Equipping Local Churches for "Glocal" Missions

HAMILTON, ONTARIO – Dave Witt, TrueCity’s Movement Developer, says that the new Praxis Learning Experiences they’re developing are their way of trying to provide a mission experience that is truly “glocal” (global and local) in nature.

TrueCity is a movement of nine churches in Hamilton in partnership with International Teams to help churches find ways to engage in mission together.  The one-of-a-kind learning experiences they have been piloting, which will expand to a new level in the fall, offer churches the opportunity to fully immerse themselves both locally and in the global community as well.

“Groups have the opportunity to spend the weekend in the city where they live, but they’re not at home.  They can truly experience the realities of life from a different perspective while learning about mission and doing some traditional mission activities like volunteering at a soup kitchen.  Woven into that structure are interactions with people who are new to the city or new to the country.  It’s sort of a scavenger hunt, helping people as they move around the city to discover how God might be at work in the cityscape.”

The weekends can also help churches with teams working globally to consider the implications of what they’re seeing and learning on life at home in Hamilton. “A woman from a local church came back from a trip to Africa more able to recognize folks in Hamilton who were originally from the country she visited.  As a result of her training, she was able to build friendships with them in a way she couldn’t before, in practical ways that were enriching for her and strengthening for the people she was interacting with.”

Dave feels the learning experiences can help congregations discover what he calls “arenas of mission,” where people can join with what God is already doing.  “It all builds on the work of churches in Hamilton who are getting involved in neighbourhoods to bring Christ to those people.  The key thing for us is to help churches get a clear sense of where God is calling them to engage and helping them build strength in that arena.  We think these Praxis Learning Experiences will be a key part of how churches discern and get more strength in those different arenas.”

Dave and the other TrueCity leaders see a great deal of potential to equip churches to accomplish exciting things in Hamilton and beyond.  “When a church is engaged at a congregational level instead of an individual level, there’s a great possibility of churches discovering how they can do this better together. The real strength is that people begin to understand how individuals live, discover how they are helped through friendship ... and they themselves realize the powerful implications both now and the rest of their lives.”