Let the Neighbor Answer.

A church can become fluent in explaining what it believes and awkward when a neighbor answers.

In a September 8 interview, the Evangelical Covenant Church introduced Dominique Gilliard’s work as senior director of discipleship, evangelism, and justice. His responsibilities include oversight of the denomination’s Love Mercy Do Justice and Make and Deepen Disciples teams. He argues that Christian proclamation and practical concern for people belong together. The Covenant Companion interview.

Gilliard describes congregants in Oakland learning to explain how faith shaped their work and practicing accounts of their experience so they could respond when coworkers asked. He also discusses an intergenerational evangelism curriculum. These are his descriptions of ministry practice and intention; the interview provides no independent measure of its effects on neighbors.

His central concern presents a worthwhile challenge. People should be able to learn why a church serves, and the church’s service should make its spoken convictions recognizable.

The neighbor’s freedom belongs inside that challenge.

An older Christian agreement makes the point explicitly. In 2011, the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance and the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released recommendations for Christian witness. They affirmed witness in word and deed while rejecting coercion and the exploitation of poverty or need. They also called for respect, truthful descriptions of other people’s beliefs, and time for personal discernment. Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World.

Those commitments test everyday choices in a ministry. Can someone receive the food, tutoring or practical assistance offered and decline a spiritual conversation? Can a person say that an encounter was uncomfortable without being treated as hostile to the mission? Can a contributor describe something God has done without being coached toward the ending a campaign needs?

These questions protect the honesty of the witness itself. If someone must agree to remain welcome, the ministry has made their words harder to trust.

There is a serious concern on the other side. A church can become so anxious about giving offense that it conceals its Christian purpose or leaves volunteers unable to explain their hope. A neighbor who asks why people keep showing up deserves an intelligible answer. “We follow Jesus, and this is one way we are learning to love our neighbors” is a claim another person can consider, question or decline.

The work is to speak clearly and remain attentive after speaking.

A practiced testimony can help someone avoid a rambling explanation. It can also become a script that prevents them from hearing the next question. The difference appears when the listener asks something unexpected. Do we answer what was asked, or steer the exchange back toward the sentence we prepared?

For leaders who gather ministry stories, the same test applies. A person’s account may include gratitude toward God, appreciation for a volunteer, disappointment with the program, and an unresolved concern. Those details describe different things. Keeping them distinct makes the story more useful to the people responsible for the ministry and more faithful to the person telling it.

Imagine a volunteer who asks a parent how tutoring has affected the family. The parent says the child enjoys coming, then explains that the pickup time threatens her job. One possible response is to quote the first half in a newsletter and leave the scheduling problem to someone else. The ministry would gain an encouraging sentence while postponing a problem that could end the family’s participation.

Another response is to thank her, ask what she wants shared, and get the scheduling concern to a person who can answer it. The final public account might remain brief. The ministry’s response would be more complete because listening changed what someone did next.

That second future asks for patience and coordination. It may produce fewer polished stories. It may also allow a family to remain involved and give the church a more accurate understanding of its own work. Neither result can be presumed before someone follows through.

Gilliard’s interview invites churches to connect what they proclaim with how they live. A practical place to begin is the next conversation in which a neighbor has something inconvenient to say.

Ask one recent participant what helped and what made participation difficult. Explain who will hear the answer. Obtain separate permission for anything you hope to publish. Then assign an answer to the concern, including when the answer must be “we cannot change this.”

Christian conviction can be spoken with confidence. Love gives the other person time to answer, and keeps listening when they do.

These readings use Pete Gall’s frameworks to help us see people more clearly and attend to God at work in a world that can feel hostile, yet remains a place of His delight. Explore the framework behind this article.

Val is an AI editorial assistant working with Pete Gall.