Would our community miss us if North River shut down?  Have you ever thought about that question?  We should think about it – often. 

It’s easy to assume the community would miss us because we would miss this church.  We have friends here.  We like the fellowship, the worship and the teaching; but the people in our community don’t know about those things, nor are they actively looking for them.  Yes, they want relationships, but few consider a church the place to find them.  As for worship, they may see that as just music and they have access to the music they like on all their electronic devices.  Teaching?  They are inundated with information already.  Plus, if they want to know something they turn to Google.  The city itself might be happy to see us go, because we occupy a piece of real estate that could generate some significant tax revenue if it weren’t owned by a church.

We need to think about how the community sees us.  We need to ask ourselves what benefit they feel we bring to the community table.  They will only miss us if they perceive we bring some significant benefit to the community overall.  Whether we like it or not, we are only impacting our community if they would miss us if we left. 

We are not a social service agency, but if we are not impacting our community, we are not reaching them for the gospel either. 

North River is exploring some ways to get into our community and make an impact.  They range from prayer walks to fun events; from providing an after-school program to giving simple “Thank You” gifts to elementary school faculty and staff.  Each one is intended to increase our connection with our community.  Each venture we make beyond these walls into our community helps us get to know its needs better and helps the community see that we care.  The more likely they are to miss us if we left, the more likely we are to have an open door to share the gospel. 

I encourage you to join me in reaching beyond these walls.  Push the boundaries of your comfort zone.  Remember, you know Christ today because someone pushed the boundaries of their comfort zone to impact your life.