Opportunities are All Around You

Last night, for the first time since moving to Tennessee, I attended our neighborhood association meeting. We have been having a few problems in the neighborhood, and I just wanted to see exactly what was going on.

From living in this neighborhood for nearly 5 years now, I knew that there were a lot of houses and a lot of people, but I was totally embarrassed by something last night.

I learned that there are 230 houses in our neighborhood. Two-hundred-thirty. Our neighborhood connects directly with three others. I do not know how many houses are in those three, but each one is probably close to that same number. I also do not know how many people live in each of the 230 houses in our neighborhood.

At the meeting last night, there were about 45 or 50 people present. As I said, this is the first such meeting I have attended, but I was told that there are usually around 20.

Here’s the embarrassing part for me. Of the 45 or 50 in the room, I recognized…

…one.

Just one. And frankly, the only reason I knew her is that she serves as our board president. Other than that, I didn’t know a single person in the room, even just by their face.

Now, if I may back up a bit, we do know some people in our neighborhood. I happened to be the only person from our street at the meeting, and we know the folks on our street–at least by face–quite well. Our kids play together, and we talk and look out for one another quite a lot. I love where we live.

However, I was still quite embarrassed that I didn’t even so much as recognize another face in the room after 4 1/2 years.

So, I made a decision. One of the things that was discussed was better communication and interaction. A lady sitting in front of me was interested in the “digital” side of this, as was I. When the meeting ended, we introduced ourselves and are going to work on our website and start a Facebook page.

That’s a first step, but I need to do better.

Why am I writing about this? It’s because I just wonder how many people in those 230 houses know Jesus Christ. I just wonder how many would like to know Him, and I’m not even seeing who is there. Evangelism is so important, but I cannot be evangelistic if I don’t even know the faces of people!

We say it all the time, but last night I was reminded of it so clearly: there are opportunities all around us.

• What neighbor–even next door–do you need to invite to worship or to a study?
• What classmate could you invite to the next youth devotional or a holiday party?
• What coworker have you spoken to about everything except religion?
• What business person (bank teller, salesperson, shop owner) that you see often have you avoided inviting to worship, or simply to a fellowship event?
• What person in your apartment building do you park by and walk by regularly, but never say more than “hi” to?

Even if it’s a small step, take some step today to get to know someone. Get involved in your community. Interact with someone on a deeper level.

Ultimately, though, make that “next” step, and invite someone to worship, to study, or to a church event. If we will just open our eyes to what is really around us, we might be embarrassed at first, but we will see people know that we love Jesus…

…and we might just bring someone to Him.

After all, isn’t that what it’s all about?

QUESTION: What is something you do to build relationships with those around you?

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Photo credit: Kate Mereand-Sinha on creative commons

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