It may be a bit delayed, but I’m finally able to pass along a little of what I saw and experience while in Turin earlier in December. I’m not sure how aware the world is of Turin. It hosted a Winter Olympics, but other than that it doesn’t make it on a lot of list of must-do places in Italy, overshadowed, perhaps, by Venice, Rome, Florence and all of the other incredible cities packed into a small peninsula. It’s a shame, because it’s a great place, backed by the Alps, clean, friendly, and beautiful, especially when decked out for Christmas.
Turin is also one of the wealthiest cities in Italy. It was the first capital of Italy upon unification 150 years ago, and although it slipped in political importance over the years, it is the centre of Fiat production, which has helped it to develop in economic importance. Of course, as countless Canadian small towns dependent on the forestry or mining industries can attest, over-reliance on a single industry can really hurt when things take a downturn. Turin is no exception, as problems at Fiat have caused a painful ripple effect throughout the city.
I spent my time there with a two-year old simple church network (or house church network, if that is more familiar). Once a traditional church, they went through a time of re-evaluation which led them to a very significant change in the trajectory of the church.
Which is rather incredible, really. To change from a traditional church to one that is dispersed among various homes is no small matter. Most churches wouldn’t be able to do it. But if the church exists for mission, then the church must be built for mission, and this is exactly what they have sought to do, and what many fail to do. It is easy to exist for special interest groups within the church, and courageous to take another path.
What their present structure allows them to do so well is to move nimbly, to respond to opportunities as they come up, and to engage the whole church (or at least a greater part of it) in reaching the area.
While I was there, an evangelist from America had joined them for a spell. The church aggressively advertised, mostly around a local university, and then approached the event as not just an opportunity to add a few individuals to the Sunday gathering, but as a chance to plant a new church, where those who getting to know Jesus for the first time can do so together.
When I think of how we approach our future ministry in Italy I hope that we can have a similar willingness to pay any necessary price to see the Kingdom advance. So many churches expect growth without actually positioning themselves for anything significant to happen, which is no less ridiculous than my expectation that I will lose my extra Christmas weight without avoiding the trifle sitting in our fridge and hitting the gym regularly.
I’m not saying that every traditional church needs to become a house church (or that every trifle needs to be avoided), or that a change in structure will every be the solution to the challenge of mission. but there is something inspiring by their willingness to pay the necessary price to see God move.
I think that God has been waking the church up to the challenge of mission both next door and around the world, but this journey will always require something of us. The only question is what we are willing to give to see our mission fulfilled.
