Deepening the Impact: A Closer Look at Community Engagement

What is “community engagement?” For Seventh-day Adventists, it should mirror Jesus’ actions on earth—mingling with people, showing sympathy, and ministering to their needs. (See The Ministry of Health and Healing, pp. 73, 74.) Yet, have our churches reduced it to annual events such as back-to-school giveaways and health fairs? Is this sufficient, or can we do more to truly engage and uplift our communities?

I recently interviewed three Adventists on the front lines of community engagement. Nicole Broushet, co-owner of The Vegan Nest, a plant-based café and center of influence in Clinton, Massachusetts, and founder and executive director of Glō Mom, a non-profit organization that empowers moms-to-be from vulnerable populations; Michelle Odinma, Church of the Advent Hope associate pastor and pastor of community life in New York City; and Jose Cortes, Jr., North American Division Ministerial Association associate director, who leads the association in evangelism, church planting, global mission, church growth, and mission to the cities.

Q: How would you define “community engagement?”

Cortes: I feel that many Adventists are afraid of this term because it has become politicized. We could replace “compassion” with “community engagement,” and just about everybody could identify with that word. Community engagement is about living among the people. A community does not exist without people. When you live or engage with people and get to know their needs, you try your best to meet them.

Broushet: We refer to it as “sustained community engagement,” which, to me, is different from just community engagement across the board. Community engagement generally reflects [Christ’s] incarnational nature of ministry. It’s really following Christ’s method and meeting people where they are, coming to where they are, building community in their context, and addressing needs from the perspective of their context. It invites all your key stakeholders and partners and attempts to go out into the community to meet the needs rather than inviting the community into the church.

Odinma: From my understanding, it’s [asking yourself] if you are an integral part of your community. If your church disappeared, would you be a missed spot on the block? [It’s] a principle of scripture and a principle of God, our Creator, that humanity and societies work on a give-and-receive basis. We need to give, but what are we receiving from the community? Jesus came to give spiritual blessings, but He was also aware of being an integral part of His community, culture, and society, and He also utilized that with which they could help Him.

Q: Are ministry or church events examples of community engagement?

Cortes: Events usually don’t engage people well; they engage people on a very temporal basis. I’ve preached for a while that events hurt us more than they help us because you go out. We show up and bless people one day, and then you go away. One-day events are like “drive-by compassion.” You pass by and bless people on the go. It’s better than nothing, but it doesn’t engage people. You cannot gain people’s confidence if you only see them once a year. [If you] bless people regularly, let them know who you are, let them know where you are in case they need you; . . you will gain their trust and their confidence. No one gains anybody’s confidence in one day.

Broushet: Sustained community engagement takes it a bit further. Rather than the local church developing programs or initiatives that they believe will help and benefit the community, and then putting those on and inviting the community into the church and engaging with them maybe once or twice, it’s going to where they are. Rather than being very church centric, it’s community-centered and [goes] to where the needs are, immersing yourself in their situation, in their context, and journeying together with them as a community, as part of the local community, to serve that community. That’s what our ministry should look like. [Community engagement] is not a one-and-done thing. It’s something that requires more time and sacrifice and much more intentional thought than just planning an event and patting yourself on the back for a successful event.

Odinma: Our Adventist system [of ministry] is not set up for deep community work, and that’s why we find it difficult. Even when people are baptized, they’re not baptized with the idea that they must go out and serve the community. Instead, they are encouraged to go out and give a Glow tract, talk to their friends about Jesus, or serve in a church office—which is all good—but how does any of this alleviate suffering now, in the present? We’re set up to answer the theological questions, not to answer the immediate suffering of human beings today. The practical side of being the hands and feet [of Jesus] means getting dirty. . . it’s a sacrifice of time and means, and you may not get a pat on the back.

Q: How do we maintain our Adventist mission and message while engaging in the community, especially when partnering with non-Adventist groups or organizations?

Broushet: I think that there are fears on our side, you know, as a church, as a faith community, when we hear those words, “partnerships,” “coalitions,” or “stakeholders,” and there is a fear that we will lose ourselves. The most practical guidance I can give around that is to ask ourselves, Are we in a position, and do we value the information that our church has uniquely been given, enough to become thought leaders in a particular space? These other organizations and entities have amassed all of this knowledge, and it’s coming from the same kind of place. They’re being taught and trained by the world, so they feel like they may want to give and do good and benefit a particular group. . . . They believe this can be achieved with enough protocols, memorandums, and laws—everything was done in human power. Whereas [Adventists] recognize that it is only through the power of God and a relationship with Christ that people can truly be set free and truly find wholeness.
If we genuinely want to lead in a space, to lead in a godly way, and to make it missionally focused and connected to our values as a people, then create the space, invite others to join in, and [we may] form our partnerships that way.

Odinma: For community engagement to be effective, we must be part of that cycle of life, of giving to the community and receiving from the community. That’s when you know you are an integral part. It solidifies you as a person or organization in the community that seeks to do good. People are dignified best when they receive from you and can give something back to you. [Adventists] have missed that aspect. God gives to us, and then He also expects something back from us. [In theory] it [may] look like partnerships and teaming up to impact a particular cause and putting all hands on deck for a specific mission. That doesn’t mean you necessarily align with every part of what another organization is doing, but we can put our heads together.

Q: Should baptisms be our end goal for community engagement?

Cortes: To me, the important part is that we are doing this not because we want to save them, even though we want to save them; not because we want to baptize them—and we would love to baptize them at some point—but we are doing this because it is the right thing to do. . . . Not everyone Jesus ministered to became a disciple of His. As Christians, we want to see them baptized, we want to see them in church and saved, but we need to be able to love people [with] no strings attached.

Odinma: Baptism is not the foundation of why we serve people. We serve people because we are [all] created in the image of God, and every human being should be dignified and lifted to a space where they should be able to receive baptism. We allow people to see God in a new light through how we care about them. Through that care, God can use those relationships as wedges to warm hearts and impact people’s lives, to talk to them, to place burdens on their hearts, and to interest them in wanting to know more about Him.

Broushet: The spiritual element is always there. If you ask enough questions and immerse yourself in the interaction, eventually, as you build trust, you will get down to that. Our way of service should be such that we arrive at the spiritual element, but whether or not that person ends up baptized is not the question. The question is, have we allowed the Holy Spirit to use us in a way that draws that person closer to the heart of God? We’re just preparing them for that experience…to encounter God in His timing.

Q: What are some practical ways to help us reframe our ministries to reflect the principles of community engagement in a greater way?

Cortes: People like to belong to something. Individually, one of the best ways I found is to be a good neighbor. Ask people, ‘How are you doing?’ and wait for them to tell you. . . . Another way that I’ve been able to personally engage in our neighborhood is by asking for favors. Ask for recommendations for contractors, landscapers, etc. Little by little, you begin to establish those relationships with your neighbors. You’re sharing, they’re sharing—that’s part of dwelling in a community. As churches, we first need to determine the community’s needs. Some of our people are scratching where it’s not itching. If you’re not scratching that itch, people are not going to come to you. Going out and giving out books is more of a missionary evangelistic activity than a community engagement activity. At times, people will only be able to read your book if some of their stress is addressed and some of their needs are met. Hungry people cannot read a book because they are hungry. It’s going to be harder for them to read a book about what we want for them when people are stressed out because their kids are on drugs and they are having a hard time.

Odinma: Give people what they want. If I’m offering to help you, I need to help you in the way that you wish to receive help. I’m not dictating the help. I’ll help them get through [their struggle] now, and if they appreciate that, then, if they want, here are some spiritual resources available. They already know that we’re a church! The faith part [for us] is not having to press or persist because God is already working on them. God is there. He was there before you got there, and He is doing the work of preparing hearts. He just told us to go and follow up with what He’s already started by ministering to their needs.

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Debra Banks Cuadro is the Atlantic Union Conference communication director and Gleaner editor.