Signals

Not far from where I live, there is a lovely little church that sits on a quiet street in a nice neighbourhood. This church quietly sends out very mixed signals to the community. The design of the building says, “This is a church!” The grass gets cut in the summer and the walk gets shoveled in winter, which signals, “Someone is looking after this place; someone cares!” This care is apparent, even in the summer months when there are almost never any cars in the parking lot and no sign of church activity at all.

But from there the signals get confusing. There is no sign on the lawn to confirm that this really is a church; in fact, there has not been a sign for a few years now. No mail is ever sent from the church to the community to invite people to come, and there is no notice in the paper about worship times or other activities. An internet search reveals no website for this location; in fact Google is unaware of the little church at all! The search does identify 10 other churches in the area, however, and should the searcher happen to know the name of the denomination that sponsors the little church, the internet will provide you with an address in a neighbouring city just 44 kilometers away.

Ever stand across the street from your church and ask yourself what message you are sending to the neighbourhood? Ever conduct an internet search for your congregation? What signals is your congregation sending out?