Looking ahead to Zao’s Next season
Since our beginnings in Pastor Jonah’s living room, Zao has tried to be a church that is alive to the movement of the Spirit and the needs of the moment. Our core identity as a community of liberation calls us to always be reaching wider and deeper into solidarity, and we have responded in many different ways over nearly a decade of existence.
Zao is once again hearing this call. We are witnessing an exponential increase in threats to the safety of many in our community, including trans and queer folks and immigrants. Our community has always centered those who are most vulnerable to the violence of empire, and we want to follow the example of radical church communities over the centuries who have built networks of resistance and care rooted in the love of God and neighbor. We have a responsibility right now to protect each other, and to become as accessible as possible to those who are particularly in need of connection and safety in this moment.
Over the next six months, Zao will be transitioning to a decentralized network of locally rooted house churches, known as “harbors.” These communities will gather regularly: worshipping together, supporting each other’s spiritual and material well-being, and collaborating in the work of justice. Each harbor will be empowered to express its local identity while remaining deeply supported by and tied to the broader Zao community, led by Pastors Jonah and Cameron and drawing on shared resources including sermons, liturgies, rituals, and music.
The connective tissue of our harbor network will be our Digital Sanctuary, housed on the Discord platform. This accessible online community space will allow people to enter into our community from anywhere and build a rhythm of life and spiritual practice together. The Digital Sanctuary will also offer regular opportunities for worship, prayer, and social activities as a whole community.
This is not just a moment of change, but a moment of exciting potential growth in the reach of our ministry. There are currently people across the country who have been faithful participants in our work, streaming our services, listening to our podcasts, and interacting with our community online. The new form that Zao is taking will give these community members and many more the opportunity to connect more actively, bringing Zao to their local areas.
Like every phase of Zao’s ministry, this will be an experiment: an experiment in how to follow Jesus more faithfully, more radically, and in deeper community. It will require trust in each other and in the Spirit, who continues to blow where She wills. There are still many unknowns, including the future of our current physical home in Milwaukee, and we’re asking for both patience and participation as we discern our next steps together as a community and with our trusted partners.
To begin the organization and building of our harbor network, we will be meeting as a community both in person at our current building and virtually in our Digital Sanctuary. To stay informed about when these meetings will be taking place, as well as other next steps, please sign up for our email communications at zaomke.org/newsletter. You can also join the Digital Sanctuary by reaching out to communications@zaomke.org.
In this transformation, we see the parable of the mustard seed at work. The Gospel message of hope and liberation acts like a fast-spreading weed, interconnected, deeply rooted, and moving everywhere. We hope you will join us as we continue to become more Jesus-rooted, justice centered, and radically inclusive in this new phase of our existence.