The art show at the church Saturday night was a wonderful event. From content to presentation it was top notch and professional all the way around. Those who put it together did so in such a way that brought glory to God and a moment of beauty and wonder to His church. We are grateful. Hopefully we will soon get some pictures posted on the web site.
The show was very well attended, but who were these people? Where did they come from?
We need to be clear on this: unless they are looking for a church to attend, people in our culture do not look to the church as a place of engagement. The church has no role to play in their lives. We can offer the best spaghetti, pancakes, parenting seminars, concerts, or art shows, and we ought. But people are not looking to the church to meeet any of the needs that those things might address.
For the art show, we had two articles in the newspaper, I was interviewed on the radio, we placed over two dozen posters around town, erected two banners by the road, and distributed 300 flyers door to door. From all of that, I can point to only one who attended, and she brought a friend.
Don’t get me wrong. The show was well attended. It was an exciting time. But those who came came because of a relationship with one of the artists or with someone in the church, and they came because this person or that invited them. Had we done none of the advertising, I believe the show would have been just as fruitful.
There is simply no substitute for our coming to know men and women outside the church and allowing them to come to know Christ and his church through US. The success of this church will be measured by the degree to which each of us involves ourselves in personal ministry with others outside the church.
The art show has merit in and of itself. It also has merit as a place to which we can invite those with whom we have relationship, but who have no interest yet in Sunday mornings. Everything begins with our ministry outside the walls of this church.