Local Outreach
Get Involved
- Tell us what you’re up to – already actively participating in a local outreach project that you think other Restoration folks may want to join? Great! Tell us about it by filling out this form.
- Prayer gatherings for both local and global outreach - this will be a time to both intercede on behalf of this community as well as trade ideas, insights, questions, and dreams as we establish our next, concrete steps.
- Saturday, September 18 – 9:00am-10:00am at Restoration Note it switches to the 3rd Saturday!
- Casa Chirilagua – Wholistic ministry in Arlandria among children and mothers. Tutors and summer camp helpers needed! Contact Dawnielle to help.
- Arlington Food Assistance Center - Sunday Farmer’s Market runs begin again in June! Contact Connally to sign up to help. Check this out to see where help is still needed. Bring along your kids, neighbors and coworkers!
- August 1
- August 8
- August 15
- August 22
- September 5
- Stories That Matter: Articulating our Hope in a Culture of “Whatever”: In the fall a small group will be following up the conversation which we began on Wednesday August 4, exploring how we can find honest words, in the course of regular life, for what we’ve encountered & know about the reality, goodness, and divinity of Jesus. We’ll trade our stories & past experiences with the “talking” part of outreach as we discover together how we might individually and collectively grow in our ability to give reasons for the hope that is within us. Questions: contact Connally.
Local Outreach Foci
We’re a young church and we’re still figuring this out. While we wrestle together with the bigger picture of where we’ll put our time and resources, we know that local outreach will focus on these two areas:
- Arlington’s most vulnerable, with an emphasis on the immigrant community
- Those in our natural spheres of influence (family members, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc.)
Our basic approach to this is simple (and probably a bit messy): we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ while also using our mouths to articulate the good news that the king, Jesus, has come and that his kingdom is breaking out all over the place. Our hope and trust is that as we join a wide variety of others in caring for our local community, God will reveal his good news to all kinds of people (including us) in all kinds of ways, be it through the work we do, the conversations we have, or the relationships that are built.
More soon!
For more info on any of the above (or any local outreach related questions), please contact Connally Gilliam.
A few outreach books worth the read, from Connally’s view at least…
- The Challenge of Jesus, by NT Wright. The last chapter, “Walking to Emmaus in a Postmodern World” is phenomenal.
- The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, by Lesslie Newbigin. The first 3 chapters were particularly helpful.
- The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21 Century Church, by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. These guys push limits.
- The Insider: Bringing the Kingdom of God into Your Everyday World, by Jim Peterson and Mike Shamy. Incredibly helpful.
- Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, The City & The People of God, by Harvie Conn and Manuel Ortiz. Love Harvie Conn’s thought (and life) though he’s now left this planet.
- Let Justice Roll Down, by John Perkins. This is the story of (and a call to) justice wrought through the transforming power of the gospel.
- OTHER IDEAS? Contact Connally Gilliam with your book suggestions.
