How can we better partner together?

[James Nored]

Hey guys. It's great to find other ministers in the area who care about mission and outreach to the Dallas area. This would be a good place to let each other know about what we have going on in outreach, what is working, ideas on how to do things, etc.

It also is great just to have a broader support base of minister friends. Jon Mullican (from Highland Oaks) and I have started getting together every few weeks to enjoy some fellowship and talk about various ministry things. So here is a question.

How could we better partner together for outreach and mission in the Dallas area?

[Trey Finley]

Just for starters...Highland Oaks has just recently gotten a taste of what it's like to serve in our communities where we live, a taste for which they are now hungrier. Perhaps some discussion over how we are entering into our mission field would be helpful for generating ideas.

[James Nored]

Trey, that is a great idea. This site might be a place where these discussions can happen. If you look at a lot of the groups on this site, they are sharing thoughts on real missional ministry. The more we share these insights and throw out questions to the community, the more that we can learn from one another--and encourage one another!

So, what are you involved in at Highland Oaks?

[Trey Finley]

James,

For several years, Highland Oaks has hosted a family carnival on our campus. Over the years, it's grown from a chili cook off to being advertised to the surrounding community as an "if you can't afford the state fair" event--large blow up bounce houses and carnival rides, The Longest Candy Line in Texas, and plenty more. Preachers' counts had it at anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 in attendance. It took hundreds of volunteers to run it, and gross cost to HOCC was not far off $50,000. The event was a big morale booster to our church, but we had few if any real contacts with the community.

This year, with finances tight, we moved to five smaller events hosted around the area in locations where members lived. We worked alongside an elementary schools in three locations where we hosted a Trunk or Treat event. The other two events took place on our two campuses with a specific focus on neighbors to those facilities. Members decorated their cars or set up games or handed out refreshments. The most common observation we've had from members was, "it was great to actually interact with people rather than simply provide them a service."

It's a small move, but not an insignificant one for a church that's been the definition of institutional for many years.