Yesterday it happened to me (Chantal) again. When we lived in the United States, we traveled mostly by car. Here in Germany we typically use trains. We live at the end of a metro line that takes us into the heart of Hamburg. At the main station we can easily change to regional trains for longer trips around the country or even internationally. After coming back from a long trip, I quickly made my way from my regional train over several platforms to catch my connecting metro train. Every minute counted. Unfortunately, the escalator wasn‘t working, and I had to struggle down the flight of stairs with my heavy hand luggage. I could see my train. It was already at the platform. I made a desperate dash for it, only to have the doors slam shut right before I could reach them. As I watched my train leave without me, I felt so frustrated. There’s nothing like a missed opportunity, so near and yet so far.
This experience left us thinking about lost opportunities. Wherever we travel and engage with our many churches, there’s always this eager anticipation, this desperate longing for growth. Tried and time-tested outreach possibilities or new creative ways of engaging with others are discussed and, although there are some success stories, there often seems to be a sense of frustration that our methods are not working as well as we would like them to—the slamming doors, the feeling of trains we have missed.
What if we weren’t intent on winning people on our own terms with our own strategies and were ready to connect with what God is already doing?
While we are concentrating all our energies on the big world of winning souls, it could be that we may overlook the people who are already in our churches or within our sphere of influence—the single mother struggling with small children in the service; the older person who really can’t hear too well what’s going on and feels left out; the unimpressive shabby visitor that slipped in to the back that we don’t bother to connect with; the children who are sometimes seen more as a disturbance than the heartbeat of the church. Perhaps there are opportunities all around us we’re just not seeing, as we are fully focused and concentrated on the things we think are our work and mission.
What would it be like if we asked God to open our eyes to see where He is already at work in our churches and in our communities? What if we weren’t intent on winning people on our own terms with our own strategies and were ready to connect with what God is already doing? What if we concentrated on creating vibrant communities that were not dominated by a need to be right—places where we could afford to be real and know that we would still be accepted and loved? What if our churches were communities where our youth and children could feel a sense of belonging and not have to stand on the periphery?
These kinds of communities could be open magnets, drawing others into fellowship with us and our God. As we see the God-given opportunities around us, we will stop thinking of people as projects or baptismal goals, but as long-lost family members. That’s one train we definitely don’t want to miss!