From Laura Powell, your Congregational Leader
As a priest in the Church of England, John Wesley was discouraged by the powerlessness of the church to reach British people. He felt something needed to change, so he abandoned his church’s conventional ministry approaches and experimented with seven new practices. To everyone’s surprise, spiritual revival broke out in England and beyond.
These seven practices can provide inspiration to SUMC. They can be used to improve our connections with the unchurched. Over the next several issues, I will introduce a summary of each practice and explore ways for us to practice these Wesleyan practices. The details of each practice can be found in Wesley’s 7 Ways to Share Faith, Abingdon Press, 2015.
Practice 1: Be Devoted to Prayer
“Wesley rediscovered what the church of his day had forgotten: prayer releases the power of God. He called prayer “the grand means of drawing near to God” and found believing, persistent prayer to be the necessary first step to see God move. He modeled this conviction by devoting at least two hours a day to personal prayer and made fervent prayer a hallmark of the movement.”
Practice: Can you increase your time on prayer? Each day, add five minutes to your prayer time. Each day, your increased time will give you confidence to talk to God and get into the details. You will be able to expand your prayer scope. Then, you may sit in silence and be present with God.
Practice 2: Go Where the People Are
“When the love of Jesus Christ gripped Wesley’s heart, he knew he couldn’t keep it to himself. There had to be some way to reach the vast masses of people who would never darken a church door. Initially, Wesley was convinced the gospel could only be preached in the stained-glass setting of a church building. But with so few people attending church services, he was forced to consider other options. Reluctantly, Wesley began preaching in the open air. He would find a high spot on the edge of a city and speak to whomever would listen. Crowds of three, five, even ten thousand people would gather. Many of them were touched by the spirit of God and awakened to their spiritual state. A revival in England was born largely because Wesley was willing to take the gospel where the people were.”
Practice: How can SUMC take the gospel to the streets? One example was our participation in the Pride parade. What can we do to emulate Wesley’s preaching approach? What can each committee do to move their activities outside the church? As you experience your day, be intentional about bringing the gospel to people along your way.