C is for CHURCH: If You Build It, They Will Come

A few weeks ago, I took a survey on Facebook asking what people look for in a church and what they think is important in a church. I had my own answer in my mind, but I didn't post it because I wanted to see if anybody else had the same answer. To my surprise, nobody did. Here are some responses I got...

 "From our experience growing up, kids from a broken home need just as much acceptance as anyone! 

 Sometimes the kids get the bad end of the deal when they need love and acceptance more than ever."

 "More grace and real love. Less judgement and religion."

 " Love, compassion, and feeling welcomed. Oh and some church's have way too many clicks. It feels like you are in school again."

 " Seminars on grief, stop smoking, healthy eating, how to be a care giver, more love and compassion."

  "I look for a church family I want to feel like I am cared for and loved."

  "I like a smaller church where the pastor connects with all of the people of the church not just a few. There is also more freedom to truly worship God, not so tied to a program."

 "Passion! We look for people that love Jesus!"

For the past year or so, I have really been thinking about what I think is important in a church. We attended a church for over a year when we lived in Indy, and the focus every Sunday was bring someone new, invite your neighbor, invite your coworker, we need to grow, grow, grow, grow. We want to fill every seat in all services, we need to increase our attendance so our money resources can grow as well. This church was already thousands (approx. 1,000+ every service). We attended, we got involved, but in that whole year and a half that we attended there, the pastor never knew us. He was an awesome preacher, but we were simply just a number. We were just people that came and listened to his message and left. Am I saying that growth in the church is bad? Absolutely not. Am I saying that it is the pastor's job to come hunt you down and meet you and learn more about you? Absolutely not. What I am saying is....make an effort. I wrote emails, and made phone calls. Never once were they returned. After a while we both began to get discouraged and upset. I then began thinking....if we had an awful crisis, who would we call? (besides family) Our pastor didn't even know us, so we wouldn't be able to call him. It left me almost in a state of panic. If we had a tragedy in our lives during that time, I honestly didn't know who we would call. I am not saying that it is the pastor's job to visit everyone that is in the hospital, or go to everyone's home that needs prayer, or go comfort everyone who has had a tragedy come up in their lives? No, but I think that there should be a person (or persons for larger congregations) that are put in that place to serve the people of the church.

That leads me to my opinion of what a church should be. I believe that a church should take care of its people. The church is not a building. The church is made up of believers that love God and love each other, that want to be unified to serve God together. If the church is the people, then the church needs to be cared for, loved on, and prayed for. Is it the pastor's job to take care of everybody? NO! The pastor has many responsibilities already, and the pastor does many many many things behind the scenes that most don't even know about. But, why not appoint someone to be in charge of congregational care? One, it will take a lot of stress off of the pastor and two, if that person has such a passion for taking care of the congregation, then God will use them in such amazing ways in the lives of the church. 

My parents recently went through the loss of my grandma. They were the caregivers for my grandma (who suffered from Alzheimer's) for eight years. The last two weeks of her life, I watched as my parents sat by her bed hour after hour, day after day, waiting to watch her last breath. In those weeks, they were alone in all this. No phone calls, no meals, no cards of encouragement, nobody to come and pray with them. Sure, God is always with us and God always hears our earnest cries, but where was the church??? I have heard story after story from others about tragedy striking their lives, but nobody walking beside them. WHERE IN THE WORLD IS THE CHURCH???? When tragedy and heartbreak come, who is going to step up and walk beside those people? When a new baby is born, who will take them meals? When someone is having surgery, who will go pray with them before the doctor takes them back? The Pastor?? No. We as a church need to step up, and walk beside the hurting and the needy. If you don't have someone designated to the congregational care, why don't you pray about stepping up to that leadership role? We as Christians need each other. Pastors, growth is good, but when your sheep start slipping through the cracks, it is time to re-evaluate and make some changes. Make efforts to know, love, and learn about your sheep.

Think about and pray about if God would have you be that leader in your church. What does that look like? Maybe it will be calling/texting people to provide meals for a family who just had a baby. Maybe it is going and praying with that one who is going in for surgery. Maybe it is going and sitting with a caregiver and just be there for company. Maybe it is organizing something special for your Pastor for Pastor appreciation month. Maybe it is organizing a couples retreat for the couples in your church. Maybe it is just simply to pray for the people. Think about it. Pray about it. Then step up and take care of your fellow believers.

What do I want and look for in a church? .....people that love God and love each other. God calls us to love as He has loved. I want to know that if I had a life changing event in my life, I know who I would call. Let's take care of one another!

Church: If you build it....they will come.