E2: How to serve on the estate if you don’t live there

Biblical/Practical Info

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…When you enter a house, first say, “Peace to this house.” If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. ‘When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal those there who are ill and tell them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” Luke 10:1, 5-9 NIVUK

At a glance

Move onto the estate if you can but be assured that God still works through those for whom it is not possible!
Being a guest is a powerful embodiment of the Gospel.
Have an incarnational posture whether or not you live on the estate – find ways of being with the community and being part of the space.
There may be strategic reasons for moving on later.

Key Points

Theologically and practically there are many advantages to living on the estate that you are called to serve. Theologically living on the estate models something of the Incarnation of Christ – a God who dwells amongst us. Living on the estate creates a sense of solidarity, of being fully embedded in the life of the community, of journeying together, of being one with one another. Practically it enables friendships to grow naturally, as neighbours, encountering one another in the everyday. Being a resident also brings privileges such as being part of the residents’ association or having access to community consultation events.

Spiritually, it’s important to lay down our lives and be both willing to move but also accept when that doesn’t happen. There are many reasons why living on the estate simply is not possible, even if we are willing or eager. This How to guide addresses how we might still serve the community in authentic and helpful ways if we live off the estate.

Penny shared the importance of being a guest and how Jesus was usually the guest rather than the host.

If you don’t live on the estate, always approach the community as a guest. Resist any temptation to behave as if you are ‘in charge’. [See How to have a Posture of Servanthood] Even if the church has appointed you to leadership, remember that this holds little sway with those beyond the church and may even alienate people. If you join any community Facebook pages, be extremely sensitive. Many don’t welcome ‘outsiders’. However, if you have joined because you are genuinely willing and able to serve or partner with the community in some way, make sure you are open about not being a resident and be authentic in your service.

Penny found that she began to receive invitations to people’s houses, and she felt that inhabiting the role of guest powerfully modelled something of the Gospel. When the community Facebook group decided to ban non-residents, they chose to keep Penny.

Seeking to be incarnational in approach remains important even if you cannot live on the estate. One of the ways to achieve this is to find different ways of inhabiting the space and orienting yourself within the community. Both Fiona and John found that walking their dog through the estate was a good way of being present. (This can also be combined with prayer walking!) Fiona found that as she walked her dog she smiled at people and that opened conversations. ‘I’ve got into very deep conversations just by smiling at people’ she shared. As she walked around the estate, she ‘bumped into people’ and this was a way of immersing herself in the community. Fiona also joined the local WI.

Sue incarnationally inhabited the space through a community hub. By being employed early she had been able to build a relationship with the landowners and together they negotiated a temporary building as a Community Hub. She stated that ‘You need a base. A place of hospitality.’ In some ways the hub was better than using her home as it was a neutral space. ‘It’s not my hub although we paid bills. It serves the community’. Sue further noted that within her community it was not the cultural norm to visit people at home and so again in that respect the Hub was a better place of incarnational connection than a private residence.

Fiona’s community ‘hub’ emerged as she began to get to know people. She started a weekly pop-up café at the local school. This is a space which intentionally has no spoken Christian content, but it enables her to be present and get to know people. This unthreatening incarnational presence has enabled faith conversations to develop and some of those people are now part of a group exploring faith. [See How to start a faith gathering/birth a church].

It is significant to note that you can work with a group that is already on the estate, by joining in with activity (see How to have a Posture of Servanthood) or envisioning existing Christians who live in the new housing.

Being incarnational is as much about posture as a place of dwelling. Even if you cannot live on the estate you can still join in with the mission of God in an authentically incarnational way.

Finally, Penny and Ali, in their book Pioneer Ministry in New Housing Areas state, ‘It may be strategic not to live on an estate immediately, for example if the first houses are being built on the remote edges..’(8)

So, if you can not live there for whatever reason, do not be discouraged, keep following the vision God has given you – as a guest rather than resident.

Learning Points

Living on the estate makes joining in with God’s mission easier. But new houses are expensive! Many missioners/pioneers lay or ordained struggle to buy a house on a new estate. Denomination bodies and large churches need to explore what they can do to purchase, part-own or raise funds to enable these missioners/pioneers to live in the area that they are called to serve.
Short-term or three-year contracts mean that those who would be willing sell up and use their own money to purchase a house don’t have the job security to do so.
Missionally engaging on a new estate that you don’t live on needs a posture of humility and servanthood. Remember that people beyond the church aren’t interested or impressed by our internal church job appointments!

Engaging With New Housing