sharing ideas to stir compassion and action

Ensure there is time in your week to just hang about and be open for conversations. I know it is a luxury to be able to just hang about, and there are some weeks where that just won’t happen. But can I encourage you to try!

In my observation, when you leave the church doors open people will turn up. (This is I suppose more true for churches located in high people traffic areas). I think it would be great if churches could be open around lunchtime… allowing people to wander in, prayer, sit and if they want chat. The problem is the ability to give time to do that. No point opening up the church if you can’t be around. Relationships means time.

Every time I have been tidying up the church, doing some creative decorating, folding flyers, or setting things up for church early and have had the doors open to the building, people have come in. Many are tourists in my area but there are a number of locals who say “oh I have never wandered in before”.

How to have the awkward stranger walk into the building conversation:

• When people walk through the doors, it is always good to greet them, I usually say “Hi, come on in”.
• They then stand there sheepish not too sure if they are allowed to be in, so I will say “Feel free to wander about to take a look”. This often the icebreaker where they share how beautiful the building is.
• Its good to follow up the beautiful building comment with a small fact about it: At the moment I have been saying – It actually turns 125 years old this year, we are doing lots of fun things in May to celebrate. But normally I will let them know some famous people on the brass plaques or turn them to see the Queens Emblem and let them know that the church is the Queens church. Maybe your church has WWI & WWII memorial you could direct people to, a founding member of your local community could have a plaque, an amazing stainglass window….
• I then usually say “yeah I love this place, its a great church” and this will lead into them asking why and I share why it is good to be a part of a church family.
• Sometimes building facts won’t come up – so I ask “are you around visiting the area”…

That isn’t your clear-cut guide to conversations with strangers – but hopefully it will help you if you find that sort of things scary or just not used to doing it. And make mistakes, you always learn what is better to say in conversations by giving it a go. Often it will be the same people who begin to wander in as they know you will be around to have a chat. Two of the local larakins, who I first met at one of our community lunches, pretty much turn up when I am doing things in the church and I think I now have the start of a good friendship with them.

So hang about at some point in your week… maybe you have something you can do as just sit about… If you got brochures to fold, admin emails to sift through, do it with the doors open.
Or why not find some people within your congrgations who may have a certain days off to make this their ministry to the community?