Reaching Out

This week I have been inspired through the preparation of our REALife service that is geared towards helping our students reach out to those who don't know Jesus. In my thoughts and prayers I was reminded of a certain mom of a student in our ministry. Almost every week she goes out of her way to pick up at least one of her son's friends to bring them to REALife. I think it is such a witness to our mission at Meck to see someone so willing to reach out (and help her son reach out) to the people around them. Seeing this mom give these rides week after week made me re-realize a very underestimated ministry tool... the free ride. An invitation to church is great, and we should be inviting our friends to church. But if that invitation is followed up by "and I'll pick you up at 6:30" it goes that much further. This offer to pick them up counteracts a few major deterrents from attending church. With your offer to pick them up they now have to put zero effort into looking up the address and directions, they have to spend no money getting there, and they don't have to worry about not knowing anyone when they arrive because you are with them. This makes a huge difference to a first time guest of our church. This is something that we can apply to our lives as adults, but it is something that is even more important with high school students. If your son or daughter asks a friend to come check out REALife, in addition to the obstacles mentioned above they have to battle an even bigger obstacle than most of us face as adults... their friend most likely doesn't have a car and their parents will not drive them to church. The student who may want to say "yes" knows that he or she can't get there, and the valiant efforts of our students to invite them are stopped in its tracks.

So what do we do? First, let's remember our mission to help people become followers of Jesus. As a church we are dedicated to doing all that we can to help reach people with the love of Jesus that can transform their lives. Next, we can put that mission into action. If your son or daughter already drives, encourage them to offer their friends rides to REALife. And if you are the one who drives them to REALife have a conversation with your son or daughter to let them know that you are more than willing to pick up their friends to help get them to REALife. And think about it this way... five to ten extra minutes of driving could impact the life of a high school student for eternity. This is what I will be challenging our students with this weekend, but it's a message we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

On a similar note, I also understand that we have some parents out there who are in need of some help getting their son or daughter to REALife, especially now that our church is spread so wide over several different campuses. If you are interested in carpooling with other families in your area, send me an email to rsmernoff@mecklenburg.org that tells me: (1) your name, (2) address or general area, (3) number of students needing rides, and (4) the best method to contact you? I cannot promise you that we will find someone to carpool with in your area, but we can at least see if we can make it happen.