Church Culture

Up to this point in my life, I've had the privilege of serving in some capacity in 5 different churches - Newbern being the 5th. Even though Newbern looks a lot like a couple of the other churches I've done ministry at, this experience has been totally new to me.

Before I get into it, I can't believe I just deleted the entire post I had written up so that I could write about church culture. I had spent the last half an hour writing on something else, but toward the end of it, I found that I had gravitated to talking about culture; and so it wasn't even related to the original topic anymore. I know it doesn't mean anything for you who are reading this, but it means a ton to me. Haha.

So, not only is it that it is I who technically heads up this gig at Newbern which makes it a different experience, I'm discovering what a drastically different church culture this is compared to what I'm used to. Now, in all honesty, I probably can't give you an accurate description of any of the cultures at my previous churches, given that it's been at least a few years since I've served regularly at them. But I've never felt like I had to put in so much effort to learning what the current state of the congregation is like. In other words, integration with me and my ministry into the churches were never too difficult. At Newbern, though, it's been a different experience.

For a while, I thought a lot of what I could improve on was a focus on me needing to cater to a smaller church. Two churches I've served at, CCBC and Assiniboia Alliance, are what most people would call small churches, but I didn't have too much trouble learning about the approach needed to minister to them. What I needed to do to get accustomed was pretty clear, albeit I had some awesome mentors and leaders who really spent time to help me learn about the group.

But even in the short time I've been at Newbern, I felt something wasn't quite right with what I was doing. The reception to many things I introduced or tested the waters with wasn't as smooth as what I thought it might be. So much of the uneasiness that I've felt, I think, actually comes from this lack of response or reception.

I'll be honest, I've never spent enough time at any church outside of NEAC to know what this lack of response would feel like. The closest I've come was spending 2 years at SGAC in Calgary, but I was in more of a supportive role than a lead.

And so while I thought much of what wasn't working was due to the small size of Newbern, I'm realizing that a lot of it also has to do with the culture and where the group is at spiritually. I want to credit CCBC and Assiniboia Alliance because while their group is very similar to Newbern, but they have some incredibly mature and godly people in that church. So maybe I let that predisposition affect the way I approached ministry here at Newbern, simply assuming that there would be a maturity level that is similar to that of CCBC's and Assiniboia Alliance's when I was there.

Comparing churches is the last things I should be doing, but it's a natural tendency to do it and it's also difficult for someone like me because I don't have much to draw on given my limited experience. So more often than not, I'll look to see how something was done elsewhere and try it out where I currently am. It's a mistake I make all the time. By doing so, my first 16 months at Newbern haven't been the greatest months I've seen in terms of my work and results. While it's not bad to consider what's been done elsewhere to implement it here, it becomes bad when I assume it will yield a similar result.

I feel bad for my group in Newbern because I made a bunch of assumptions without putting more emphasis on getting to know them better before I really started making a push for a bunch of things. I just kind of assumed that I'd have everything to work with, when that really isn't the case. Given confidentiality, I can't say much more, but I know I have work to do.

So I've kind of taken a fresh approach and mindset. It's hard to picture, given how small my group is, but I might need to prepare for it to get even smaller before it can grow again. I'm really not interested in putting a good program in so that the numbers will increase to make me look successful. I want to make disciples. And I know that some people won't like the things I say or do, some who might have been here for years even. In some ways, then, to put it frankly, I feel like I'm in a bit of a weeding process. I just hope that I'm thorough with it and don't let laziness or a half-assed job come back to bite me.

My prayer is that with this year, I can help Newbern redefine church culture. It's not just about being a group of friends anymore. We can be friends, but what are we doing in the world around us?