Why is it that many folks think having the church door open is all we need do to attract people? As I see it, a visitor (or guest as I prefer to view them) a guest is a gift from God. What we do with that guest (or opportunity) is up to us. Surely if God will hold us accountable for something as worthless as our finances, won’t He much more hold us accountable for something as valuable as a visiting soul? For that reason we at Beulah have scheduled a greeter and usher training for the first Sunday in June, led by the director of our conference’s Congregational Development ministry. There will likely be some new ideas discussed and even implemented. So why wouldn’t we want to do a better job at welcoming people to church? I view the church as a business…and I know many people do not like that analogy, though I think it is helpful…but only if we realize what our product us. I see the church as producing not only new disciples for the Kingdom, but also improving the older models. That is our purpose for existing. If a business goes a year, or several years without producing a new or improved product, wouldn’t they go out of business? Bankrupted because of mismanagement or perhaps a labor dispute, but they cannot last. The same is true for churches…if we are not intentional about producing disciples, we will not survive. The biggest threat to any species is the failure to reproduce. The same is true for the church. And too often those churches who do not view themselves as a business, act as if they are an exclusive country club. Which do you think Jesus wants us to be?
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