How do we get them to come? That was the question asked at a recent event involving churches interested in transformational ministry. This is the same question I have heard at session meetings, committee meetings, presbytery meetings – every church related meeting I have been a part of for 25 years. Even our New Church Development gets stuck on finding a satisfactory answer to this puzzle. How do we get people to come to church? How do we get them to come to Laurel Oak Elementary at 10:00 am each Sunday morning? What is the best marketing or advertising scheme to meet this objective?
After unsuccessfully answering this question, in spite of our best efforts, I decided to place it in God's hands. We are New Life, and the source of this New Life is Jesus. So, I decided to pray asking not. "What should we do?" but, "what would Jesus do?" I asked many of you to do the same. And, when we listen for God, He will respond.
It became clear that God did not entertain the question, "how do I get them to come", because God does not wait for people to come to him. God goes to us. Perhaps we are struggling because we have things backwards. The question is not, 'how do we get them to come?", but rather, "Where must we go to meet them?" God came to Abraham, not the other way around. God appeared to Moses. Paul was sent to the Gentiles. And most importantly, Jesus was sent into the world. He met people on the seashore. On mountain tops. In the marketplace. He didn't try to get them to come to the temple.
Where would Jesus go today? Where is He sending us? We believe that God has charged us to develop a new church, designed to reach those who don’t go to church. Those who need a relationship with our Lord and Savior, but who have not, or would not, readily go to an existing church. We are particularly looking at a population under 40 years of age, who are not very present in any of our existing churches in Naples. So where are they? Where do they go? If we are truly interested in bringing the Gospel of Jesus to these people, let's find out where they are and take it to them. God has prepared us to create a "church in the box". It has wheels, so where should we roll it?
The answer that question is much easier than the "how do we get them to come" conundrum. We know where they are. On Sunday's you'll find the "unchurched" at the golf course, Publix, Bob Evans, McDonalds. So, why not go there? What if we could worship at Publix. It’s not part of my frame of reference. It's not how I'm used to worshipping the Lord. But it's not about us. It's about those we have been called to serve. And witness to.
We have been blessed, my brothers and sisters, that a local restaurant has seen our vision and is interested in following this path. Il Primo, an Italian family style restaurant and Pizzeria, has offered to allow us to worship in their dining room, Sundays at 9:00 am. It has seating for just over 100, around cozy round tables, similar to the popular way we worshipped Christmas Eve. The seats are padded and more comfortable. The area is easier to find and access, with handicap parking right out front. There are restrooms immediately adjacent to where we worship. It has built in audio-visual equipment so that there are no more wires to trip over and the video images are easier to read. And it is a known hangout for the "unchurched", as well as being highly visible.
It is located in the Pebblebrook Plaza, at the intersection of Immokalee Road and Collier Blvd. This is about a mile east of Laurel Oak Elementary. It's also just about 1 mile from our New Ministry Center in the Bougainvillea Plaza. From Immokalee Road, turn right into the Pebblebrook plaza just before Collier Blvd. Make a left just past McDonalds and you will see Il Primo on your right. It is the corner unit. From Collier Blvd., turn left into the plaza just before you reach Immokalee Road. Il Primo is to the right of Publix, just three doors down.
We are going to begin worshipping there Sunday, March 9, at 9:00 am (please note the time is earlier). We will still continue children’s Sunday School during worship, following the children’s sermon under the direction of Nancy Hargie, who, as always, has a well planned out approach. Our first service there will feature a Seder Meal, taking advantage of the unique setting in a restaurant. It should prove to be very meaningful.
Friends, this is an exciting time to be a Christian and an exciting call that we have been given. It took courage for many of us to step out in faith and worship in a school cafeteria. Now, God is calling us to take the next step on our journey. To go where His children are. To go into the marketplace, to meet the woman at the modern day well. To encounter the contemporary fisherman on his turf. To take the Gospel to them. We have been uniquely equipped for this ministry. I look forward to sharing with you this exiting and rewarding opportunity. See you all there.
