As I speak with different church leaders about what they can do to serve their communities, or to get involved in missionary projects I am sometimes met with a strained sense of not knowing where to start. The willingness to get involved is sometimes stifled by an inability to conceive just what to do.

For the imaginative among you that may seem odd, but reality is that many people are willing to get involved but don’t know quite where to start. The creative juices do not flow, or maybe people sometimes feel they have to come up with a ‘worldbeater’ of an idea for it to have any currency.

As I pointed out below, your project or activity doesn’t have to be on the radical edge for it to be of value. It just has to fit your community and be an expression of the kingdom of God to those you live amongst. In fact most of what we do may seem quite mundane and simple. That’s ok!!

So here’s what I’d like to do:

As I am often speaking to groups of people about how they can more effectively connect in their community, I would like to develop a collection of ‘stories worth telling’, as a way of inspiring others to take action in their own backyards. I’d like to have a pile of stories I can tell of how others around the world are engaging in their local communities in small ways, big ways, creative ways and simple ways.

Your story could be the catalyst for sparking another’s imagination. I have lost count of how many times I have seen a great idea – or even a mediocre idea – and after reflection modified it to suit my own context.

So if you have a project you’d like to share with us then drop me an email hamo@forge.org.au and just write a few paragraphs answering the questions below and I will:

a) publish it on here – I won’t embarrass you and you can remain anonymous if you wish, but I’d love to get more stories out.

b) share it with the folks I speak to – your story could offer hope and inspiration to others.

The form of your church doesn’t matter. I don’t care whether you are a tie wearing, hymn singing, pew sitting Baptist or a candle burning, labyrinth walking contemplative. What I really want to know is:

1. Who is the community you are interacting with? ie what is your context and where have you seen a need? (The more specific the better here.)

2. What is the heart of the project? What are you doing and how are you doing it?

3. How is the gospel expressed in what you are doing?

4. How is it going and what have you been learning?

5. What would you do differently if you could?

My hope is that stories like that of Scarborough will get out and inspire more church communities to really engage with their own backyards.

So… I don’t know if this will work or will die dismally, but I’d love to have your reflections!