Ministry Audio

Expanding the mission:

by Saúl Barceló

 

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In a world marked by fragmentation, isolation, pain, and despair, God calls the church to be a beacon of hope. Its mission is to help individuals mend the broken pieces of their lives by fostering connection, promoting healing, and guiding others toward a deeper sense of life satisfaction. That mission starts with those who choose to join the church community. But Scripture also invites us to expand it to the cities and towns in which the church finds itself. In Jeremiah 29:7 God instructs His people to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you” (RSV). The reason He does so is that their well-being is linked to the welfare of their surroundings: “If it prospers, you too will prosper” (NIV). Those last words have implications for pastoral ministry.

The book of Jeremiah narrates an unstable period in Israel’s history leading up to the Babylonian exile. The Israelites would end up living in a foreign land, speaking a different language, and dwelling among people with different customs and traditions, many of which they had been taught to detest. In short, they would be in a hostile environment in which the dominant values ran counter to their own.1 In that dark situation, Jeremiah, under inspiration, sent the exiles a letter offering hope and divine promise (Jer. 29:4–14) but also warning them to prepare for a long sojourn in Babylon. Because their exile would not quickly end, they would need to make themselves a home away from home.

The experience of exile is often mirrored in that of godly churches. In a secular society, being a Christian can sometimes feel like being a stranger in a strange land. This sentiment is captured by Amy Sherman, director of the Center of Faith in Communities, when she highlights the struggle of people of faith: “We are exiles scattered throughout the nations. . . . We are trying to obey the command to ‘not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s].’ ”2 In such an environment, it can be tempting to withdraw behind the “walls” of the church to preserve one’s faith in a faithless world. But I would suggest that, as in Jeremiah’s day, God has other plans for His church.

Faith and flourishing

Being connected to a church contributes to human well-being, enhancing both physical and mental health, according to recent research. The research demonstrates how people who regularly attend church have “healthier lifestyles”3 and “live longer.”4 In addition, religious people are found to “have a stronger sense of meaning in life”5 as well as greater happiness and life satisfaction than their irreligious counterparts.6 Researchers also have discovered that being part of a religious community can contribute to human flourishing.7

But those receiving these benefits must then share that well-being with those outside our congregational walls in response to the call in Jeremiah 29:7. This call must compel us to “seek the welfare of the city” and urge us to look beyond the church’s internal needs. When the church expands its mission to the wider community, the same benefits that we see within the church can transform lives outside it as well. Furthermore, this sharing becomes vital to the health of the church itself, as we will see.

The countercultural command to practice shalom

Because Western countries tend to highly value individuality, addressing the well-being of others seems to have become less of a priority. The trend can be traced to the late modern period, which witnessed a gradual shift in focus away from the transcendent God and toward human beings and their everyday concerns, resulting in the rise of a “new humanism.” “The new humanism rejected God and the command to love God, [yet] it retained the moral obligation to love neighbor.”8 More recently, the late twentieth century experienced yet another significant change in the understanding of human flourishing as society deprioritized the needs of others in favor of personal fulfillment. Others “matter mainly in that they serve an individual’s experience of satisfaction.”9

Such modern individualism is opposed by the command in Jeremiah 29:7. Speaking to the people of Israel in exile in Babylon, God did not tell them to pack their belongings and plan a swift return to Jerusalem. Instead, God directed His people to invest in the infrastructure of Babylonian society: “Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. . . . seek the prosperity of the city” (verses 5–7, NASB; emphasis added). The Hebrew word translated as “prosperity” in Jeremiah 29:7 is shalom, which is why some translations read “seek the peace of the city.” While shalom can serve as a greeting or as a way of indicating the absence of conflict, about 65 percent of the references to shalom in the Old Testament refer to “completeness, maturity, and . . . overall well-being” according to Professor Jonathan T. Pennington.10 Pennington argues that shalom “is probably the most comprehensive umbrella term for human health and wholeness, resulting in strength, fertility, and longevity.”11 Jeremiah 29:7 employs this usage. Why should Israel invest in the communities of its enemy, Babylon? Because “if it [Babylon] prospers, you too will prosper” (NIV). In other words, if Israel wanted to experience wholeness and peace in Babylon, they must actively foster shalom in the Babylonian communities. They were to prioritize Babylon’s well-being and flourishing as much as their own.

This understanding of Jeremiah 29:7 has profound implications for the church today. We cannot remain isolated within our own com­munities of faith and neglect the surrounding areas. As we reflect on the call of Jeremiah 29:7 to “seek the welfare of the city,” it becomes clear that God summons churches to cultivate not only the spiritual growth of their members but also the well-being of their surrounding community. When the church works for the welfare of the community, it, too, will flourish.

Implementing shalom-oriented ministry

While shalom-oriented ministry is a nice ideal, how do we tangibly implement it in our ministries? What does it mean in practical, everyday terms? Congregations can take the following concrete steps to align their mission with a commitment to fostering wholeness in the surrounding community:

1. Assess community needs. In the discipline of public health, the very first thing a practitioner implements is a community health assessment. The goal is to identify key needs, priorities, and disparities that will then guide effective interventions and policies. So to get started, Presbyterian minister Anton Boisen, a pioneer in pastoral care, suggests that pastors define the boundaries of the community their church serves and then gather information on its demographics, social organizations, public health issues, recreation, education, welfare agencies, and faith com­munities.12 Such research informs your church about how it can best serve both spiritual and material needs in its community. At the same time, it will ensure that any project developed by your church is relevant and does not duplicate programs already available.

2. Develop a gift inventory. For the church to serve its community, it is essential to understand the unique skills, talents, and spiritual gifts already present among its members. Creating an inventory of your members’ gifts and talents would also help ensure that you are fully utilizing the strengths of your church. For instance, if your church has many healthcare professionals, rather than undertaking a project like building homes, you could focus on offering health-related services such as free clinics or mental health support. Such an approach not only maximizes your church’s impact but also empowers members to contribute in ways that reflect their expertise.

3. Evaluate resources. Properly managing resources—time, finances, and personnel—is essential to balancing both in-reach and outreach efforts. The early church in Acts emphasized the importance of sharing resources for the common good (Acts 4:32–35), demonstrating that meeting both physical and spiritual needs requires thoughtful resource allocation. Evaluate your church’s budget to ensure that sufficient resources are dedicated to community outreach alongside internal programs. Just as the apostles in Acts 6:1–4 appointed specific leaders to manage practical tasks, church leaders today should delegate responsibilities for community engagement to ensure that both internal and external ministries thrive.

4. Do not reinvent the wheel. If your church is part of a denomination, discover what resources that denomination has established to benefit the wider community. For example, my denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, provides pastors with resources such as BreatheFree stop-smoking programs, weight reduction classes, Gateway to Wholeness for dealing with pornography, Celebrate Recovery for recovering from trauma, and cooking/nutrition classes. Such programs will meet genuine felt needs in many communities. If you are not part of a denomination, use resources from such denominations or from the many para-church ministries that offer their resources on the internet or through publishing houses.13

5. Find partners. Building partnerships with local organizations, businesses, and government agencies is helpful for a church in addressing community needs comprehensively. Collaborate with such entities to create programs aligned with the values of shalom—promoting peace, justice, and flourishing. Address local issues such as poverty, education, and public health by becoming a faithful presence in the community. As Pastor Tim Keller notes, “Rather than seeking control over societal institutions or avoiding them, the church can engage as a transformative agent, contributing to the common good.”14 Churches that embrace collaborative community work bring the gospel mission into real-world settings, advancing both spiritual and societal well-being.

Conclusion

Embracing shalom may require a fundamental shift in the way many of us approach ministry. Yet what became clear to me as I studied Jeremiah 29 is that it is not a dereliction of duty for pastors to pay as much attention to community wholeness as to the nurturing of their own congregations. It involves recognizing that the health of the church is inextricably linked to the well-being of the community. Addressing those issues allows the church to tangibly embody the biblical concept of shalom, fostering a sense of connection and renewal both within and beyond its walls.

 

 

  1. Lee Beach, The Church in Exile: Living in Hope After Christendom (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2015), 19.
  2. Amy L. Sherman, Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2022), 2.
  3. Harold G. Koenig, The Healing Power of Faith: Science Explores Medicine’s Last Great Frontier (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1999), 24.
  4. Koenig, 24.
  5. Neal Krause and R. David Hayward, “Religion, Meaning in Life, and Change in Physical Functioning During Late Adulthood,” abstract, Journal of Adult Development 19 (2012): 158–169, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-012-9143-5.
  6. David G. Myers, “Religion and Human Flourishing,” in The Science of Subjective Well-Being, ed. Michael Eid and Randy J. Larsen (New York: Guilford, 2008), 323–346.
  7. Tyler J. VanderWeele, “Religious Communities and Human Flourishing,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 26, no. 5 (Oct. 2017): 476–481, https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417721526.
  8. Miroslav Volf, “Human Flourishing,” Institute for Theological Inquiry, accessed Nov. 20, 2024, https://huwhumphreys.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/miroslav_volf-human-flourishing.pdf, 5.
  9. Volf, 6.
  10. Jonathan Pennington, “A Biblical Theology of Human Flourishing,” Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, March 5, 2015, https://www.tifwe.org/resource/a-biblical-theology-of-human-flourishing/.
  11. Pennington, 7.
  12. Anton T. Boisen, Problems in Religion and Life: A Manual for Pastors (New York, NY: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1946), 1.
  13. For information on various programs, visit the program websites: BreatheFree at https://www.breathefree2.com, Gateway to Wholeness at https://gatewaytowholeness.com, Journey to Wholeness at https://nadhealth.org/addiction/, Adventist Recovery Ministries at https://www.adventistrecoveryglobal.org/, and Mission to the Cities at https://missiontothecities.org/.
  14. Timothy Keller, “Counter-Culture for the Common Good—Timothy Keller [Sermon],” Gospel in Life, Oct. 17, 2014, YouTube video, 45:12, https://youtu.be/p7XcnJ6K7YA.