May 2007
Outreach Corner
Venue is Key
Ever felt totally out of place? Well, I have. One spring my friend invited me to “a little informal breakfast get together” on a Friday morning. Since it was a warm and beautiful day, I dressed as I knew my friend Mike would dress: Hawaiian shirt, shorts and sandals.
The room was jammed with 347 people, all movers and shakers in the community. They had started promptly at 8 am…Mike had told me 8:15. By the way, I soon realized this was the mayor’s annual prayer breakfast. Everyone else, including Mike, was dressed in business suits. Out of place…yes, especially as I headed to my place in the middle of the room.
Venue, also known as location, is very important. To a real estate agent it’s everything. To those seeking Christ it can be vital. Many around us feel lost…out of place in our church buildings. Most will never go through the door. That’s why it is vital to consider the venue whenever you are planning any kind of outreach to the community. Your unchurched neighbors would most likely rather accompany you to an event in the city park than they would your church building.
Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. He spent precious little time in the synagogue…he found a woman at the well, a beggar in the street, fishermen with their nets. Find opportunities for ministry outside your church this year; a venue that is nonthreatening, a safe place for seekers to find Him.
Read the other articles in this issue:
|
