Episode 205: Evangelistic Growth Through Preaching and Fellowship — Bob Pollema (Part 2)

"Non-believers said they’re looking for good preaching and a welcoming community…Our philosophy of youth ministry was focusing on the Word of God and fellowship…The world is lonely, and people are longing for truth. God has designed the church to meet those needs—truth and fellowship…The church does a bad job trying to entertain people. Just preach the Word and build fellowship." — Jason Ruis

Summary of This Episode

This week’s Messy Reformation podcast brings us back to Jason and Willy’s conversation with Rev. Bob Pollema, pastor at Faith CRC (Sioux Center, IA). At the end of last week’s episode, Bob shared that a lot of the growth at Faith can be attributed to a high population of CRC people and big families, but he’s also noticed something that has to be in the DNA across different contexts. In Las Vegas, he met a number of people who were disconnected and alone. What Bob found drew them in was someone being willing to listen which gave way to building relationships and trust to speak into their lives.  When he went to Bunde in western Minnesota, he found a caring fellowship that mimicked that. So, too, at Faith, he hears people asking, “How do we open or break our circle to welcome others in?”

Jason builds on this as he’s seen the importance of listening and welcoming throughout his own ministry. In Beaver Dam, he shares that he’s seen some evangelistic growth in the church. When newcomers are asked what brought them there and brings them back, it’s a sense that they are known–the body of believers has been in the community and how they are outside the walls is the same inside. Jason highlights the MissionInsite Demographic Survey, a helpful resource available to Christian Reformed congregations through Resonate Global Mission (More info here: https://www.resonateglobalmission.org/mission-shaped-congregations).

With listening comes the opportunity to speak into people’s lives. Bob shares an example of how people are looking for truth with an interaction he had with a grocery store coworker several years ago. This person was sharing how a movie had completely changed how a character was portrayed. At first, Bob didn’t see why it was such a big deal because it was fiction after all. But the coworker shared how comic book series have a canon–there is a backstory that enthusiasts assume will be followed. People are looking for things to remain true–the church has a gift to offer them!

Jason shares how he saw that in youth ministry. He’s had challenging young people over the years, who had to be disciplined which typically involved a short suspension from attending. When Jason would ask why they even came, since they could cause trouble elsewhere, they told him that he spoke of things that no one else was. These are great reminders of the slowness and the persistence that Christians need to have in sharing the good news. 

Jason turns the conversation to where Bob sees the future of the CRC. Bob shares how he sees us often being “cultural” Christians, meaning we have the right beliefs and take the right stands, but we need to work on being “distinctly” Christian, that is, distinct from the culture. If you can give the answers, but you’re participating or consuming things that are harmful to you, that’s not good. Jason describes, “The barometer of how faithful you are as a Christian is [often] which side you’re on…but [ignoring] a lot of other issues that need to be worked out in regards to your holiness.” As they discuss, the point isn’t to be legalist or rigid practically, but rather as Peter puts it, “...Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

Bob wraps up the episode with a heartfelt plea that he’s experienced himself. If there is a pastor listening who’s lonely, trapped, or falling apart, reach out to someone. We don’t need to do ministry on our own!