The ROAD (interviewed by Pat Dupont)

I. VISION

            The vision of The ROAD, Rev. Rebecca Laird's multi site plant in the city of Syracuse, New York, was threaded throughout our conversation.  Multiple times, while explaining different aspects of her church, Rev. Laird would return to its vision and purpose.  "The ROAD stands for the Relational, Open to all, Affirming, and Diverse," and their vision "is to be a sustainable ministry that reaches people on the margins that the traditional church isn't reaching, and to be a church that is more about being in the community than in a building, and where worship can be anything from offering communion on a street corner to a conversation at the bar to a full fledged worship service in a coffee house."

             The ROAD's Facebook page describes their mission in the following way: "Social justice is the core of who we are and is weaved through all that we do: it is an injustice in itself that people feel left out of mainstream church culture, which is why we are seeking to shift perception about “church” and create a welcoming environment for everyone.

            Rebecca cited Micah 6:8 as a foundational scripture for the road and emphasized the need to reach the marginalized saying, "I have a passion for doing something different and reaching the marginalized, and we can't reach the marginalized in our traditional church."

            From its onset, The ROAD was a multi site plant that aimed to reach out to people who weren't being reached by the traditional church model.  One such community is made up of young adults who have been hurt by the traditional church.  The ROAD's cafe model is one way of ministering to this community.  Built into the vision of what The ROAD would look like was always the idea of "churches that look like cafes" (referred to in this way because they legally cannot be called just "cafes").  Rebecca has a vision of churches that reach a different "clientele" by creating a cafe atmosphere and by providing coffee that is a popular brand in the Syracuse area.

            Another population that is marginalized in the city of Syracuse is the homeless population.  This demographic has also always been an important part of the ROAD's vision of their ministry.  One example of the missional vision of The ROAD can be found in their plans for the grand opening of their Onondaga Hill location.  This opening will include a fundraiser for Faith Hope Community Center (mentioned further below) because the ROAD feels strongly about conveying the fact that their ministry is not about them or their church, but about the community and reaching outward.

II. CONTEXT

            Rev. Laird cites the main contexts that the ROAD is ministering to as the working poor and impoverished, and the people who have questions about God such as, does God exist? If God loves us why is this happening? Does God hate me?

            The ROAD decides where it is going to focus in ministry efforts by "looking at where the church isn't."  Rebecca has open permission to plant anywhere that she wants in the city of Syracuse and her colleagues in the city have been supportive of that fact, though the ROAD has pushed forward beyond where other city churches are willing to go.  There are three basic ministry settings that the ROAD exists in.  The first is a Theology on Tap group that meets weekly in a downtown Pub.  The second is on the streets of Syracuse ministering directly with the homeless and impoverished.  The third is the coffee houses that will be opened next year.

Bar Ministry

            The ROAD's Theology on Tap group meets weekly to share a meal and communion, and to discuss the intersection of faith and current events.  A big part of this group's ministry involves serving the other patrons of the sports bar where they meet.  Anyone in the restaurant is invited to participate in The ROAD's gatherings.

Open Street Communion

            The ROAD ministers very directly with the homeless population of the city of Syracuse outside of their building and on the street.  On Thursday nights the church assembles sandwiches to be distributed (in the summer, around 100 sandwiches, during the rest of the year slightly less).  On Friday afternoon the church then stands on a street corner in downtown Syracuse and hands out sandwiches, warm socks, and offers "Holy Communion and prayer to every person that walks by."

Coffee Houses

            The ROAD's "churches that look like cafes" will be located at Onondaga Hill and E Genesee and University Ave.  The coffee houses will have a bar and seating options, another large room that functions as a sanctuary/concert venue, and other rooms that function as a game room, a meeting room, and a meditation room.

III. PLANTER

            Rev. Laird was reappointed in 2010 from a "clergy killer Church" to two churches in Syracuse that were "on their last hoorah."  She was not enjoying her ministry and had a conversation with her District Superintendent in which she told him, "if being a pastor means just putting new things in the bulletin each week, then maybe I'm not called to pastoral ministry."  The District Superintendent was involved with a church that had decided to restart with entirely new leadership.  Rebecca was brought on to be the new leader of this church and to focus on reaching out to the community and to young adults.  The church had an endowment and "a huge, really old, falling apart building."

            Rebecca currently serves as an associate pastor part time in a more traditional church while she is planting The ROAD and she feels that she is able to use her "gifts and graces" in both settings.  Looking back on her pastoral career, she says that this is the first time that she is in an appointment that is "life-giving all the way around."

            When asked about the gifts that help her plant, Rev. Laird mentioned vulnerability, being real, the ability to think creatively, knowing how to network, knowing how to connect with other ministries and organizations (as opposed to trying to reinvent the wheel), being able to think outside the box, and being able to adapt as you go.  Of these gifts, she elaborated most upon vulnerability.  Rebecca talked about how opening up about the struggles of her life with people has been one of the most effective ways of building relationships in the community.  It is helpful, she says, for people to see clergy as "real people" who have had hard roads, but still have faith.

IV. HISTORY

            As mentioned above, Rev. Laird took over a church as it went through a restart.  The official restart began in July 2011.  This project became a plant because all of the members of the restart ended up choosing to leave for other churches (with the blessing of the new leadership).  This left Rebecca's new appointment with..."0 active members, a big building that was falling down, and an endowment."  She started with no team (other than one quarter time person who helped take care of wrapping up the previous church's ministry through the period of transition).

            Rev. Laird's first step was to meet with young adults in the area who had been marginalized by the traditional church.  During this time, she was connected with two people who are now married, in seminary, and heading towards their own appointments, but who helped start The ROAD's Theology on Tap three years ago.  The ROAD now has a leadership team of 12 people, 5 official members, and a group of about 25 that are "somehow in constant contact with The ROAD."  These numbers do not include the church's homeless ministry, as Rebecca is "not sure of how to count those regulars."

            The Church started off meeting at a Panera once a month.  These meetings consisted of the three people involved in starting The ROAD: Rebecca, and the couple mentioned above.  The group soon decided that the Panera was too far away from the community that they were hoping to serve, and relocated to Rosie's Sports Pub and Grill, and started meeting every other week.  Quickly they decided that every other week was not often enough to build momentum.  It was difficult to invite people to join them when they had to explain which weeks they would be there and which weeks they wouldn't, so they began meeting weekly.  Rebecca also held office hours at the restaurant during lunchtime.

            One strategy that the church has used to minister to their immediate community (in the bar) and to make themselves known is to buy drink chips for everyone in the bar on certain occasions.  Rebecca noted that this started a lot of really good conversations with people and has raised questions in them about what The ROAD is like, but she doesn't think that this strategy has brought anyone to attend.

            A transition point for the church was when a conversation with her a District Superintendent led Rebecca to try to create more tangible "sacred space in a secular world."  She planned a special service for Maundy Thursday and used a tablecloth and bowl of water to identify their table at the bar.  That service (on a night when the Syracuse Basketball team was playing a playoff game and the bar was especially crowded) was especially effective at drawing other patrons of the restaurant and bartenders to participate.  Ever since, The ROAD has identified itself with the white tablecloth and bowl of water.

            Another strategy the leadership team has used is to arrive at the bar thirty minutes before the Theology on Tap meeting begins,. This allows time for the leadership to converse with other people in the bar and invite them to join the church for Theology on Tap.

            Looking into the future, the ROAD is working on opening two storefront "churches that look like cafes."  The church is partnering with a popular coffee distributor in Syracuse, Cafe Kubal, in order to reach a new "clientele."  The first of these locations will be open by January 1st (whether it is ready to go or not because the conference wants to see progress in it's "token plant").

            One strategy of The ROAD is to look for organizations that they can partner with.  One of these organizations is called Faith Hope Community Center and ministers mostly to young African American men in hopes of keeping them off the streets and out of gangs.

            At the time of this interview, "corporate worship" had not yet been launched.

V. ASSESSMENT

            In looking back on the planting work she and her team has done over the past three years, Rev. Laird had a difficult time reflecting on what they might have done differently or the same.  As mentioned above, she said that the idea of opening "churches that look like cafes" was always part of the vision, but other than that basic framework, everything else had really shifted and morphed as time progressed.

            One thing that Rebecca was able to point to, and label as something that could have gone smoother was the sale of the old building that she inherited.  She explained that during the planning of the restart, promises were made that nothing would be thrown out within a certain period of time.  Because of this promise, the ROAD ended up holding onto this big, old, falling apart church building for much longer than was necessary, and it ended up being a drainer of resources.

            Related to wishing they had sold the building sooner, Rebecca also commented that if she was to do it all over again, she would have moved things forward slightly quicker.  She doesn't necessarily think that the long period of time over which different developments have unfolded was necessary, and would have preferred to have made more rapid progress.

            Aside from those few notes, Rev. Laird said that she was very pleased with how the first three years of the ROAD had gone and that she has seen and felt God working even in the struggles of planting.  She noted that even when things were frustrating or they felt like failures, God was using those moments to bring about some sort of change in the project or in the people associated with it.

            Another area in which Rev. Laird suggested that the ROAD could be more accountable concerns prayer.  She noted the importance of having an outside prayer team, unaffiliated with the project, praying for the church and it's leaders and members.  She commented that it can be really difficult to find people who will really commit to doing this.  Rebecca also noted that while her personal ministry is grounded in daily prayer, and she encourages her leaders to nurture the same kind of ministry, this is an area that the ROAD as a whole can improve in.  Prayer can be more present in their gatherings, and more present in the lives of every member.