On the Road

While extended vacations are not really so much a part of my memory during the growing up days, there were some and when those times did come, we always went somewhere to church on Sunday morning.  Please know it was not my idea.  I was more of the "you don't go to church on vacations" kind of guy.  But, I was not in charge which meant when 11 o'clock came on Sunday morning, we pulled off the road to visit some church that was on the way.  My parents were those kind of folks.     

This morning I remembered with gratitude my Mom and Dad as I pulled off the road to worship in a church along the way.  It is little different now.  When I was growing up, churches had worship at 11:00 am.  Today no hour on Sunday morning is immune to being a worship hour so just showing up is risky.  I pulled into the parking lot at 10:40 thinking I was twenty minutes early only to be ten minutes late.  What was most surprising took place after the benediction as we were surrounded by a crowd of friendly people who were enthusiastic about welcoming visitors to their church.  If I lived in the town, I would be back next Sunday.  

One of the most important resources for growing a church are the people in the pews.  Preachers can preach great sermons and the musicians can touch hearts with music, but if people come and go without the warmth of personal contact with others, the church is going to soon dry up and disappear.  Being indifferent and uninterested in the strangers around us on Sunday morning is not an option for a church that really wants to make a difference for Christ in the community.  It may sound like too simple a thing, but it is an important part of any evangelistic ministry of the church.