City Ministry Development through a `Global Volunteer Day`

WEA‐LI ‘Effective Public Engagement’ Course – Course Project City Ministry Development through a ‘Global Volunteer Day’ Campaign—Brussels, Belgium Project brief presentation by Christel Lamère Ngnambi Project summary: Working on a ‘Global Volunteer Day’ as a tool towards effective and comprehensive city ministry in one of the most secular parts of Europe, through public engagement Project rationale: Justice and compassion is maybe the only area of Christian ministry that is still quite positively perceived by the un‐churched and de‐churched, which form the majority of Belgians and Brussels‐dwellers. The Project will aim to use the church’s resources in order to promote the Christian approach to Justice and Compassion through Public Engagement, in a campaign centred on 11/11/2011, tentatively called the ‘Global Volunteer Day.’ The vehicle used for this is an existing project in the context of Serve the City, a ministry and network which started in Brussels in 2005, now present in 70+ cities worldwide [www.servethecity.be]1. It should also be noted that 2011 has be designated European Year of Volunteering by the European Union. How the Project will be applied to the seven “Pillars” of social transformation: 1. Education: a simple awareness‐raising programme for secondary schools will be devised. 2. Church and Religious: the application of the project in the Church/Religious Pillar will be centred on 3 priority endeavours: (1) Evangelical Partnership, (2) Church Planting, and (3) Interfaith Dialogue. Those 3 priority endeavours will have as objective to incarnate/live out, promote, and articulate the Gospel and evangelical identity. 3. Civil Society (families and NGOs): through the work of Serve the City, the vision of the project will be promoted among NGOs, and we will seek to include and promote participation of families. Also, advocacy for protecting family and marriage will be made. 4. Arts and Entertainment: the 11/11/2011 Day will feature a festival with concerts and shows. Also, we will partner with a French/Swiss Classical Music ministry that will perform locally (evangelistic ministry). 5. Business: Serve the City will continue its efforts to involve the corporate world in its vision and activities. 6. Government: we will aim to meet a few times with the governing authorities of Brussels and introduce ourselves as servants of our city. Our main goal will be to ask politicians’ help to find needs that we can help address, and show that Evangelicals want to be positive, active citizens. 7. Media: no strategy has been developed yet for application of the Project in terms of media presence. Partners: Partners for Project conceptualisation will include John Quam, Ouattara Koffi Tehua, Christel Lamère Ngnambi, Serve the City (Carlton Deal, Stephen Doyle), and others, such as the Salvation Army or Belgian EAs, may be included. Local partners will be found for Project implementation, and Prayer. Church Planting will involve both a local mission and an international network—Redeemer City to City (New York) has been mentioned. 1
Global website : www.servethecity.com 1
WEA‐LI ‘Effective Public Engagement’ Course – Course Project Développement du ministère urbain au moyen d’une campagne pour une « Journée mondiale du volontariat » – Bruxelles (Belgique) Brève présentation du projet par Christel Lamère Ngnambi – Version française2 Résumé du Projet : travailler sur une « Journée mondiale du volontariat » comme outil visant à un ministère urbain efficace et englobant, dans l’une des parties les plus sécularisées d’Europe, à travers l’engagement public (présence au monde) Le raisonnement derrière le Projet : la Justice et la compassion (action sociale) restent sans doute le seul domaine du ministère chrétien qui soit encore perçu assez positivement par ceux qui sont étrangers à l’Église, ou qui l’ont quittée, soit la majorité des Belges et des Bruxellois. Le Projet visera à utiliser les ressources de l’Église afin de promouvoir via l’engagement public une approche chrétienne de la Justice et de la compassion, dans le cadre d’une campagne centrée sur le 11/11/2011, appelée pour l’instant « Journée mondiale du volontariat ». Le véhicule employé à ces fins est un projet existant, dans le contexte de Serve the City, un ministère et un réseau qui a démarré à Bruxelles en 2005, actuellement présent dans plus de 70 villes à travers le monde [www.servethecity.be]3. Notons aussi que 2011 a été désignée par l’UE comme Année européenne du volontariat. Comment le Projet s’appliquera‐t‐il aux sept « Piliers » de la transformation sociale ? 1. Éducation : un programme de sensibilisation simple sera confectionné, pour les écoles secondaires. 2. Église et religions : appliquer le Projet au pilier « Église/religions » demandera de se centrer sur 3 efforts prioritaires : (1) Partenariat évangélique, (2) Implantation d’Églises, et (3) Dialogue interconfessionnel. Ces 3 efforts prioritaires auront pour objectif d’incarner, promouvoir et articuler l’Évangile et l’identité évangélique. 3. Société civile (familles et ONG) : à travers le travail de Serve the City, la vision du Projet sera promue auprès du monde associatif, et nous veillerons à promouvoir la participation des familles. De même, il y aura un plaidoyer pour la protection des familles et du mariage. 4. Arts et divertissement : la journée du 11/11/2011 aura en vedette un festival avec concerts et spectacles. De même, nous travaillerons avec un ministère franco‐suisse de musique classique qui jouera au niveau local (évangélisation). 5. Entreprises : Serve the City continuera ses efforts afin d’impliquer le monde économique dans sa vision et ses activités. 6. Autorités publiques : nous tâcherons de rencontrer quelques fois les autorités publiques de Bruxelles afin de nous présenter en tant que serviteurs de notre ville. Notre objectif principal sera de demander l’aide des politiques afin de repérer les besoins que nous pouvons contribuer à traiter, ainsi que de démontrer que les évangéliques veulent être des citoyens positifs et actifs. 7. Médias : aucune stratégie encore n’a été développée pour appliquer le Projet en terme de présence dans les médias. Partenaires : les partenaires pour la conceptualisation du Projet comprennent John Quam (États‐Unis), Ouattara Koffi Tehua (Côte‐d’Ivoire), Christel Lamère Ngnambi (Bruxelles), Serve the City (Bruxelles : Carlton Deal, Stephen Doyle), et d’autres, tels que l’Armée du Salut ou les Alliances évangéliques belges, pourraient être inclus. On trouvera des partenaires locaux pour la mise en œuvre du projet, et pour la prière. Pour l’implantation d’Églises, on a pensé à impliquer une mission locale (ou plusieurs), et un réseau international – Redeemer City to City (New York) a été mentionné. 2
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En cas d’erreur, c’est la version anglaise qui fait autorité. Site Web mondial : www.servethecity.com 2
WEA‐LI ‘Effective Public Engagement’ Course – Course Project City Ministry Development through a ‘Global Volunteer Day’ Campaign—Brussels, Belgium Project detailed presentation by Christel Lamère Ngnambi WORKING DOCUMENT VERSION AS OF 18 AUGUST 2010 Effective and comprehensive city ministry in one of the most secular parts of Europe, through public engagement I. The Context
Belgium has geographically, historically and spiritually been at the crossroads of Western Europe. Historically a Catholic nation, it is today a highly multicultural and extremely secularised nation. Even more so in Brussels, which is home to the EU and NATO institutions as well as many corporations and organisations, and many political institutions of Belgium (Parliaments and Ministries). Much of Belgium’s finest art, education, economy and media powers are here. Brussels is also extremely diverse (170 nationalities are represented here) and internationally very well connected (e.g., just a couple of hours from Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt by train), which makes it a very strategic city. Belgium and Brussels especially are very secular. The secular worldview is recognised and publicly financed just like any other recognised religion, and there is a small but very influential community supporting it. On the other hand, anything looking too much like ‘traditional’ evangelism and “proselytising” is despised by most Brussels‐
dwellers and therefore has very little efficiency in terms of making disciples. However, grassroots‐level, relational evangelism is growing evangelical churches slightly but steadily, together with immigration to Brussels from other continents (especially Africa and Latin America), which makes non‐Christians curious about the resources of the Protestant faith. II. Project Rationale
1. Concept
Justice and compassion is maybe the only area of Christian ministry that is still quite positively perceived by the un‐churched and de‐churched, which form the majority 3
of Belgians and Brussels‐dwellers. The Project will aim to use the church’s resources in order to promote the Christian approach to Justice and Compassion through Public Engagement, in a campaign centred on 11/11/2011, tentatively called the ‘Global Volunteer Day.’ The vehicle used for this is an existing project in the context of Serve the City, a ministry and network which started in Brussels in 2005, now present in more than 70 cities worldwide [www.servethecity.be]4. Interestingly, 2011 has been declared by the European Union as the European Year for Volunteerism, which might magnify the Project—knowing that Brussels is the capital city of the European Union. 2. Messaging biblical values
Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan is a real ethic of serving, with three core values—love for God and neighbour, selflessness and compassion. It answers critical questions. In Belgium’s particular context, Jesus gives the church an ethic which can be ‘translated’ in a language that even a non‐Christian will understand. This is precisely what we will need to do if we want a Gospel message to be heard both within and outside the church. Some questions Jesus answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan ‘Christian’/religious questions: secular questions: What shall I do to inherit eternal life? What can make us thrive as a society? Is it possible to live righteously while Is it sustainable to live not caring for others? avoiding loving some persons? When God commands to love my How important is it to care for those who are neighbour, does it include strangers, different? (Is it the citizen’s or the state’s especially misbelievers? (Who is my responsibility?) neighbour?) What does it mean to love a stranger— What does it mean in practice to care for how can I obey and glorify God this way others—what impact should it have on one’s lifestyle? in my life? The table above lists a few examples of questions that the parable of the Good Samaritan answers. These questions (and several others) allow us as Christians to articulate the Gospel. It also underlines the importance of developing an efficient narrative (efficient messaging), that will connect emotionally with both unbelievers and believers, and at the same time will allow us to promote the Christian approach to Justice and Compassion. 4
Global website : www.servethecity.com 4
Serve the City’s messaging approach during the past two years has been to use “Crossing the line” as a theme. It was written down in a text called Serve the City Manifesto, which is an authoritative document in the Serve the City network. Here is a shortened version of it: There’s a line in every city that separates the rich from the poor, the strong from the weak, the haves from the have‐nots. On one side there is safety, on the other there is danger. On one side there is security, on the other, fear. It¹s time to cross the line. Serve the City mobilizes volunteers to show kindness in practical ways to people in need. We are the connection between the good intentions of people who could serve and a meaningful opportunity to do so. We know them by their needs. What if we knew them by name? Cross the line. Serve the City. From 2010–2011 onwards, in view of the Global Volunteer Day and the Project Campaign, Serve the City will consider completing and strengthening the message with Gospel values as well as Jesus’ teaching especially in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Messaging along the following lines is being proposed: 
There is a line in every city  Themes to be explored: essentially same as existing Manifesto; Christ who chiefly crossed social lines 
There is a line in every human heart  Themes to be explored: selfishness, self‐righteousness, pharisaism identity, otherness, reconciliation, selflessness, compassion; Christ who chiefly crossed moral lines 
There is a line between heaven and earth  Themes to be explored: self‐centredness, moral obligation, sin, grace, hope (human hope and cosmic hope); Christ who chiefly crossed cosmic lines 3. City ministry needs unity and commonality
In a more behind‐the‐scenes fashion, the energies used for this campaign will also be used to develop effective and comprehensive city ministry in Brussels . In this effort of comprehensiveness, the Project will thus also aim to promote other aspects of Christian ministry, such as evangelism, community formation in churches, and discipleship, in ways that are winsome both within and outside the church. This is the ‘flipside’ of the Project, with which we want to set a trend. The Project will be used as catalysis in order to create synergy and unity among churches in Brussels and the area in order to lay down the building blocks of effective transforming city ministry. We want to set a trend, not achieve a one‐off goal—the GVD will be a celebration and a launch, not an end in itself. 5
III. How the Project will apply to the “Pillars” of social
transformation through Effective Public Engagement
1. Education
Belgium has a state‐sponsored system of Religious Education, which includes ‘Secular Morals’ among other options. Politically speaking, there has been a tendency towards more joint initiatives across convictional lines in public schools, in the framework of interfaith/inter‐convictional dialogue. The situation is different in so‐called ‘free schools,’ which are almost exclusively Roman Catholic, and form the majority of schools in Belgium. A simple awareness‐raising programme for secondary schools will be devised. The focus of this campaign will be, on the one hand, to show that volunteering like Serve the City organises can help make our world a better place in addressing complex psychosocial, economical and cultural challenges of Belgian and European society in simple ways—while promoting the GVD. On the other hand, we will try to show (with relevant and solid data) that faith and strongly hold values are a powerful positive force for social cohesion. We will try to work with Catholic and Protestant teachers in Religious Education in order to promote a distinctly Christian view on volunteering. Nevertheless, to make this as best perceived/received as possible—
and knowing that Educational authorities in Belgium are very often secularist, with anti‐religious leanings—, we will encourage Religious Educationists to have this campaign organised in the context of a joint programme between Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Secular, Muslim, Jewish and Anglican Educationists in public schools, whilst trying to actively include contributions from other faiths in Catholic schools. Subsidies from Ministries of Education will be applied for. 1.1. Target Programme showcased 15‐20 times in various schools in Brussels (at least 35% of public schools). 1.2. Strategy Train 3‐5 teams, each lead by RE teachers (hopefully all Evangelicals), made of Serve the City liaisons, youth leaders and RE teachers from other faith backgrounds. These teams will showcase the programme over the 5 weeks prior to All‐Saints’ Week (26 September to 28 October 2011) 2. Church and Religious
The application of the project in the Church/Religious Pillar will be centred on 3 priority endeavours: (1) Evangelical Partnership, (2) Church Planting, and (3) Interfaith Dialogue. Endeavour 1. Evangelical Partnership. — We will partner with a maximum of evangelical churches in Brussels and the surrounding area, and use a number of channels to create a unity of vision for city ministry through the GVD Project. Prayer will be essential—prayer networks will be 6
included in this, hopefully with ‘Concerts of Prayer’ and a newsletter to mobilise the youth and many other people to pray. We will endeavour to include practitioners/laypeople where appropriate. Moreover, this Project will be used as a catalyst for the re‐emergence of Belgian Evangelical Alliances. Endeavour 2. Church Planting. — We will pray and endeavour to use the GVD as catalysis for church planting. We hope that at least one or two church plants or re‐plants will start in the context of the Project, and that the whole Project will be instrumental in “learning about the ecosystem” of city ministry in Brussels. Endeavour 3. Interfaith Dialogue. — Partnership with other Christian and non‐
Christian institutions and personalities will be crucial. Indeed, interfaith (or inter‐convictional) dialogue is seen to be the only widely accepted platform in which a religious worldview can be publicly articulated and promoted. It is a unique opportunity to present the Gospel and show its total relevance to the issues of our time. It will also be a significant opportunity to promote Evangelicals, who are almost completely absent from those dialogues, whilst many Christian relativists are supposedly representing the (authentic) Christian faith there. This is especially important for evangelism to Muslims, who have much more respect for people who are solid and consistent with their beliefs. Apart from this, a general goal includes exposing Christians to the wholeness of the Gospel, especially in terms of the variety of ways one can bear witness to Christ and speak his Good News. 2.2. Targets Endeavour 1. There are about 200 Protestant churches in Brussels and the surrounding area, out of which 90% would claim to be evangelical in theology. a. We hope to partner with 30‐40 churches across denominations, which would be a very significant success. That is, a core of 8–10 churches and another 20 to 30 partnerships. b. Involve the three prayer networks (Pray4Belgium, Assemblies of God, and Flemish Pentecostal Youth). c. Involve most leaders of Belgian Evangelical Alliances. Endeavour 2. We hope that at least one or two church plants or re‐plants will start in the context of the Project. Endeavour 3. At least two interfaith dialogue events organised between mid‐2011 and mid‐2012. 2.3. Strategy Endeavour 1. A Forum for evangelical church and ministry leaders is being organised for 27th November, 2010. It is organised by both Belgian 7
Evangelical Alliances. In the afternoon on 27 November, the Project will be presented to the leaders present, and they will be invited to join the project. Following this, preparation meetings will be organised according to needs and sub‐projects. Concerning prayer networks, we will organise a Concert of Prayer in 2011 with the partnership of three prayer networks as well as two youth movements (CJ youth movement and UJEB youth group). Involvement of EA leaders will be continually requested. Furthermore, we want to recruit three network contact points (animateurs du réseau)–each linked to at least one respective main theological tendency of Belgian evangelicalism: Traditional and Reformed, Anabaptist, and Charismatic/Pentecostal–, whose job will be to communicate with church leaders, oversee Project development, and maintain excitement about the Project as well as evangelical partnership. Endeavour 2. Three church‐planting networks have been identified, and will be contacted: a.net, Belgian Evangelical Mission, and Redeemer City to City. Endeavour 3. Delegate this to Catholic Partner Vittorio de Santis. A proposal will be made and a project drafted. Implementation will be done under overseeing by the Project Planning Committee. 3. Civil Society (Families and NGOs)
Through the work of Serve the City, the vision of the Project will be promoted among grassroots socio‐cultural organisations in Brussels, and we will seek to include and promote participation of families. 4. Media
Radio and TV Several ideas have been proposed: -
Using the state‐provided slot on radio and TV for Protestant broadcasts. A set of programmes can be prepared. -
Christian radio Phare FM can also broadcast these programmes. -
Contacts with officials might facilitate a sponsor by Belgian TV, who could then advertise about the event on TV and maybe even cover the event on 11/11/2011. Internet The Project will have an Internet webpage linked to www.servethecity.be. We will also need to publicise all relevant information on major Christian online platforms, especially www.topchretien.com, as well as social networks. In order to better mobilise the youth, a Facebook page will be created. 8
Leader of Christian Internet TV ReflexTV is supportive of this Project. He could help produce webcasts and especially short, viral videos around the Project. Materials promoting the message, like sermons, should be on the same website (www.reflextv.be), which would be helpful in terms of messaging. Print media We will need to print flyers and posters, and brochures for the school programme. We might decide to produce other items (especially tracts) nearer the time. As far as communication through the Press, we might want to concentrate on trying to have interviews with mainstream media, whilst buying advertisement space is not believed to be a very cost‐efficient option. Arts and Entertainment
The 11/11/2011 Day will feature a festival with concerts. A team has already shown interest in coordinating it. Serve the City hopes to attract one or several significant featuring bands. The festival will be a very prominent part of the Project campaign, and we are glad that this group, which has been praying for this for months (even before the Project existed), is open. The goals of the festival are (1) visibility, and (2) celebration. Also, we will partner with a French/Swiss Classical Music ministry, called “Crescendo”, that will perform locally (evangelistic ministry). Partnerships could be extended to other music and arts groups from across Europe. An idea is to organise a number of arts sessions in homes. These sessions will be used much more for messaging and evangelism. Business
Serve the City will continue its efforts to involve the corporate world in its vision and activities. More on this can be found at http://www.servethecity.be/brussels/get‐
involved/stc‐csr/ Government
Serve the City (like the evangelical world) has little experience in building relationships with politicians in office. We will aim to meet a few times with the governing authorities of Brussels and introduce ourselves as servants of our city. As a way of progressing towards effective and comprehensive city ministry, our main goal will be to ask politicians’ help to find needs that we can help address, and show that Evangelicals want to be positive, active citizens. Apart from this of course, a number of meetings will need to be had in order to get the relevant permits and authorisations from the City. 9
IV. Identifying and overcoming blockages
1. Blockages for uniting churches
2. Blockages vis-à-vis Catholics and nominal/liberal
Protestants
3. Blockages vis-à-vis Secularists
V. Organisation and partnerships
 Project conceptualisation: John Quam, Ouattara Koffi Tehua, Christel Lamère Ngnambi, Serve the City (Carlton Deal, Stephen Doyle), +others (e.g. Salvation Army or Belgian EAs)  Project Planning Committee: Christel Lamère Ngnambi, Carlton Deal, Stephen Doyle, Jean‐Claude Thienpont, Frank Estiévenart, Herman Heyman, Luc Torini.  Project implementation: i. GVD: Serve the City, Salvation Army, Belgian Evangelical Alliances, churches +others ii. Arts: UJEB Youth Group and other Youth Networks, SEL‐Belgique, Serve the City iii. Civil society: Serve the City iv. Education: a team of evangelical RE teachers, Catholic RE teachers, Jewish, Muslim and Secularist representatives, Serve the City, evangelical youth leaders v. Media: Association protestante de radiotélévision (APRT), Phare FM, ReflexTV, French‐Speaking Belgian Radio and Television (RTBF.be) vi. Communication: Serve the City Communications Dept, Dave vii. Evangelical Partnership: Belgian Evangelical Alliances, Belgian Lausanne Delegation, +others viii. Interfaith Dialogue: research needed to find interested contributors  Prayer: Pray4Belgium network, Assemblies of God, Flemish Pentecostal Youth  Church planting: Belgian Evangelical Mission, Redeemer City to City (New York)  Other: by default, a number of logistical details can be taken care of by some events management company. John Quam has suggested Outreach Marketing, a 10
company based in the U.S. Other companies based in Europe could help, too. Effect on the budget will need to be watched. 11