Some of us remember Mr. Rogers. He loved to talk about his neighbors and even sing, “these are the people in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood, in your neighborhoooood.”
Mount Olive has embarked on the mission of meeting and forming relationships with our neighbors. That might mean people who live near you. But your “neighbor” might mean someone at work or school, someone you meet at the gym, member(s) of the same club or activity… There are many people whose lives intersect ours.
These people need Jesus.
Studies have shown that most people come to faith through the invitation and witness of someone they know. Strangers are less trusting or receptive than friends. And the culture we live in has shifted away from the church. More than ever before, at least in our lifetimes, people are less likely to start attending without prior church experience or a relationship within the congregation. Programs might help us engage with people we haven’t met. But there’s a limit to their effectiveness.
Gary L. McIntosh is the author of the book Growing God’s Church: How People Are Actually Coming to Faith Today. In a 2016 interview published on the Biola University website, he shared this from his research:
It seems as though people are coming to faith through natural conversations and discussions… They want to feel that it’s more natural – that we’re just talking among friends, about life and sports and spiritual things. And through that conversation they come to understand what Christianity is and what commitment to Christ is, and some people just all of a sudden say, “I believe.”… So it is a process toward faith, but it happens more in just a normal conversation.
We believe that the Spirit of God is the power at work in the process of conversion. The Spirit draws people to Christ. The Spirit works through the Word of God and the Sacraments. And the Spirit of God works through the people of God living in the real world! Romans 10 talks about “preaching” but the word means proclaiming the good news. Though it happens in the message on Sunday, it can also take place in a conversation between friends.
| Romans 10:14 (ESV) How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[c] And how are they to hear without someone preaching? |
If you haven’t read Joining Jesus on His Mission, I can get a copy for you. Party Pails are helpful tools to host a meet and greet for your neighbors. Planning
ahead, Greg Finke (who wrote that book) will be at Mount Olive November
10-11 to help us move forward in the process.
This is different from how “church” was always done. But it is a
helpful way to connect with people who need to know Jesus. That’s what
we’re about. Who’s your neighbor?
Making connections,
Pastor John