“Where are we right now?”
That was the question posed to us by Kris Rocke of the Center for Transforming Mission, a subset of the Northwest Leadership Foundation (NLF). Kris was pointing out that you can be somewhere without actually being there. This was the theme of “The World Outside,” the most recent outreach experience at Believers Fellowship.
We are surrounded by hurting people. We see them every day. But do we really see them? Do we really know their stories? Are we really there for them? Or are they just extras in a story that is really about us?
On June 14th, Believers Fellowship went “out there” to NLF to learn more about how we can be present for the people around us both in Gig Harbor and in Tacoma. First, we loaded into a bus and toured East Tacoma, learning about the lives of the people who inhabit the most uninhabitable places in our city. We learned some of their stories and talked about the difference between caring for people and merely serving them.
That was the question posed to us by Kris Rocke of the Center for Transforming Mission, a subset of the Northwest Leadership Foundation (NLF). Kris was pointing out that you can be somewhere without actually being there. This was the theme of “The World Outside,” the most recent outreach experience at Believers Fellowship.
We are surrounded by hurting people. We see them every day. But do we really see them? Do we really know their stories? Are we really there for them? Or are they just extras in a story that is really about us?
On June 14th, Believers Fellowship went “out there” to NLF to learn more about how we can be present for the people around us both in Gig Harbor and in Tacoma. First, we loaded into a bus and toured East Tacoma, learning about the lives of the people who inhabit the most uninhabitable places in our city. We learned some of their stories and talked about the difference between caring for people and merely serving them.
Pastor Ron Vignec showed us life in East Tacoma
After the tour, we returned to NLF headquarters where Kris Rocke led us in a dialogue about the marginalized and how we can develop a healthy relationship with the city. Finally, Duncan Wilson from Sound Youth Counseling (SYC) told us a little about what they are doing for the city’s youth and how we can be a part of their ministry.
Kris Rocke warned us about putting "problems" before relationships
The consensus response to this experience was, “Wow.” I learned a lot from our friends at SYC and NLF, and I am excited about how our relationship with the city will develop in the future.
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