No one stands alone

I was reading in John Burkes book "No perfect people allowed" and he said that they have statement they use quite often in their church which is "No one stands alone." In other words, their congregation is trained to know if they see someone standing alone in the parking lot, foyer, or sanctuary, to go and stand with them and engage them in a conversation. As I was thinking on this statement I thought of how powerful it would be if we would embrace this same statement. I know that we are known as a friendly church but my concern is that we can easily just be friendly to those we know and are close too. It is very uncomfortable when a person walks into the church for the first time and doesn't know anyone. Jen and I have friends in Des Moines who were looking for a new church. We told them about a church that we know and seems to have a great reputation. I know the pastor personally and he is a great leader and a great teacher. The church even has outstanding worship. When we talked to the couple after Sunday services they made it clear that they probably wouldn't be back. Their decision was not based on how nice the building was, how great the worship was or even how good the preaching. In fact, they enjoyed the service aspect. But what made their decision not to come back was that no one was friendly. They said the greeter greeted them at the door but other then that, no one said a word to them. In other words, they were in a room full of people yet they felt all alone. This is an eye opener for me as a leader. I can be the greatest preacher and we can have the greatest worship, but if someone feels alone, they are not going to come back. That is why all of us need to embrace this value. Next time you see someone standing alone or even sitting alone in our church, make the move towards them and engage in conversation. If they have kids, tell them about our children's ministry and help them where they need to go. Let no one at Community Hope stand alone!