Maybe More than BBQ, Candy, and Crafts

There are many churches who are having all sorts of events this Fall.   The list of events includes bazaars, craft sales,  barbecue sales,  Fall festivals, trunk and treat events, and Homecomings.   There will be lots of food, fun, and fellowship.   There will also be many people roaming church campuses for these events  who are not there when the church doors open on Sunday morning. 

As a pastor, I know well that it is easy for church leadership to get so consumed by the plans and preparation for these events that they forget that they afford a greater and grander purpose:   such events offer the body of Christ the opportunity to introduce themselves and faith to people who might not be so well acquainted with Christ and His Church.   You see,  there are many people who come to Christ and His Church not through the front door into the sanctuary, but through a back door that leads to a church event in the fellowship hall, the kitchen, or the like.    I am a living testimony to that truth.    My first attendance at my local United Methodist Church was not for Sunday worship, but for events like scout meetings and Vacation Bible School. 

In John 4,  we read about a chance encounter that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at the well.    Jesus and this woman came to the well for the same reason:   to get water.   As some folks visit a church in these days for candy, games, or barbecue,  this woman at the well did not have faith or God on her mind.  She simply wanted water to drink.     This woman left that well with a taste of something else:  the living water that Christ offered.   Sometimes,  people get more than they bargained for when they come on a church campus.    What they get might not be what they were looking for, but it might be the faith and the Christ that their soul and spirit surely needed.   Remember that,  church folks,  in the events that happen on your campuses in these Fall days.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord and God,  grant that your love might shine through all that we do in our lives and in our churches in these days.  Help us to get out of the way and let Christ Jesus show through us; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.