Placed for a Purpose: Ministering in your Everyday Context
A version of this article was originally posted for Elizabeth’s local church’s blog, The Crossing.
Remember the good ‘ole days when you knew your neighbors’ names because they brought you a pie when you moved in and watered your plants when you were out of town? Remember how you both borrowed sugar and outdoor tools and depended on each other in times of need?
No? Not ringing any bells? For many of us, we don’t remember because we’ve never so much as said hello to our neighbors. All we remember are big fences and uncomfortable exchanges of eye contact in our apartment stairwells.
No wonder when the pastor gives a compelling message about showing and sharing Christ’s love with our neighbors we smile and nod but feel a little guilty that we have no idea how to apply it, at least not with anyone next door.
Let’s be realistic. We’re too busy to cook, so squeezing in time to build relationships with people we’re suspicious of doesn’t exactly rank high on our list of felt needs. Our obstacles-to-neighboring list is a mile long. We feel our lives are too full and they’d be too needy. They parked in our spot or took our mail, we don’t like their pets, they’re too loud or too private. How and why would we try to make friends with the neighbors when we can’t even keep up with our closest friends?
“Jesus woos us to participate in his kingdom work, to see his renewal, restoration, hope and healing come to our communities. ”
We Want to Make a Difference Around Us
Yet there’s a non-urgent—still very important—desire in each of us to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. At times it feels more awkward than intuitive, but it’s coded into us all the same: our calling to engage in God’s mission and love our neighbors (even our next-door neighbors!). Jesus woos us to participate in his kingdom work, to see his renewal, restoration, hope and healing come to our communities. Even if we try to ignore this missional invitation for fear of what it might cost us, we can’t help but see needs around us for neighborhood peacemaking and mercy-extending.
Deep down we want to make a difference in our corners of the world because Jesus has made a difference in ours.
But We Have Questions
Is this a one-size-fits-all?
What if I have nothing in common with my neighbors?
Can I talk about my faith without being weird?
Do I have to talk to my neighbor every time I see them?
We have good intentions but lack follow through. We need simple. We need doable.
We need vision to help us not burn out.
“As we’ve continued to study God’s Word and invest in our neighborhood, we’ve seen more and more how much Scripture informs our theology of place. ”
God is Already at Work
When our family shifted to start seeing and engaging with our neighbors, we found ourselves getting swept up into a bigger story. We went from ignoring, distrusting, and avoiding our neighbors to finding common ground and enjoying mutual relationships with our neighbors of diverse perspectives and backgrounds… neighbors whom Jesus loves! We began to let go of grudges instead of holding onto them, and we discovered that loving our neighbors encompasses not only the big gestures, but the seemingly small and insignificant ones too.
As we’ve continued to study God’s Word and invest in our neighborhood, we’ve seen more and more how much Scripture informs our theology of place. Rather than feeling disconnected from our address, we’ve become co-creators of a neighborhood community where we seek the common good of our neighborhood together with our next-door image bearers (Jer. 29:7). As a result, we’ve grown to better know how to practically love and pray for them. Over time and with lots of intention, we’ve developed the kind of relationships that can sustain the deeper, weightier kinds of conversations—even conversations about Jesus and what he means to us. We’ve been able to see lives changed, including our own.
The most beautiful thing about neighboring is that we get to join God where he’s already at work.
If you want to continue learning alongside us on our neighboring journey, check out our podcast, where we’ll interview authors and pastors and researchers from differing fields and perspectives who offer unique expertise in the neighboring space. We’ll interview people— introverts and extroverts, singles, young moms, and empty nesters from urban, suburban or rural contexts—who’ve dipped their toe in the neighboring waters, are trying stuff, and are seeing God move. And we’ll provide some guided prayer walks for you to pray as you walk in your own neighborhood. Because sometimes we want to pray for our neighbors, but we don’t always know what to pray.
Trust us, you’ll be right at home. Literally.
Elizabeth Mckinney is a wife and a mom to four little girls. She is on staff with Cru City and serves as associate staff at her church, The Crossing in Columbia, Missouri. She writes, speaks and is passionate about helping people love their next-door neighbors. Elizabeth is the co-author of Placed for a Purpose and Neighborhoods Reimagined: How the Beatitudes Inspire Our Call to Be Good Neighbors (coming Spring 2024). You can find her on Instagram and on The Placed for a Purpose Podcast.
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