Monday, March 22, 2010

Do I need a tight relationship with a family church?

So FOCUS seeks to care for International Students holistically; we have a priority, of course, on caring for them in ways that will benefit them eternally, but its very important to us that we give them fun, food and try to do social / cultural things every couple of weeks. They're lonely, bored and missing their families; some of them have never had a true family (as we would recognize it) and so have a very deep loneliness indeed.

Last week I met with a guy who does the same thing as me in another state. He works tightly with a large family church that has a number of older families and elderly couples . He can easily offer his students; meals in Aussie family homes, travel with Aussie families, ESL lessons, mentoring etc. These relationships provide not only for the physical needs of the students, they very often and naturally lend themselves to dealing with spiritual matters too.
My church is a uni student / young worker / young family (i.e. newborns) church. It would be unrealistic of me to expect a similar kind of support from them for FOCUS TAS.

Do I need to go find a family church of a similar demographic to link in with?

6 comments:

Fiona H said...

How do the church sizes compare?

Luke said...

I think his is over 1,000...

Luke said...

but then he also has about 450 international students!

Fiona H said...

And your church is what 160-ish? for what 100 students?

Maybe a church with just more people then?

Mikey Lynch said...

Fun being forced to think outside the square, isn't it?!

I think you make what you have work well... and sit tight.

"My church is a... young families (newborns) church"

Hmm. Are we looking at the same church? For Xrds' size, to have half a dozen primary school aged kids is not really a church of newborns, is it?

Besides, Xrds will become a church like the one you describe quicker than FOCUS will become a ministry of 450 and quicker than you'd be able to settle into another church and get the same degree of support and goodwill as you get from Xrds.

I say sit tight.

Luke said...

...yes! Sounds like good advice! Not that moving on is really an option of course... it would break my heart and I find it very hard to do anything with a broken heart.