Episode 195: Adopt Your Mission Field - Evangelism Through Long-Term Relationships - Pete Armstrong (Part 2)

“[I want listeners to have]...a deep sense of hope…Whatever your church is going through…we don’t build the church. Jesus is building the church…There are intentional things we can do. There are practices [and] postures that we can have as we engage culture. But if we keep pointing people to Jesus and keep living for him…he is just going to blow our minds with what he does…God is moving, the Spirit is moving…drawing people to himself.” -Pete Armstrong

Summary of This Episode

Welcome back to part two of Jason and Willy’s conversationT with Rev. Pete Armstrong, pastor of Parklane CRC in Portland, OR. We get back into Pete sharing a vision and passion for evangelism where he is, which Jason shares and sees a need for in most contexts. They both have a love for and see the benefit in building relationships with people in ordinary life routines which you can bring the gospel into. Jason identifies it takes a long time and tries his patience, but it’s an authentic approach.

Pete sees authenticity as being such an important part of his pastoral ministry. He grew up experiencing pressure as a pastor’s kid to be a certain way, which can detract from the point of the gospel being that everyone needs the Savior. He’s well aware of his imperfections, and would rather be open about that as a pastor. Some traditions give the pastor almost a God-like status, and he wants his congregants to know he’s not that. He’s intentional about people knowing, “I'm on the road with you. I'm a sojourner with you. We are all making our way on this journey to become more like Jesus. We stumble and fall. We are in daily need of grace. We get up every morning, and we thank God for saving us, and …we [too] sing, “I need Thee every hour.” Jason agrees and shares his experience in other cultures where they pedestal the pastor even more than some do in ours. He admits–he doesn’t want to be that guy. Pastors are normal humans who God has given unique gifts to.

Willy prompts a good question, “Do you think it’s important for pastors to be a presence and a figure in their communities as well?” Pete’s view is, “[Yes], but it takes a long time to build that up.” He and Jason agree on this and feel a struggle in each of their ministries to balance the community and the congregation. One of the lessons Pete picked up in church planting was that pastors need to pastor in their parish (community) or they won’t have a congregation to pastor. He credits his mom with teaching or exemplifying for him what it means to be a connector, which has led him to live intentionally when it comes to meeting people, being recognized, and remembering what’s going on in their lives. He also fleshes this out. He talks about going to a local Chipotle and finding a good representation of his community there–that’s a place to be. He shares about an oil change ministry Parklane has done–offering oil changes and meeting and praying with people. The church found a need and has been able to fill it and be known for doing that. He wrestles with the challenge of should they be teaching people to change their own oil, which would form a partnership that enables them to not just do it for themselves but do it for others (a multiplication outlook). Yet there is something good about doing it to bless others, and to know it may not even mean a return by way of membership in the congregation. 

To wrap up this episode that has great wisdom of how to live out Christ’s love in concrete ways, Peter offers his final words of encouragement. He wants listeners to have “...a deep sense of hope…Whatever your church is going through…we don’t build the church. Jesus is building the church…There are intentional things we can do. There are practices [and] postures that we can have as we engage culture. But if we keep pointing people to Jesus and keep living for him…he is just going to blow our minds with what he does…God is moving, the Spirit is moving…drawing people to himself.”