a growing African missional church

How do we as African churches respond to the crisis of the world? We simply go on with business as usual? We save souls. We pour money into beautiful buildings (some talk these days of campuses) and come together, on a Sunday (or any other day of the week, for the new ones) and go through various ‘Christian’ rituals to get money to fix the building or franchise it out (we baptise it church planting) This sounds too cynical, maybe.
During the week John Robbie, at Talkradio 702 interviewed Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist. They discussed the situation at this church’s mainbuilding , where refugees mostly from Zimbabwe, flock to find refuge. Most of the people, this secular radio spoke to, had to stand, wait, sleep outside, on the ‘stoep’ of this building, waiting in line, just in case some-one else leave, to get in. But then, Robbie, impressed by this church, asked an interesting question: Bishop but what about the church services and members, is it not disruptive? (this is my paraphrase-rwn). The bishop responded that it’s not a problem, they are going on ‘as normal’ (again my paraphrasing-rwn).
I wondered though: is this not the service of the church? Further, is this not what the church is for? Robbie did make the point that this is the actual work of the church, but why then asking the question about the ‘normal program’ of the church.
This kind of dichotomy is indicative of our thinking on the ‘normal business’ of the church. It’s as if we have a spiritual, preaching soul saving corebusiness (and in many churches it is business, Wallstreet-style !) and then these unexpectant, uncomfortable or worse ‘unwelcome’ situation of black Zimbabwean refugees on our doorstep, literally on our ‘stoep’. Maybe we should be asking the question: what is the Spirit saying to the church? Is this not the African situation where the needy come in hope, desperately to find a place to stay, to be safe or better, to be saved!. Here we see what I’m sure a lot of Christian prayer warriors are praying for, a church-building overflowing, day and night, because of hope, real hope. This church exist for those literally, on their doorsteps, pressing, pushing day and night, to come in. For most of us middle-class missional churches, this is too much to ask: let’s rather get back to our normal business- saving souls is more profitable then saving lives.