Our Community Conversation (Week 4)

October 1st, 2014

One of the common themes in our conversations so far has been the topic of diversity as something that is unique about our church and something that we continue to strive for. Our question this week is "What do we need to do individually and what do we need to do collectively as a church to achieve diversity in our congregation?"

Here's what we discussed:

• First thing we need to do is identify which groups we want to attract.
• One group we don't talk about a lot that might be missing is non-Christians.
• We need to attract youth and young families. 
• We need to invite anyone that we come across in life.  
• We need be proactive instead of reactive as a church in our own neighborhoods. We could set up liaisons in each neighborhood to identify new people who move in. 
• Diversity is a side-effect of being welcoming as a church. 
• We need to continue getting involved in the Wrenn Dr. community. 
• Transportation is a major concern. How are we going to get people here?
• We should utilize Facebook for advertising Children's activities.
• We could create automobile magnets/t-shirts/or other advertising.
• At the recent Christian Community Development Association conference in Raleigh the level of diversity that we are looking for was present. Continued involvement with this group could help us to become more diverse lock hands regardless of race and go out into the community. 
• To have a diverse church we have to start inside by accepting diversity in many different forms. We have to admit it's not about us or how we want to worship. There's been complaining about songs in Latin or the Praise Band, but we need to allow people the freedom to worship in their own way. 
• What would we do if a transgender person came to our church? Would we know how to welcome them? We need to get out ahead of the issues we are going to face in the future. We need to combat fear with education. We need to impact the parts of our society that are not embraced (such as the transgender community).
• We have built in barriers that were established long ago. They are the way we were brought up to think and so we have to be constantly aware of these barriers when they flare up. We need to be stretched so that we can be more open to accepting diversity. 
• We could tap into the groups that meet at our church.
• We could gather teenagers together. 
• We need a project that we can all work on together like fixing up building A with a basketball court or pool table. 
• We can't expect people to come here. We have to go there. Also, some relatives came at Easter and were not greeted or welcomed by anyone, which is not good. 
• Some thought we might want to ask former youth who are now leaders in the church why they were always at the church building 30 plus years ago.
• Problem is that nobody knows how many teenagers we have as a church because the youth don't come on Wednesday night but are always there Sunday night. Kids are really busy.
• We are facing a no-nonsense generation that wants to be a part of something meaningful and genuine - not a new building or a gymnasium. They are attracted to something missional. 
• Every person in the church should be a greeter. We need to reach out and ask every one we see, "Can I help you?"
• If we build phase 2 we will have a fellowship hall that will solve a lot of our mobility problems for Senior adults. 
• We need to "bridge the salad bar" and find more opportunities for intergenerational ministry with people of all ages including mentors with youth and children's families. We need to cultivate a willingness to get to know each other across generations. 
• We need to have a way that younger couples can talk to an older person in church and build a relationship of support and friendship.
• Maybe we could have older adults serve food or prepare food on a Sunday night  for the youth?
• The question we haven't answered all night is "Diversity of what?" What kind of diversity do we want? Race, class, creed, color, sexuality, what kind of diversity do we need?
• Diversity of opinions is important. We need to learn from minority voices. We need to listen and practice tolerance. There are two-sides to every issue and we should be patient and loving with each other - especially on issues that do not impact our salvation.
• Seniors and youth we need to strive to get to know one another and then invite other people to come to church. 
• What are the barriers to diversity at this church?