“So how do you think our church is doing?” my pastor friend asked as we stood on the steps of his church in the country after a Sunday morning service.
ClampThe grass was manicured, and the church bus seemed to be washed up and ready for action in the parking lot. The men gave me firm handshakes, a smile, and properly handed me a bulletin as I walked in that morning. A quick look in their bulletin revealed all the right programs you are supposed to have at your church on Sunday and Wednesday nights. The older ladies were extremely sweet to me, and, for the most part, their hair was all in the right place. There were a few young families chasing small children around the building.
My response to his question left us looking at one another in silence: “Tell me what you are doing in the trailer park across from your church driveway, and I’ll tell you how I think you are doing.”
Should success in the church be based primarily on what happens on the campus on Sundays and Wednesdays or by what happens through the church Monday through Saturday? What if the numbers we record in our newsletter expanded beyond Sunday morning stats to include hours served in the local school or how many members served in the local multihousing complex doing after-school tutoring? What if we had just as many small groups and Sunday school classes meeting in multihousing units during the week as we do at our buildings on Sunday morning?
We can’t wait any longer for the lost to come to us. We must go to them. “Pastor, I don’t know any lost people.” I’ve got just the place for you to find them. Did you know that 42 percent of the people in our state live in multihousing units, including housing authority properties, retirement communities, apartment buildings, high-rise condos, and college dorms? The next statistic is staggering: 96 percent of them are unchurched.
There are 140 churches in our state that have adopted a multihousing unit to throw occasional parties, build relationships with tenants, and find out what their needs are and try to meet them. In the process, after-school tutoring clubs, senior adult activities, and mom-to-mom mentoring programs are being started. As relationships are built, the gospel of Jesus is being seen and shared.
Miraculously, 245 apartment communities and 672 housing authority units in every region of South Carolina are requesting that churches adopt them to help build community among their tenants. All Ronnie Cox (ronniecox@scbaptist.org) needs are churches who are willing to break outside their walls. Drop him an email if you are interested in taking a mission trip across the street. The door may not be open very long.
– Clamp is evangelism group director for the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Follow Lee on twitter @leeclamp or on his blog at www.leeclamp.com.