Tracy Fraser and Dave Witt
Our culture is one marked by independence and individuality. Equating independence with success, we strive towards self-sufficiency, only to find we have created isolation for ourselves and others in the process. The gospel of the Kingdom beckons us to dance to an alternative tune which moves us towards community—lives of togetherness, and sacrifice, where we awaken to those around us. Evidence of the Spirit moving to deepen our experience of community is being seen as groups of Christians across Hamilton challenge the assumptions of our culture by exploring tangible ways to create community. Refusing to buy into the idea that ownership is a right and self-sufficiency is the ideal, these groups are attempting to break down barriers within their communities in order to deepen our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.
First CRC – Charlton House
When the building next to First Christian Reformed Church came available last year the church decided to create space for a group of twenty-somethings in their congregation to explore what mission-focused living can look like. A group of five of them chose to dive into sharing life together. They share space and meals, meet together weekly for mentoring and reflection, and practice hospitality by inviting various groups into their home. Each of them is invested in different ways within the neighbourhood— some through working with refugees or engaging the arts in worship. Others work with after-school programs to ensure kids in the neighbourhood have a safe place and opportunities for recreation. Most have part-time jobs, some are students. All of them are wrestling with what it means to live out Christ’s calling to mission in all the parts of their lives, and the idea of sharing life together just makes sense. Intentional community provides an integrity and accountability that is leading them deeper into what it looks like to live missionally.
FRWY – Cultivate Missional Living
Freeway (FRWY), a Salvation Army church-plant in the heart of downtown, has always been a place where people ask questions about missionality and community. Starting in January that link will be made even more explicit as they launch a program called Cultivate Missional Living (CML). Jordan Donald, the new FRWY Community Pastor, will be leading the project which invites 18-30 year olds who are tired of ‘life as usual’ to come explore how to live out the gospel in an urban setting. The participants will live together in the Beasley Neighbourhood, one of the poorest in all of Canada. The purpose of CML is to teach Christians how to engage mission in an urban context. According to Jordan the program is about redefining, “Redefining what freedom means, what success means, what independence means”. Through intentional learning opportunities, mentoring, reflection and involvement in ministry, participants will be introduced to and encouraged to create a new way of life. You can find more information on their website at http://frwy.ca/cml/. If you are interested in participating or have more questions you can contact Jordan at Jordan@frwy.ca.
Other Communities
There are several other communities sprouting up across the city. Mostly products of young people dissatisfied with the status quo they are beginning to discuss how they can share space, possessions, finances and their lives together. There’s a group of four guys sharing a home in the Keith neighbourhood, three young couples buying homes together in the Kirkendale neighbourhood, and others that are just now beginning to form.
Each of these communities looks slightly different but all are brought together by a commitment to pursue mission through knowing their neighbourhood, providing hospitality, and pursuing deep relationships both with each other and their neighbours. They have come to recognize that we were created for community and are seeing scripture with new eyes as they explore it together. While community does not require us to live together, it does necessitate that we push past our culture’s reticence to open our lives to each other, and living together in intentional community is one effective means by which this can happen.
It is this interplay between community and mission that is so fascinating. While you can have community without mission they are questioning whether it is even possible to live missionally without a commitment to community. When we try to bring our culture’s ideas of independence into mission by insisting we can ‘do it ourselves’ we end up burning out or causing more harm to the people we are working with. When we live missionally through community we can invite others to explore what it looks like to follow Jesus and work towards wholeness in Him.
