Tending the Garden: Cultivating Developmental Cultures
By Sarah Webb
What if churches were so formative that people were naturally (almost subconsciously) healthier people as they belonged more deeply? What if the visions of conflict resolution, competence, teamwork, and service that congregants observed in their church were both healthy and contagious?
Mark Shepherd (who now serves as Chief Product Officer at CampusEdu) began serving in a ministry capacity at 16 years old. His life has been shaped by faithful Christian leaders who allowed him the experiences and creativity to learn how to serve to meet various needs of the church. Shepherd’s developmental experience and posture of humility prepared him to return the favor as he stokes the creativity and passion of the next generation of the church.
His view of ministry and laity engagement is not confined to Sundays, but is uniquely formed to the opportunities and giftings of a congregation eager to experience and share the Gospel. Mark explains that in order to have laity at the forefront of the mission, “The church needs to feel more like a family, and the church needs to feel more like a training center”.
Mark’s emphasis on forming relationships goes deeper than finding a willing group of congregants that share the same vision. He recognizes the power of walking with people in their stories, and giving them the support and opportunities they need to step into their gifting.
Shepherd conveys this idea through the analogy of a garden. Mark shares, “An analogy I use for a developmental culture is that the leader’s planting a lot of seeds, and then you’re nurturing the garden to see what grows. Then you’re weeding that garden, and you’re watering and nurturing”. While he explains the effort of this work, he says “You can’t predict always what seeds are going to grow. So your job is to have discernment and awareness and to nurture and to build up and then to water the things that are starting to grow”. His focus on seeing each seed as an individual opportunity for growth expresses the nature of developing laity: providing creative and structured opportunities to engage, without making that structure impersonal.
You might train a volunteer in your church around your congregation’s language of worship, and empower that volunteer to create a service element
You might call together a group of student leaders from within your youth ministry, and set them loose to create a culture of hospitality
You might work with volunteers to develop a neighborhood listening campaign, then provide the runway and support those volunteers need to creatively imagine how your church may walk with your neighbors.
Every experiment (and every volunteer interaction) is a seed. As each seed takes root and begins to grow, it needs space to call its own in order to flourish. Mark explains that developmental cultures are spaces with high permission, high opportunity, and high ownership. He expresses the need for the laity to have choices and creativity in the way they participate in the mission. Shepherd says, “It’s about giving people an opportunity to have a new perspective”.
Shepherd’s excitement to empower and nurture the laity is matched with an understanding that not every plant will flourish. As he considers how churches could provide ample opportunities, he welcomes failure as a paired expectation with trying new things. He challenges the culture of perfection, and recognizes that seeking perfection is what can keep us from opportunities to grow. Mark challenges the church to learn from businesses that embrace the culture of creating, and the willingness to continue adapting until the vision of the work is fulfilled.
By embracing the posture of a gardener, leaders can develop the laity to be at the forefront of the church. It is the posture of the gardener to continue watering, pruning, and planting - even if plants don’t immediately arise. Sometimes it is the task of the gardener to tend to the garden for the sake of the soil, and prayerfully anticipate what is to come.
