Living out Mission: Church of the Incarnation’s Journey with World Relief Memphis
What is Your Priority?
Planting a church is a daunting task. When you start with a small group of people and have limited resources, decisions must be made about where to focus efforts and also on what might potentially receive less attention in the beginning. When Drew Haltom planted Church of the Incarnation, he knew that one temptation would be to leave off service as a priority. But Drew made a deliberate decision not to make that choice. He recently sat down with us to talk about his reasoning and how it has impacted the church so far.
Becoming Partners
World Relief and Drew’s partnership has been over a decade in the making. In 2012, Drew and his wife Laura were neighbors with the first office director of World Relief Memphis, and they both worked at a nonprofit organization that introduced them to the broader Memphis nonprofit community. These interactions gave them a heart for service and an awareness of World Relief’s work.
After a season out of state in Atlanta, the Haltoms returned to Memphis with a vision for a new church plant. From the beginning, they wanted to ensure that service was at the heart of their church. Drew shared, “When a lot of people think about church planting, they think about starting a worship service.” While this aspect is vital, the church must remember that serving is “one of the vital pieces of a church.”
When a lot of people think about church planting; they think about starting a worship service, which is a big part of a church but not the whole of it…One of the vital pieces of a church is serving. That’s why even though we haven’t officially launched yet, we wanted this to be in our DNA.
Drew Haltom
This value led Drew to two important decisions. The first was selecting the church’s name, “Church of the Incarnation.” The Incarnation, which refers to Christ taking on human flesh and entering into the world of those he served, was chosen as part of the church’s name so that the church would remember that their identity flows out of Jesus’ mission. This builds on many theologians and church leaders of the 20th century who emphasized John’s version of the Great Commission, “As the Father as sent me, so I send you.” The church’s mission is meant to model how Jesus served.
This led to a second key decision: choosing an organization to partner with from day one. Drew described the choice as a “no-brainer.” He emphasized, “World Relief gives such easy on ramps in partnering with local churches, empowering and equipping local churches.” In addition, the Anglican tradition is a global tradition, and partnering with World Relief would give them an opportunity to connect with the world.
World Relief was just a no-brainer because I loved the work. World Relief gives such easy-on ramps in partnering with local churches, empowering and equipping local churches.
drew Haltom
In stepping into a ministry with immigrants, Drew also recognized a need to speak directly on the topic of immigration. He shared that he “grieves the ways that the conversation around immigration has been hijacked in the church by partisan politics.” He emphasized the need “to be informed primarily by Scripture, by Jesus and by the great tradition of the church.” For Drew, Scripture brings a clear call to “love the foreigner and the immigrant in our midst. Jesus himself was an immigrant.”
Meant to Be
When it came to choosing how the Church of the Incarnation would get involved on a deeper level, volunteering as a Good Neighbor Team (GNT) was the perfect way to step right into building meaningful relationships within the refugee and broader immigrant communities. This was a chance for the church to engage in meaningful relational work while World Relief could provide the service opportunity and quality training.
Before the GNT even met their paired family, Drew noted a growth in understanding and empathy within the group. During the GNT volunteer training, Drew shared that “through that training and some of the exercises, someone on our team commented, ‘Wow, this was a powerful illustration and embodiment of how insanely challenging this is.’ What I saw in this person was a bump up in compassion, empathy, and understanding of the story of refugees.”
The church has been paired as a Good Neighbor Team with a recently resettled refugee family for several months. While Drew shared candidly that the experience has not gone perfectly, it is clear that the connection was meant to be. One of the most impactful memories so far was having a picnic at Shelby Farms. There, the team and family had an amazing bonding experience.
Recalling the event, Drew shared that a child in the family that Incarnation is partnered with sadly had an accident where something had damaged their eye. Though there were several surgeries, the eye could not be saved. “So, in one eye, he’s completely lost vision, but one of the guys on our Good Neighbor Team, when he was this kid’s exact age, had a different accident where something hit his eye. The exact same thing! All these surgeries, but they couldn’t repair it.”
You could see in this family that it was super meaningful. That you can move on from this and it’s okay. When they started connecting over it, it was really sweet and beautiful. I mean, what a cool story of God’s providence at work in all this.
Drew Haltom
At the picnic at Shelby Farms, the Good Neighbor Team Member and this family connected. Through utilizing Google Translate they had an amazing conversation about their shared experiences. “You could see in this family that it was super meaningful. That you can move on from this and it’s okay. When they started connecting over it, it was really sweet and beautiful. I mean, what a cool story of God’s providence at work in all this.”
Connect Your Church
After personally being around World Relief Memphis for 12 years and now having WRM as Incarnation’s leading missions partner, Drew had this to say about getting involved from a pastor’s perspective.
“It’s just a no-brainer. Like coming to the Church Leader Lunches. It’s amazing food and it’s super valuable to connect with other pastors. I am having lunch with one of the guys I met at the last one next week! And again, the volunteer on ramps. It’s just really easy to partner with World Relief as the church to be equipped well and empowered to follow Jesus together. I recommend it to all the other church leaders.”
Ready to connect your church with meaningful impact in Memphis? Reach out to our Church and Community Engagement team for volunteer opportunities and resources. Join Drew and Church of the Incarnation in making Memphis a more welcoming community!
Writer: Kara Spencer
Communications Coordinator at World Relief Memphis, a graduate of Harding University, & proud Memphis native.
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