Waiting for a Guest

The invitation was worded, “Come enjoy a simple picnic, 5-7 pm Tuesday August 2, National Night Out.” We sent the postcard to the nine houses on our block. Our back deck near the alley is the center of our block, so we set up tables, decorated, fired up the grill… and then waited. Five o’clock came and went, as I sat on a lawn chair, self-consciously pretending to look at my phone. No sign of anyone. Were the neighbors peering out their windows at me?

Finally, about 5:15, a young man with a one-year-old in arms came strolling down the alley. He declined the food, explaining he couldn’t stay long, as his boy needed to go to bed early. Gradually others appeared—more and more of them—bringing more food items to share. The first guest decided he would eat something after all, and visited with us for at least an hour. In the end, seven of the nine houses on the block were represented, from small children to octogenarians. Many stayed past 7:30. They were clearly feeling what we were feeling—that it’s really good to connect with people!

Several years ago, our church arrived at the vision statement, “Connect with God; Connect with Others; Connect Others with God.” We launched into preparing our church for making better connections. We were significantly slowed by the COVID era. We re-engaged with the concept last year through a video teaching series called “The Engagement Project.” A couple of us heard Greg Finke speak on “How to Join Jesus on His Mission” at CLB Biennial Convention ’22. Through all these means, God has been giving us a lot of nudges in the same direction.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15a). The application in modern-day North America, as I see it, is that we who are sent (see the Great Commission) must actually go to people. This starts with intentionally building relationships, finding common ground with others, and the simplest place to begin is with our neighbors.

We took a baby step in that direction on August 2. Others from our church did as well. The good result? It’s now relatively easy to catch our neighbors’ attention and engage in follow-up conversations. We know more of our neighbors, to varying degrees, but much better than we did before that Tuesday gathering. That was the baby step. What is our next step?

What is your next step? Who might your guests be?

Rev. Brent Juliot is Contributing Editor of F&F magazine and Pastor of Living Hope Church in Menomonie, Wisconsin.