, but I have no doubt that this is where I should be heading.  My faith in God has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up attending the United Methodist Church, participating in children’s and youth programs, and many summer camps, retreats, events, and mission trips.  Several years ago, I felt a calling to the ministry, but I wasn’t exactly sure what type of ministry path I should follow.  During the past four years, while attending Emory and Henry College, located in Emory, Virginia,  I prayed a lot about what my next step should be.  I have considered going to seminary and becoming an ordained pastor or chaplain.  I am also interested in helping specific groups of people, like children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities.  I had never really pursued doing ministry work outside of the United States, until last January, when my pastor sent me an announcement about the RIM program.  After completing the application process, I started to realize that the RIM program and the opportunity to serve in New Zealand was very clearly an answer to my prayers.  I believe that God led me to this opportunity so that I can share my faith with others.  I realize that New Zealand is known for being an amazingly beautiful country.  I have seen pictures and documentaries highlighting the diverse natural beauty of the mountains, beaches, and rolling hills.  However, I have also learned that there are some very significant concerns within this population.  At least 42% of New Zealand’s residents claim to have no religion, and secularism is rising fast. If this trend continues, Christianity might even be at risk of dissolving in New Zealand in the future.  For that reason, I think it is extremely important to spread the Word of God and share my faith in this beautiful and far-away country.  Through the RIM program, World Methodist Evangelism is providing me an amazing opportunity to try to make a difference in some small way.  When I return home to Tennessee next August, I think that I will have learned so much more about the world around me, and I think I will have a better understanding of how I can best answer my calling to serve my Lord and Savior.

RIM is an immersive mission and evangelism experience designed for young adults who are called to serve beyond their home country in partnership with ministries in the Methodist Wesleyan family. RIM is a 9-12 month commitment that includes guided mentorship from mission and evangelism leadership experts. RIM also provides opportunities for host ministries to strengthen the work in their local contexts, while offering Residents an environment in which to grow in their ministry service. Each ministry context has been carefully vetted to provide safe surroundings with well-established support systems.

Learn more about RIM and support Annie Kate by visiting www.ResidencyInMission.org.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Reaching Young Adults

By Rev. Dr. Robert Haynes

People sometimes ask me for advice on how to get more young adults to come to church. Frequently, their church is warm and friendly, but is made of up older and/or elderly adults. They sometimes speak passionately about their desire to see their church not die off as members age. These conversations usually occur with church leaders in parts of the world where the church attendance is in decline, particularly in the West.

When I ask them what sort of things they have tried, they tell me they are thinking of putting ads in the newspaper. Or they hung signs up outside inviting people to come to church. Or they held an event and they hung up fliers in places like the post office. They seem disappointed that the response to these has been poor.

At this point, I try to steer the conversation away from these passive, impersonal efforts at “outreach.” None of these require a great deal of time of true investment in people. Effective ministry takes work, a great deal of hard work. It takes an investment of time, of love, and of self-abasing service. While no single formula provides a simple solution to increasing the spiritual involvement of young adults, I will offer a few principles for fruitful ministry.

Pray. This seems so basic, but it cannot be overstated. Pray for God to open your eyes to those you are to serve. Remember that prayer not only changes the one who is the subject of your prayer, but it changes the one who offers the prayer. Pray that God will set your heart right to minister to others.

Check your motives. Simply wanting young adults to come to church merely because it will keep your particular congregation alive is disingenuous and unbiblical. People will see right through it and be turned off. Rather, the gospel calls us to share the love of Jesus because it changes lives, transforms relationships, sets free those enslaved to sin, and heals the broken hearted. If that is your focus, the church will grow as a natural result. If you seek maintenance of an “institution” without prioritizing mission, you will get neither.

Seek Community. Research continues to show that today’s younger adults are looking for an authentic community that will help them discover the meaning and purpose of their lives. There is no better place than the community of vibrant Christians faithfully living out the gospel to aid in that discovery. However, true community looks much different than the institutional nature of many churches, and young adults, generally speaking, do not trust institutions. They have grown up watching banks “too big to fail,” fail. They do not trust government because they see political acrimony everywhere they turn. They see the institutional church racked by scandal again and again. Hence, they will not give blind loyalty to an institution, as maybe the previous generations have done. In order to help them see the good news of the gospel, authentic relationships in a dynamic community of Christians dedicated to scriptural holiness must be developed to provide a healthy picture of the church.

Prioritize Belonging. Too many times the church has told people that they must behave and believe before they can belong. However, this is not the pattern Jesus models. In Luke 19, Jesus is passing through Jericho. When he sees Zacchaeus, Jesus publicly invites Zacchaeus into the community of faith. Picture it, Jesus offers a notorious cheat and swindler a place in the community of people of faith. The members of the religious establishment immediately disapproved. But notice that the result is Zacchaeus’ confession and repentance. Offering community where people are free to belong and can honestly share their doubts, struggles, and questions about faith and have them answered with the transforming love of the gospel is a powerful agent of change.

Celebrate multi-generational ministry. In many parts of the world, young adult Christians are a minority in their peer group. Anecdotal evidence and academic research alike show that young adults want relationships with Christians of older generations to help them navigate life. This does not mean that the older adults need to have all the right answers every time. Rather, young adults tend to seek someone who will say, “I’ve have been walking this road a bit longer. I do not have it all figured it, but I will walk this road with you.” I know I am thankful for the mentors who came alongside my wife and me to help us learn how to be better parents, buy our first home, or take on new community projects. We received invaluable friendship and wisdom from people of several generations.

Be authentic. Young adults value genuine relationships that demonstrate sustained authenticity. Putting on a false front or a fake persona will only hurt ministry. It is not necessary to dazzle them with fancy lights, sound, smoke machines, and mirrors. Do not prioritize another slick event to get people in the door. Leave these things to the entertainment industry. Similarly, do not rely on the latest, trendy program to solve everything. Share your struggles and successes alongside one another, just as the New Testament churches did. Live in community, devoting yourselves to the apostle’s teaching, sharing meals with one another, and sharing as any has need (Acts 2). When a church operates this way people, communities, and the world are radically transformed.

Practicing principles like these in your ministry can help reach people for Christ of all ages, particularly young adults, in your community. The work of World Methodist Evangelism provides even more resources and events to equip your church for ministry. Contact us today to learn more.

Dr. Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism and the author of Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage. He is an ordained member of The United Methodist Church. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org. To learn more about, or to order, Consuming Mission, visit www.ConsumingMission.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

RIM RESIDENT TO SERVE IN AUCKLAND

World Methodist Evangelism is excited to launch the Residency In Mission program with the placement of our first Resident, Eliza Edge. Eliza will serve in Auckland, New Zealand at the Millwater Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand.

As a part of our ongoing commitment to raise up the next generation of leadership in Evangelism and Mission, RIM seeks to foster evangelistic and missional engagement and learning among young adults in the Wesleyan Family through intentional service, guided mentorship, and robust theological reflection. Eliza will serve with key leaders in church planting, evangelism, and mission in a highly secular environment in Auckland.

Despite New Zealand’s famous scenery, known internationally through movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and its first-world economic status, New Zealand has always had a secular cultural component. In more recent years there has been a marked increase of this secularism with nearly 40% of the population indicating they have no religion. According to one analysis New Zealand is the most secular English-speaking country in the world!  Against this secularism backdrop and with its accompanied mental health and addiction issues there are many opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such work needs always needs to be done intelligibly and with grace and truth (John 1:14). Rev. Dr. Richard Waugh, WME Regional Secretary for the Pacific Region and National Superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand says, “It is vital that young people have opportunity to understand the gospel and why the church is such a life-giving part of society.  Young committed Christians can have a prominent role in such missional work, and we are excited by the potential of ‘Residency in Mission’ (RIM) through World Methodist Evangelism.”

Learn more about the need for the work of World Methodist Evangelism in New Zealand and the way RIM is filling that need by watching this video from Dr. Waugh.


Eliza is uniquely qualified to serve through a variety of gifts and talents. A recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Eliza has been active Wesleyan Methodist ministries throughout her life. She has experience working with youth and children and is an accomplished musician. Using these gifts and experiences in Auckland will not only serve the local church but also help prepare her to use these gifts through lifetime of service to the Kingdom of God. Eliza describes her service with great humility, “I am under no misconception that I can save a country, a city or even one person, but I do know that God can and has saved the world and all I can do is allow the one who is almighty to work through me….”

The Residency In Mission program provides this real-life learning lab through a variety of activities:

  • Working with World Methodist Evangelism Regional Secretaries and local ministry leadership, World Methodist Evangelism facilitates Residency In Mission opportunities for young adults. Ideally, these ministry contexts will be in cross-cultural, international settings to strengthen bonds of global ministry, mutual learning, and ministry partnership.
  • Residency In Mission students will be embedded in places of service that allow them to use their gifts and talents to benefit the local ministry, while developing new skills, understanding, and leadership abilities.
  • Mentors provided by World Methodist Evangelism will provide learning opportunities, coaching, mentoring, and spiritual guidance for Residency In Mission students.

We invite you to prayerfully support Eliza, the pastors in New Zealand, and those whom they will serve. To support RIM, the residents, or to learn more, visit www.ResidencyInMission.org.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]