“When we say that God is up to something in our neighborhood, that’s no just abstract or theoretical. That’s a broad way of describing very specific stories that are just waiting to be heard.” Wondering what those stories could be, Wayne Beason decided to ask. What he stumbled on something surprising. While many churches see themselves as God’s way of working in the neighborhood, Wayne discovered that God was already at work in their neighborhood sending neighbors to bring his church something they were missing out on. In this episode we talk with Wayne about listening to the stories of the people in the Dearborn Heights neighborhood and how his church is finding their future in those conversation.

Wayne Beason is the preaching minister at Parkside Church of Christ in Dearborn Heights, MI. He recently earned his Doctor of Ministry from Lipscomb University, and is also an alumnus of Rochester University, where he occasionally teaches ministry courses. Wayne lives in Dearborn with his wife Stephanie and their newly 1-year-old son Isaiah, who recently took his first steps. If you want to connect with Wayne, you can find his contact info here. Be sure to check out his Doctor of Ministry project, “God Our Neighbor: Discerning Our Calling By Discovering God’s Life In Our Neighborhood.”