We want to be a church that unchurched people fall in love with. We want to be a church where unchurched people start going to church. We want to be a church where someone new to church, new to faith, can walk in and want to come back.

       Here’s the thing about unchurched people: they’re usually unchurched for a reason. They have a wall up between them and God. That wall could be a bad past church experience, something horrible some “Christian” said on social media, a terrible preacher who said some nasty things to them, or problem they have with how they understand faith or the Bible. It could be any number of things.

       When these people are invited and, God willing, show up at our church, they’re looking for any excuse to keep that wall in place. It could be something as silly as a sign that says “no drinks in the sanctuary,” and they say, “How dare this judgmental church try to take my drink away! They think they’re better than me?!” It might be something small, but any friction we throw up could be a reason they don’t bring their wall down and meet Jesus.

       Paul says we need to be intentional about how we interact with non-followers of Jesus and do whatever we can to take obstacles to faith out of the way. Colossians 4:5-6, “Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”

       Thank you for volunteering this week. Your work is helping our church make the most of the opportunity we have when someone who doesn’t know Jesus shows up. The childcare we provide, the greeting they receive, the coffee, the smoothness of our service, all of it is designed to get everything out of the way so they can meet Jesus. We take that job very seriously and we are so incredibly grateful that awesome people like you are joining us in that mission. Let’s make our church a place where unchurched people fall in love with Jesus.