One Single Invitation

Pastor David told me a great story recently of one of our church family members welcoming a guest with such open arms that this guest now feels like he has found his church home. Talk about open doors! This is such a great story that I wanted Pastor David to tell it to you himself. Therefore, rather than a "Moment with Mollet" this week, how about a "Day with David?"

Grace and peace,

John Mollet

One Single Invitation

This week I had to hijack John's e-mail, because there is a story I feel you must hear. About 3 weeks ago I was finishing up our "God Must Be Crazy" sermon series in The Bridge and on the fourth and final week we were using Micah 6:8 as a reference to Jonah's needing to understand what God wanted from him. We went through Seeking Justice, Loving Kindness and Walking Humbly with God, and I'll have to tell you that I was pretty fired up after that sermon for the work of our Church. But nothing that I said gave me near as much excitement as the story you will read below. (The names have been left out, but this is a true story)

A young man moved to McKinney four weeks prior to this worship service and this was his fourth week in The Bridge. Apparently he enjoyed the worship style, the music, the preaching (and after all, who wouldn't...), but one key ingredient was missing. No one had really talked to him. No one, except I believe Ed, had enjoyed a conversation of any merit with this visitor and he was praying with God the week before the worship that if he did not make any meaningful connections the next Sunday, he would go find another church. God had another plan.

During this service, the young man was present and seemed engaged, but in the back of his mind was thinking "if no one really cares enough to talk to me, I'm going somewhere else next week." God has a funny way of acting, as when he thought this, he felt a tug on his shirt sleeve from a woman in the row behind him. For whatever reason this grandmother noticed the young man sitting by himself and invited him to go out to lunch with her family that afternoon. I was not there, but I will guess that surprisingly he accepted.

The woman and the young man met the rest of her family who had been in the Celebration Service and went out to eat. Apparently this young man is pursuing a life in the ministry, has served in all sorts of missions and ministry capacities and has a real heart for service in the world. What a shame it would have been if we missed out on the wonderful gifts that this young man could bring to the life of our church and all that we could do to foster his spiritual growth!!!

I suppose this made me wonder how many other people slip through the cracks. If you walk through the halls between or after worship time it really is mass chaos around here. Families are trying to stay together, Sunday school teachers are trying to get the right kids to the right parents, people are funneling out of one or two doors out of Celebration Hall or The Bridge and groups stand in the middle of all of this talking. I wonder how many visitors or even members feel as though no one talks to them? What a shame to have missed out on some great people, all because in the hustle and bustle, we forgot that being part of a church means inviting strangers to eat with us. I think Jesus might have done this too...I'll check.

I thank God that the woman listened to God's call to invite the young man to lunch and I hope this will inspire everyone who reads this to take a radical step of hospitality in the coming weeks and look for those sitting by themselves or who look lost. One of these people might be the next Sunday school teacher, missions leader, youth volunteer, lay speaker, chair guy or who knows...maybe that one invitation is all they need to realize hope in the world.

Pastor David