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In Servants we have been reflecting on what we have learnt in Asia over the past 25 years and now we believe that God is calling us to establish communities that will more intentionally practise those Biblical principles in the West too.
Our first Western community was established in 2006 in Vancouver, Canada and the second began in 2008 in Southall, London (UK). We are praying for further Servants communities, holding in tension both a local and global focus, to be established in the U.S., Australia and other Western countries. Contact us for more information.
In our communities we commit ourselves to simplifying and consolidating our lifestyles in order to be more
1. Solitude(the hub: time with God) Solitude with God alone is at the core of our being. And it is only out of this hub that we can move healthily into the other parts of our calling. Solitude must come before community with each other because otherwise we will be seeking to have our deepest needs met by each other rather than by God. And solitude must come before ministry because otherwise we might fall into ministering to others out of our own unmet needs. This is not to say that we closet ourselves away. On the contrary, much of our time and attention is outward-focused. We do not define these 3 commitments narrowly and we recognize that there is a great deal of overlap. For example solitude will include many or all of the following:
2. Community(the spokes: time with each other)
Community is about a real commitment to one another’s wellbeing, mutual submission, accountability, vulnerability and going above and beyond our duties. Community includes many of the daily tasks of doing life with others: eating together, cleaning up together, corporate prayer, team meetings, monthly fun events, learning together, playing games and partying together etc.
Community is about simple things like sharing food around the table. In today’s society, even family members often eat alone and on the run. To a large extent, we have lost sight of the significance of shared meals. So, unless we intentionally break patterns, we usually eat with people who are similar to ourselves. Our community is committed to eating together on a daily basis. By opening our home and our meal table to our friends and neighbours we have seen that the intimacy of a shared meal can forge relationships which cross social boundaries.
3. Ministry(the rim: time serving others outside our core group)
Ministry should not be defined too narrowly. Ministry is not a tidy compartment of our life. It is our way of life. We place a lot of emphasis on relational ministry and radical hospitality. So, welcoming neighbours into our home and sitting around talking with them over cups of coffee is as important as volunteering in a local drop-in centre or serving in a soup kitchen. We want to free up some of our time (or be flexible enough) to be open to the gift of interruptions.Those who work in paid jobs consider their work ministry, but choose to work part time to leave enough time and energy for a balanced lifestyle of service, community and solitude.
These are some of the ways our community members serve their neighbours through ministry:
* Hanging out with neighbourhood friends
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“In years to come, we are going to need many small communities which will welcome lost and lonely people, offering them a new form of family and a sense of belonging. In the past, Christians who wanted to follow Jesus opened hospitals and schools. Now that there are so many of these, Christians must commit themselves to the new communities of welcome…” [Jean Vanier]
