Listening Project: Waterford

AMBS Listening Project helps both pastor and congregation learn

How does a church traditionally considered a “country” or “drive-in” church transition into being an active participant in a newly formed and rapidly growing local community?

That was just one of the questions pondered by the congregation at Waterford Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind., while participating in a Listening Project visit with Marlene Kropf, associate professor in spiritual formation and worship at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind..

The Listening Project is part of Engaging Pastors, an effort of AMBS that seeks to strengthen connections between the seminary, pastors and congregations. The goals of each Listening Project visit include supporting AMBS alumni in their assignments; helping AMBS better understand the congregational and community contexts in which AMBS graduates serve; and listening to pastors and congregations regarding how the seminary can best respond to changing needs of ministry. That learning is then fed into teaching and learning efforts at AMBS.

Neil Amstutz, pastor at Waterford Mennonite, appreciated being able to talk openly about church issues with someone outside the congregation who was familiar with church trends and with his pastoral training. “Marlene listened well and also offered valuable outside observations about our congregation and pastoral team,” Amstutz said.

Kopf especially appreciated seeing a tour of the Waterford community, including the recently built Prairie View Elementary School and some new housing developments. She also participated in a meeting with other local community and church leaders.

“[The meeting] was one valuable aspect of the Listening Project visit that we never would have initiated on our own,” Amstutz said.

Ray Helmuth, principal at Prairie View, attended the meeting and appreciated the chance to articulate how he envisions area churches participating in their new community. Helmuth noted that, “There was a collective ‘ah ha’ moment when we realized that one area where pastors could use more training is in knowing how to coordinate community agencies.”

Since the Listening Project visit, Waterford’s awareness of the needs of their community has continued to grow, recently inspiring a college aged member of the congregation to start a clothing drive for children in the community who needed coats and other warm clothes. The congregation has also debated the possibility of organizing summer activities at Prairie View for neighborhood children.

Eric Saner