Pastors!!... Assemble!!

Now, I know that all of you know what the three pictures below are (minus the clock), but do you know how to use them? Thankfully I had family that taught me how to not only read a map but to navigate without a compass (or phone in this modern age). M picked me up at the house today and he told me my task today. My task was to navigate him (a Swiss native) to the main city of Zurich. Through many trams, buses, and trains, we made to and from Zurich. M did not let me be lost but made sure of where I was going and how to get there. Naturally, I  got turned around once we got to some terminals especially when we got to HB (main station in Zurich [where the clock is from]).  

So, why were we in the big city (granted Zurich is about the size of Nashville with a lot less traffic)? Well, if you look at the title, the pastors from all over Switzerland, African countries, Asian countries, and other countries assembled and talked about where their ministries were going, what's new, what is leaving, and what is the same. This was more (as M translated from Swiss-German) to tell the heads of organizations why their time, money, and resources are needed. More strategy than anything, but to hear of what they are talking about and their responses to the issues at hand was interesting. That's the word that I will use: interesting. Coming from America (especially the SouthEast), I had some more conservative leanings and more set ways of how ministry was supposed to be. The way that these pastors were talking, they were moving towards more of the Apostolic type preaching where they went on the streets and talked to people and then either go into other cities or send others into other cities. In America, we almost all the time neglect the community around us because we are too focused on going across the country or the world. Here, their problems in society are very similar to America's problems. However, at this conference, the speaker did not give any answers, but he instead gave questions that we should ask our staff or ourselves. 

Going back to the street preaching. This is what I will be doing a little bit of in my neighborhood. But why is this important? In America, we have a church and people either go to it or they don't. It is their fault if they do not go to a church out of the 500 in the city. In Switzerland, there are many churches, yes, but the continent of Europe is also Post-Modern or Post-Christian. What M and others do is they reach out to people by meeting them where they are. If that is going to the parks to meet different families or to handing out cards for free coffee at C&D, then that is what they do. They meet the people at their neighborhood and see what the needs are for them. I mentioned the Italian man that we met yesterday, we gave him a card for a free espresso and with a joke, he said he would try it. hopefully, within the next couple of weeks, he will come to C&D and try the coffee and enjoy a conversation with other people. This is what the ministry is looking like in other countries. Pastors assembling, people going, talking, and reaching. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, and that is who we are sharing.