Missional Culture Endures at Marietta Community Chapel
By Amy Lewis

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It’s been two years since the 120-member Marietta Community Chapel completed the Partnership for Missional Church (PMC) along with other congregations in the Lancaster Mennonite Conference cluster. Because of the lasting cultural changes brought about by PMC, the church is just as focused on being relevant to its largely blue-collar neighbors as it was two years ago.

Dave Harnish, lead pastor at the 28-year-old church, said, “Being missional continues to shape our direction and our posture. We keep looking for new expressions and outlets, and thinking creatively, which PMC helped foster in our people.”

Just across the street from Marietta Community Chapel is Castleton, a mixed-use development that will be home to over 350 families when it’s completed. Townhouses, rowhouses, single family homes, apartments, restaurants and retail spaces have been built over the past several years, establishing a growing community on the Chapel’s doorstep.

Harnish and his congregation are focusing on finding ways to form relationships with the new residents through classes, such as Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, and study groups. They are exploring hosting events in the development’s community room to make attendance less intimidating for those outside the church. Harnish has even joined the gym in the development as a means to connect with neighbors.

“We continue to pray that God will open the doors with the community,” Harnish said. “We’re looking for ways to be relevant to our neighbors – not to build our numbers. The Financial Peace University, for example, responded to a felt need.”

Door hangers promoting the 13-week financial course drew three people to a preview class – just one of the small wins Harnish and his congregation hold up as a result of their efforts. Another individual reached through their outreach has made “significant breakthroughs,” according to Harnish. It will be these small wins and its missional culture that will keep Marietta Community Chapel relevant inside and out of its physical walls.

Amy Lewis is principal of Renown Marketing Communications and an advisor to Church Innovations.