Becoming a self-reliant and missionary church

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OPINION

By Fr Lazar Arasu SDB

We are called to build a Church that grows, shares and animates, and a Church that is rooted in the Word and faith and in turn spreads the Word and strengthens faith. A Church that is self-reliant and makes its flock self-reliant, strong on its own spiritual and temporal strength.

The post-resurrection Apostolic Church, though it was in its infancy, was solid-rock in faith and meeting its temporal needs. It was local and universal, simple yet profound, contemplative and active, rooted in its flock yet missionary in outlook, even though poor, it was generous, and persecuted yet it was joyful. Indeed, it was ever new, but primeval in its faith.

In etymology, Church is ‘ekklesia’ in Greek, meaning ‘assembly’ or ‘gathering’, which further refers to the community of believers. The book of the Acts of the Apostles (4.32) puts it elegantly, ‘they were united one in mind and heart.’ Theologically, it is ‘the body of Christ.’ The members (the body) are united spiritually under its head, Jesus Christ. St. Paul poetically describes this BODY in his letters and admonishes the Church to be strong, to grow in its faith, and be self-reliant and missionary.

In a sociological perspective, the Church is an institution that gives a sense of belonging, identity, builds a communitarian spirit and has a clear purpose of association for its members. In a pragmatic sense, the Church is an organization that provides various services and activities, engaging its members and others through education, fellowship and other social outreach programmes, oftentimes much needed in emerging societies.

Often Church is a humanitarian ‘service provider’ who engages in temporal activities with the higher motive of God, spirituality and service to humanity. Reaching out to the needy is also being a missionary; it is to be an outward-bound body of believers, so the Church needs to be self-reliant.

Becoming self-reliant means becoming independent, self-assuring and self-supporting. For a Church to become self-reliant, focus should be placed on empowering members to become self-sufficient and self-assuring in their spiritual as well as temporal lives.

They become independent on their own without relying on someone else’s God experience or temporal support. This entails fostering a culture of self-supporting, self-governing, and becoming autonomous. This necessarily means enhancing one’s self-service, resourcefulness, and promoting financial independence. This is achieved through wise leadership, governance and boosting local contribution and resource mobilization.

In any faith-based organisation, of which Church is the best example, people ought to be united, motivated, and driven to achieve something higher than themselves. Their involvement is the fruit of their depth of faith in God and their faithful adherence to their Church and its precepts. A Christian (a member) will work for and promote his Church to the level of his adherence to the Church’s traditions and teachings. The weaker his or her faith is, the weaker their involvement in promoting the Church and their contribution in making their Church self-reliant and missionary.

A Church can rely on its members who are faithful in practicing its commandments, precepts, traditions and their day to day expression of their faith in the Church, which they call their mother and home. A Church (here meaning a large or collection of faith-communities, such as a diocese) becoming self-reliant should begin with progress or a level of achievement in spirituality/spiritual maturity. A spiritually mature Church is on the right path towards becoming self-reliant in other temporal matters.

Spiritually mature people make informed decisions and live according to their human values, which are the foundation of spiritual and religious values. They greatly help members to be financially responsible, be creative, innovative and develop skills to provide for themselves and their families. Spiritual maturity fosters a culture of service and being resourceful. Here we note the saying of St Irenaeus, “The Glory of God is His people fully alive.”

Spiritual maturity will certainly make people benevolent and humane. They are able to share their time, talents, and resources to help those in need, both within and outside the Church community. It helps to embrace the world around them with love and concern.

Spiritual maturity entails gathering one’s own resources through members paying their contribution, such as tithes and offerings and feeling responsible for their own financial independence. It will lead to saving for the future and avoiding debt, and looking for external donations and feeling that others who are well off should help me reach higher or to be like them. Instead, spiritual maturity in a given Church encourages its members to participate in resource gathering to support its ministries and projects. When a Church is spiritually mature, it will constantly identify the local resources and opportunities for its growth.

Spiritual maturity will make every effort to be self-reliant and self-supporting. It will make the members proud to rely on their own efforts and capacities and even refuse external help, which may often come with strings attached or enforced measures. This certainly calls for self-reliant education such as training in entrepreneurship, job-searching, building income-generating activities, budgeting, auditing and self-evaluating.

Self-reliance also brings resourceful persons together to involve in community projects that meet the local needs and provide opportunities for members to learn together and serve one another in a communal spirit. This, in turn, gives rise to new leadership and strengthens the existing leaders and their skills. Resourceful persons become mentors to others, especially the emerging young people; thus, giving rise to vocations, to both lay and consecrated life.

Now the informed Church builds members and its structures stronger and constantly celebrates its success and the growth of its faith. Thus, the Self-Reliant Church becomes a Missionary Church like that of the first Apostolic Church, “Praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:47).

The writer is a priest and school administrator