Legacy builds bridges of welcome
"'When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." These words from Leviticus 19:33-34 remind us of the importance of loving our neighbor—including those different from us.
A video at the 2024 annual conference highlighted how Legacy United Methodist Church in Bismarck, North Dakota, is taking this directive seriously. What began through connections made by Mission Bismarck, a community-based United Methodist church plant, has bridged into relationships with the Legacy congregation.
"I thought that the church should be the first to welcome the immigrant refugee community. Those who need welcome, who need love, and who need to hear of God's love and grace," describes Pastor Cory Thrall, lead pastor of Legacy.
Legacy has been intentional about reaching out to this community, connecting with them, and creating a safe space of connection, friendship, and love. This outreach has become a bridge for sharing the Gospel and the love of Christ.
"We spend too much time thinking about, ‘How do we bring them in? How do we bring them in? How to bring them in?’" described Pastor Cory. "Rather, we are thinking, okay, how can we go out? How can we go out? How can we go out? And the refugee and immigrant community, there's needs there that are deep, and they're not gonna come in."
Legacy has found ways to build relationships by meeting those needs, including driving lessons and creating a space for classes to learn English. They have also been intentional about creating opportunities for worship and ministry.
Pastor Cory Thrall from Legacy UMC in Bismarck, ND, provides driving lessons to Ukrainians who have settled in the area.
The congregation's response has been very positive, with some members taking steps to learn Ukrainian words or how to use Google Translate so that these newcomers can feel welcomed and at home at Legacy.
The fruit of that effort was acknowledged as one newcomer described the welcome she felt at Legacy. "I feel at home. This is now my church."
This spirit of welcome and belonging is at the heart of Legacy's mission as well as the mission of Fresh Expressions.
"If you go out in a fresh expression to them, trust is built, love is built, respect is built. And then community is built," said Pastor Cory. "And so this, this is just the first step. This is not the end. This is just the beginning of what Legacy wants to do."
Interested in being a part of the Fresh Expressions conversation? Individuals and churches interested in learning more about Fresh Expressions are invited to join the Dakotas-Minnesota Fresh Expressions team as they restart their monthly Zoom meetings on September 19th at 6:30 p.m. central (5:30 p.m. mountain). This monthly gathering on the third Thursday of the month is meant to be a time of learning, sharing ideas and resources, and encouraging one another in this Kingdom work. See the Conference calendar and upcoming This Week @ Dakotas for the Zoom link.
You can also check out the recording from the Fresh Expressions Lunch-n-Learn at the 2024 Dakotas Annual Conference.
