Let’s keep it simple. Here is an interview of what one person did.
Here are a few more idea’s.
1. Go for a walk in your neighborhood. Say hi to people. Become familiar with the people around you.
2. Use what you have – A touch, a smile, a listening ear, food, your TV. Everyone has one of these items.
3. Keep an “open chair” at the kitchen table and invite family, friends, neighbors, churched or the unchurched to join you for a meal.
Click here to view another example of what one person can do.
Well I am meeting people, waving, being polite, listening and enjoy my walks with God.
In the neighborhood I have met several Christians and am having dialogs with them, often asking as to why we don't interact more. Most of the reasons given mostly has to do with activities outside of the neighborhood and busy schedules. They all want to make a difference and seem to be pleasant folks. This is making me hungry for a salad.
Hmm.. A potluck anyone?
Now that I am walking with God through the neighborhood. What happens if I encounter someone coming towards me.
My heart is starts to pound. O no! What if they look at me? I might have to say something. I don't know what to do. Help!
Here are some suggestions.
1. How we should think about people we encounter.
2. What we can do when we encounter an individual.
3. Some phrases and questions we can use if someone engages us when we greet them.
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Well, Lets see how this goes. This is my congregation. I might as well meet them.
As I begin walking around the block of my neighborhood I decide to talk to God. I’m not sure what to say. What would I talk to with my friend if he/she were walking with me?.
We would probably conjecture who lives in what house, the condition of the houses, cars or landscaping. We definitely would talk about what’s happening in our lives. We would probably end talk about anything. So here’s a common sense observation.
OK then.
Here it goes as I utter my first words… “I wonder who lives in that house?”.
So begins my first prayer walk in the neighborhood.
I open my door.
OK, What now?
It starts with one step.
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Can our cities become spiritually transformed? Then it must start where we live.
We as followers of Jesus need to connect and empower one another in the neighborhoods we live in.
If we love God, love each other, and connect where we live…
We can have a living breathing Church in every neighborhood in America starting tommorrow. The spiritual landscape would change overnight.
Be the Church and connect the “Church” where you live and watch incredible things happen in your neighborhood. We have an opportunity to do something we have never done before.
As I drove home that afternoon, I passed through my neighborhood looking at all the houses and people mowing lawns and kids playing. Everyday I pass by these houses when going to work and coming home. Inside these homes are, kids, parents, the elderly, the broken, business men and women, politicians and people who may never step foot in a church door.
There were also Christians like myself coming home from church who live on my street and down the block and we have never met. The “Church” lives here and we don’t even know each other.
If we really want to see spiritual transformation of a city it needs to start where the “Church” lives. It seems our neighborhoods are the most effective place for doing transformation ministry because we live here 7 days a week.
I examined where I spend most of my ministry time and where I interact with my Christian friends and it wasn’t here. I had allowed myself to become more active outside of my neighborhood than in it !
So the question came to me.
Who is responsible for the spiritual transformation in my neighborhood ?
Pause….
I didn’t really want to answer the question, but I know what it is. We all do.
It happened as I was evaluating the measurement of our influence in creating real spiritual transformation while assisting the amazing children’s ministry.
I was sitting around with a group of kids listening to them tell me about their life at home as others had many times before when all of a sudden, everything just seemed to stop as if I were in a dream. It was as though all that I had learned and observed throughout the years converged at once.
A weariness grew over my normally cheerful disposition. For so many years I had been striving to make a difference to see whole communities and cities be spiritually transformed and had missed the obvious. I couldn’t deny it anymore.
No matter how good we are at influencing peoples lives, in order to
be the most effective in those children’s life or any one else’s, we would need to live where they live and be part of the environment they live in.
It was time to do something I have never done before and I wasn’t sure how to do it.
To be continued
For over 35 years I have been actively involved in helping church ministries get from point A to point B. I seen just about every church model function at different levels with many different results.
As a ministry analyst I have actively engaged myself in ministries within the churches, working with as many ministry volunteers as possible in order to properly examine the operational and spiritual structure down to its smallest component, recommend changes and help implement those changes working side by side with wonderful and faithful friends.
All the Church leadership, coworkers and partners whom I have enjoyed ministry time with want to experience the real authentic Christ filled life. We want to make a difference and offer others the same experience.
One particular church ministry I enjoyed tremendously. It had such wonderful people who allowed others to use whatever gifts they had to make a difference. Anyone had the opportunity to get involved in places where they had a passion and gifting. Many gifted leaders also flourished in this environment, creating more leaders.
Then something happened that I did not expect.
To be continued….
