Meeting people and making connections

Looking down the street toward the neighborhood that surrounds the church...

It's very early in this process, so I don't necessary consider this the "relationship building" phase of re-planting this church, but we still want to be very intentional about meeting people in the community even while the building updates and repairs are underway.

Last week after painting for several hours in the sanctuary of this sweaty, hot, non-air-conditioned building, I stepped outside to enjoy the breeze (and to clear my head from the oil-based paint fumes I had been breathing).

As I stepped outside, I noticed that one of the neighbors of the church was walking up to her door.  I introduced myself and apologized for the fact that my hands were spattered with paint.  I then told her who we were and what we were doing at the church.  The conversation was very pleasant.

Then she said, "It will be nice to see something happening at this church.  It's been closed for years."

The truth is that the church has only been closed for a couple months, but one of the signs of a church in decline is that they become overly inwardly focused and stop making meaningful connections with their neighborhood and community.  Clearly, that's one of the factors that contributed to this church closing.

So, please pray for more of these opportunities to meet and introduce ourselves to the neighbors and community of West Conshohocken.  We're looking forward to many more pleasant conversations.