My daughter Chloe loves the Miller family.
They go to our church and she jokes about living with them sometimes.
Just the other day she asked, “Can we live with the Millers?!”
“No baby, you cannot live with the Millers. We are your family.”
“But, I love them too.”
“No. You’re our kid. You can visit, but you live here.”
Our 4 year old chimed in, “But they’re the best. PLEEEAAASE?!”
“No. It’s still no.”
But what if the next time they go to the Miller’s house,
their dad (and close friend of mine) said,
“Chloe, Roxy, You can live with us.”
“YEEAAAAAH!” “That’s AWESOME! You’re da best!!”
And as we came to pick them up, they’d tell us,
“Mommy. Daddy. The Miller’s said we can live with them.”
“Yeah, we’re moving here. Bye bye.”
I would be heartbroken. Angry. Saddened beyond belief.
Why would my friends take my kids from their family?
They love their mommy and daddy!
Won’t they miss us and long for their mom & dad?
The Miller’s would never do that.
Why?
Because they know they’re already a part of a family.
They don’t need a new home.
They have a home.
But Christian people do this all the time.
“I know you’re going to church X, but you should really come and be a part of church Y.”
“Hey, church Y has way cooler/better/more awesomer (yes I said awesomer) whatever. Come over here!”
“I’ve been to church X, and no offense, buy you’d be better off at church Y.”
Stop.
As we get ready to launch our new permanent location, we want to do things in an honoring way. Here at Forefront, we believe in true kingdom growth. Growth and movement that isn’t Christians hopping from one thing to the next. It’s easy to do in a consumeristic culture. We want to continue to reach the unchurched by being “People Helping People, Find & Follow Jesus.”
We don’t participate in asking people who have a church home to be a part of our church. They already have a family. Now, there are people who get disillusioned with church, God and faith. If your friends with someone who isn’t currently going to church, invite away. But, if they are happy, healthy, and thriving in their church community, don’t try and rip them away from that. It isn’t honoring to your friendship, the church collective or God.
We will constantly strive to honor Him. We have churched and unchurched families who join our church regularly and we are thankful for them being a part of our community. They usually move into town (mainly military), or don’t have a home church, or have since parted ways with their previous church. We don’t want to lose sight of the mission. It would be easy to do and we’d grow way faster than we are. But, the point isn’t to simply fill a room over and over. The point is to introduce people to an amazing, loving God who cares deeply about them. The one who can set them free.Â
I’m so excited to see what God is doing through Forefront Church.
We’re growing.
Baptisms are happening.
People are bring their unchurched friends.
God is being honored and we truly are living out what it means to be,
People Helping People, Find & Follow Jesus.
Keep it up Forefront and we’ll see you and your friends Sept 7th, 9:15 or 11 at the new location:
2520 Holland Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23453
Here’s a digital flier you can use to invite people:
