A challenge from the Christmas story and a tip on video for connecting well with your holiday guests
I just realized…this is my last post of the decade.
It got me thinking: What do I want to close the 2000 teens with as we move into the 3rd decade of the 21st century together?
Over that last few years I have been attempting to consistently share 2 things with Sherpa-type leaders like yourself,
1st thing: Spiritual “truth dots” that once connected, can change the game of connecting others forever.
2nd thing: Practical strategies for connecting those people once they become guests at your church.
So as we close a decade of connecting people to God and each other, I have two things to share, one from each category above:
➊ Be radically and unreasonably inclusive of others
After pondering some thoughts from Mike Breaux our teaching pastor last weekend, let me put it this way…
Let’s say you ran across a group of people who wanted to help at your church. Once you get to know them, you discover that they are from a country now dominated by radical Islam and teach others to follow astrology and practice magic to find the best way to live. Question: would you welcome them in? Give them a place in your church’s story and community?
God did.
God even used the stars the Magi followed to lead them to a house in Bethlehem so they could bring indispensable and prophetic gifts that would be used to get Mary, Jospeh and their toddler son out of the country before Jesus got killed by a paranoid dictator. There is even evidence from these gifts that they may have understood Jesus’ mission and its importance in a way that Jesus’ parents did not.
Either way, God spoke to them through the stars and led them roughly a thousand miles to Jesus. They are now a permanent part of the story of God becoming one of us, told every Christmas all over the world. Dare to believe that people different from you both culturally and spiritually are loved by God in such a way that he will be drawing them to your church in this coming decade….and be ready for them. Which is my second point.
➋ Be ready for these people when they show up as guests to your church.
I have filled your inbox with strategies for being ready as a Sherpa to make ways for guests to ascend to new heights spiritually by belonging to your church family. With Christmas coming next week, let me introduce 2 of our Assimilation Interns-Ruby and Erik-who will show you a tip for greeting guests at your One Place after holiday services. This 2-minute video was just shared with our teams here at Eastside and I wanted to give you a chance to see it as well:
Make sure to grab our free ebook, “The Complete Christmas Engagement Guide” for every strategy and checklist we’ve got related to Christmas guests and volunteers!
