“Lewe vir die stad” – Life/Live for the city A case study of reimagining congregational culture and its relationship with the city as a first step towards establishing a new social contract

In this paper, the researcher aims to reflect on the role of the church and local \ncongregations in changing the congregational culture to contribute towards a missional \necclesiology focussed on the public space with the aim to establish a social \ncontract between congregation and context (in the City of Tshwane in this case). The \npaper utilises a case study of the Valleisig congregation in Tshwane to reimagine its \nrelationship with the city as the first step towards establishing a new social contract \nbetween the congregation and the city. \nThe paper will attend to: 1) the importance of reimagining congregational culture \nwith a focus on being faithfully present in its context and a faithful presence in the \ncommons; 2) a brief overview of the Valleisig congregation and the challenge to \nchange the congregational culture from inward and attractional to outward and missional; \nand 3) action in hope – the dream of a congregation that contributes towards \na new social contract for a new Tshwane.