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Last week I was in South Carolina and had the opportunity to spend some time with Jay Hardwick, a church planter who is seeking to be the presence of Christ in Columbia. Jay graciously gave me a chunk of time in the midst of a busy week, and I was blown away by his Christ-like hospitality.

I listened to Jay as he talked about being a student of his community, and how his core group has identified needs in their neighborhoods that have been masked by the facade of affluence around them. They are seeking to incarnate the Gospel in their corner of Columbia. They don’t have a church name. They don’t have any printed material. They don’t have a lot of “stuff.” But they do have a heart to connect with people who are far away from God. They want to transform the sectors of society with the Gospel.

As we talked, Jay pointed me to an article that Eric Swanson wrote for Leadership Network on Ten Paradigm Shifts Toward Community Transformation. Great insights, and the bibliography and links to churches that are making a difference in their communities are worth checking out.

Whether we are planting a new congregation, or seeking to revitalize an existing congregation, one of the first responsibilities of leadership is to be a student of the community where God has sent us.

“These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:1-13, ESV