Focusing on Ministry to a Community
by Adam Magill, pastor at Zion Congregational Church in Treynor, Iowa.
With God’s help, Zion Congregational Church is seeking to become a missional community church where all our members see themselves as ministers in their own context. To that end, we have tried some out-of-the-box ministries. Some have been successful, others have not. But the journey of experimenting and discerning where God is moving among us is paying rich dividends.
Stick Horse Rodeo
One of the recent transitions at Zion is in our staffing. The church leadership spent the last two years discerning the needs of the church and learning where God is calling us to move in our community. We are located in what is largely a bedroom community. Treynor is about fifteen minutes away from the Omaha metropolitan area. As such, there are many in our community who live in Treynor, but whose work and social lives are found in either Omaha or Council Bluffs.
As our church leadership prayed and studied our community, we identified a major community need: a place for elementary students to go after school until their parents can arrive home from work. We also discerned some major needs within our own congregation, the need to increase our communications and technology, and the need to expand our youth ministry program. With these needs in mind, we began to ask the question of what kinds of positions/staff would we need in order to address those challenges.
So this summer our congregation decided to step out in faith. We eliminated our part-time secretary position and added a second full-time pastoral position: the Pastor of Youth, Communications, and After School Care. Our previous part-time and bi-vocational youth pastor was hired to fill this expanded role. The new position addresses the needs of Zion and prepares us so we can join with God by serving our community through an after-school care ministry which will begin this next school year.
Drive-in Movie Screen
Another ministry that our church has been active with is Zion’s Drive-In Movie Theater. Three years ago, Zion decided to begin to try to deepen our relationship with our neighbors by creating a drive-in movie event. This event ballooned into a full blown summer ministry. Some church members hand-designed and created a movie screen that was sixteen feet wide by nine feet tall. A high-lumen projector was donated and the youth set up a concession stand, complete with freshly popped popcorn. Bible studies that go along with each film are handed out to those in attendance. Speakers are positioned so people can hear even if they are at the back of the parking lot. We have shown everything from Disney classics to John Wayne westerns to more intense films, including “World Trade Center” and “The Passion of the Christ.” All movies are free, and for the most part, family friendly.
In some years we have shown films once each month and in other years we have gone every two weeks. The ministry has seen varied participation, from around a dozen to over a hundred people in attendance. Currently, we are experiencing a lull in participation, so we are exploring options to change or retire this ministry. But it has served its purpose, and was a highly visible sign that we are trying to get out into our community and build relationships with our neighbors.
Another family event that has seen even greater community success is an annual stick horse rodeo. One of our deacons remembered this event from her youth in rural Nebraska and wondered if we could adapt it for Zion. Each summer, kids of all ages compete in barrel racing, pole jumping, bronco riding, straight racing, calf roping, and more, with the fastest stick horse they can find. A congregation member who enjoys woodworking has spent the last two years building up a reserve “stable” of stick horses, so that even kids who do not have their own horse can come and participate.
The night begins with the pledge of allegiance to the flag and a prayer for the riders. We have a current deacon who dresses as a clown and does cowboy and cowgirl protection all night. There is music over the PA system and an emcee walking us through each event and calling out riders. A chute and swing gate were created out of an old baby crib for the bronco event. A church group puts on a supper with hotdogs and baked beans.
At the end of the night, awards and prizes are handed out. We’ve noticed an ever-increasing number of community members who enjoy coming to watch. All in all, the stick horse rodeo takes about two hours, and has been a great way for our church to get to know our neighbors.
