Knocking On Doors & Meeting Strangers
Last Thursday evening, I grabbed a handfull of church bulletins and a pocketfull of business cards, and proceeded to knock on the doors of 25 homes and invite the residents to come to my church. I think I could sell cars or vacuum cleaners if I had to, but it is not something that I would ever enjoy doing. Confronting a stranger with the idea of making a sale turns on the spigot of acid in my stomach. But I am of the conviction that people need to know this church and this pastor have an interest in them. So I trudged along, and what transpired was quite interesting.
First of all, without fail, everyone I met was polite. You can picture people slamming doors, cursing, and loosing bulldogs on unwanted visitors. People who move to my church neighborhoods are of differing colors, nationalities, etc. When they would come to the door, I would smile, introduce myself, and let them know that I would very much like for them and their families to attend my church. They responded with kindness. Maybe they sensed I was not trying to convert them at that very moment, and maybe they appreciated that a pastor would come to their door to invite them to church?
I found it interesting that people did not lie to me about their church affiliations. Only two individuals told me they were currently attending a church. It used to be that, when you would survey a neighborhood, almost everyone would tell you they were connected with some church somewhere. Not any more. And I think it is a symptom of the lost influence of the church in American society. It is no longer an ingrained part of the culture. We now have several generations of families with little or no church connection. And these people were quite willing, refreshingly even, to stand at their porch and talk with me about it.
Yet, I only met two persons who expressed no interest in my invitation. One was a lady who said she was not a Christian, and so would not be comfortable at my church. And a young man told me his spiritual journey had moved him beyond church and Christianity. I told both that I was available if they would ever like to talk, gave them a card, and moved on. Nobody else was averse to Christianity or church. They just seemed to need some spark of interest.
I came across several who seemed to be truly interested. A grandmother, with frustration trying to raise her grandson, asked quite a few questions. A lady with a “Peace” flag on her porch said she was searching for a church. And a guy with a big dog, which had huge teeth, told me he was tired of where his life was going and was very glad I came by. Also, three rather attractive ladies in skimpy shorts trotted by. I talked with them a bit and gave them all a bulletin. All three told me they were not involved in a church and would check out my church. I prayed ”lead me not into temptation” and moved on down the road.
Who knows if any of these people will ever come to my church? I would like to think that I may be used of God, in the great and complex journey that is their lives, to maybe draw some of these strangers a little nearer to Him.
05.23.06 (9:39 pm) [
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posted by:
mimi (
reply)
post date:
05.23.06 (4:55 pm)
hmmm. and i thought selling mary kay cosmetics was a tough one : )
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.23.06 (4:57 pm)
You've got a great product, but mine is better!
posted by:
toztee (
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post date:
05.23.06 (7:57 pm)
I'm so pleased you got out and met with real people in your area. I've done that before with others from the church I attended. Our day out in the meet and greet showed us that most of the people in the church's neighborhood were attending other area churches. Many told us they wished their members would survey door to door. It can be scarry. We did meet a few not too friendly dogs...and got one man out of the bed, but he was friendly and did not get mad. Once you get started at it...it's hard to stop.
posted by:
babe4jesus55 (
reply)
post date:
05.23.06 (8:00 pm)
In my city, there's an annual event where any church in town that wishes to gathers at a specific location everyday for a week-- it's mostly youth and college kids who do it, but there's always plenty of older folk too. Each church or group is given a specific area in town to go door to door and gather prayer requests, then the requests are individually prayed for at the end of the day. I've only done it once myself, but there are always great testimonies that come out the event. I didn't encounter anyone anti-prayer, except for one gentleman who stated that his wife did all the praying they needed. Although, one of my friends got slapped one year. An older woman's physical life was saved by someone in the event 2 years ago; she had fallen in her home and luckily left the door open, allowing the curious visitor to wander in, discover her helpless on the floor and call 911.
Hmm... that whole bit really had nothing to do with what you were saying, but that's the tangent that was struck in my mind.
posted by:
Dorcas (
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post date:
05.23.06 (8:38 pm)
Actually it was encouraging, reading about your experiences, one's imagination can go overboard at times. I guess it is fear of the unknown for me really, and yes, we all need to do this sometime. I like the idea of prayer requests, that sounded really great to me.
posted by:
mitchdolittle (
reply)
post date:
05.24.06 (2:39 am)
You plant a seed when you speak to people; some germinate later than others, also your prayers continue to water what you have planted. I think that as a pastor called to help others grow in Christ, you form a deep connection with them and in some way shepherd them towards the kingdom. God's will is for all to be saved, so don't be discourged.
Peace
Mitch
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.24.06 (6:26 am)
Reply to: toztee
Got one man out of bed? I guess it would be startling to be fast asleep, and then to wake up with three strangers standing at the foot of the bed asking you to come to their church. Did you have to break a window? You Jehovah's Witnesses are a persistent bunch.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.24.06 (6:28 am)
Reply to: babe4jesus55
I think that is a neat idea- for the church to go out to the people, with no selfish purpose- just to gather prayer requests. I mean, who could object to that? And for different churches to work together is very good.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.24.06 (6:32 am)
Reply to: Dorcas
We are fast getting to the point, at least where I live, where those who are home are hesistant to open the door to a stranger. Safety concerns, and I understand. And some communities have anti-solicitation ordinances. But still, we have the command of the scriptures to "...go into the highways and the hedges, and compel them to come in..." We will just have to be more creative as the church.
posted by:
javageek (
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post date:
05.24.06 (10:46 am)
I don't like to answer my door. It's usually someone trying to sell me something these days. Our cats go and look out the windows next to the door but they won't tell me who is there. If I knew it was you I would answer!
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.24.06 (6:20 pm)
Reply to: mitchdolittle
I do appreciate your insight. I think sometimes I consider my part in the Kingdom to be larger than it is. I'm simply to love Jesus and do my best. Any success, and progress, etc. is God's work. Faithfulness- that's what God wants from me.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.24.06 (6:23 pm)
Reply to: javageek
Attack cats? When I knock, I'll leave a card and a bulletin.
posted by:
surrogate (
reply)
post date:
05.25.06 (12:03 pm)
As a small child, I vaguely remember trudging with my Grandpa every now and again when he'd do the rounds in his neighborhood trying to attract new parishioners. I don't know if it was successful or not. I think I was a prop in the process, but I liked going with him. From my perspective, there always seemed to be a lot of offered cookies involved.
posted by:
PastorDave (
reply)
post date:
05.25.06 (12:49 pm)
Reply to: surrogate
Your Grandfather obviously had a great impression upon your life. I admire and envy that, and hope that I could have such a positive impact upon my grandchildren.
posted by:
surrogate (
reply)
post date:
05.25.06 (12:58 pm)
Reply to: PastorDave
Sing a lot, usually hymns... out loud and in public. And when you're not? Whistle.
