The Way it Should Be

We moved out of the school and into our storefront facility just over a month ago.  The excitement has been building and growing ever since.  On the first or second Sunday in our new building, I noticed a couple of greeters having a conversation with a man just outside.  Next thing I knew, they had brought him in and helped him find a seat in the auditorium.  After the service I was introduced to Joel.  Joel is a homeless man who was walking by our church that morning.  The greeters had stopped him and started talking to him.  They had invited him to stay for church.

The next week, Joel was back.  And then the next.  I've seen Joel around.  He's got it pretty tough (he doesn't have a home).  He lives meal to meal.  In this time of recession, many of us are complaining because we can't eat out as often.  Joel is happy just to eat.

Yesterday we celebrated the Grand Opening of our new campus.  We talked for several weeks about inviting a friend.  If everyone brings one friend, we could double our attendance.  So we prayed for people to invite, we invited, and we prayed.  Over 300 people came.  It was awesome!  But one of the most awesome stories was Joel.  Joel invited friends too.  And one of his friends came!  Daryl is also homeless, but he was happy to be at church with us. 

Joel is the perfect example of what every Christian should be.  He took the challenge to bring a friend to church.  And he did.  And that's the way it should be.