When Jackie Wyse-Rhodes researched the strengths of people in a Dutch neighborhood, she never dreamed the “gold” she found would enrich congregations around the world in a curriculum based on her findings.
In the secularized neighborhood in Almere, the Netherlands, it would have been easy for her to uncover deficits in the people who came into the Inloophuis de Ruimte (Drop In Center) for a hot cup of coffee, a warm smile, and a friendly chat in a cold world. But that wasn’t her assignment, said Wyse-Rhodes, who served as a mission worker at the center on behalf of Mennonite Mission Network and the Dutch Mennonite Mission Board (Doopsgezinde Zending).
Her job was two-fold: to help keep the coffee, conversation and care flowing on a daily basis; and to go on a treasure hunt to the homes and hearts of the people who came into the center. What did they bring to the community? What were their gifts?
“God made humankind in God’s own image, and every person is stamped with God’s goodness and dignity—both inside and outside the church,” she said. “So I sought to listen to diverse image bearers: That gives us a truer picture of God and what God is already doing in a community. God is active in the world, and we are on a treasure hunt to find out how we can join that activity.”
The answers to those questions helped the center refine its ministries, which also included supper on Thursday evenings, prayer groups, and a Taize worship service. The center wasn’t a church. It was a “second living room” where everyone, no matter what culture or creed, was welcome.
The methods Wyse-Rhodes used in her expedition for the center formed the curriculum: Digging for Treasure in Your Own Backyard. It was co-developed by Wyse-Rhodes, now an assistant professor of religion at Bluffton (Ohio) University, and missionary Gerrit Jan Romeijn, who serves at the center.
The nine-module study guides congregations in extending mutual mission outreach based on the gifts and assets already present in the community. Through the network relationships of Mission Network, this small shared mission effort in a quiet Dutch city is providing valuable resources for outreach to the global church.
Wyse-Rhodes’ next treasure hunt involves searching for resources to translate the curriculum into English. Currently, it is only available in Dutch. Within the next several months, she and Romeijn hope to identify some resources for that translation process. Given the fact that 50 people—rather than the expected dozen or so—attended the workshop, the sooner the better.
