Last Thursday our staff spent the day with David Wheeler, Professor of Evangelism at Liberty University. He graciously drove to Rock Hill to help us think about evangelism strategies.

He shared with us an experience his mom had after her husband died. She was living in a new place and it was her first Sunday to attend a new church alone. She arrived early and chose a seat. She heard the bell ring announcing the end of Sunday School (some of you remember how churches used to do that). An elderly lady walked into the sanctuary and stopped at the pew where David’s mom was sitting. She thought, “Oh good. Here’s someone who I can meet and maybe sit beside.”

What happened next is heartbreaking.

The lady looked at David’s mom and said, “I’ve been a member of this church since it was established and I’ve always sat in that spot.”

All of us have heard those kinds of stories, but have a difficult time imagining someone would be so cold and cruel. The good news is that most of God’s people are not like that.

However we do sometimes struggle to understand that in today’s world Sunday morning is what some people call the “front door” to the church for lost people in our community. It is the time many of them have their first encounter with us as a church family. How that encounter goes matters.

That is one of many reasons that the way we do things on Sunday morning at FBC matters. While I am talking about being friendly, I’m also talking about much more than being friendly. How we do our children’s ministry matters. How we do adult Sunday School matters. How we do worship matters. What happens in the parking lot and in our lobby matters. Our signage matters. What you do once you’re in the worship center matters. All of these things…and many more…are part of our front door for lost people.

If we make Sunday morning primarily about us, we will hinder our church’s ability to fulfill Jesus’ mission to reach the lost. And we need to remember that His mission is our mission. Let’s make Sunday morning at FBC the best front door possible.

Pastor Steve Hogg