Having been raised in the church from infancy, and having been a located gospel preacher for 15 years, I have learned that there is a place where visitors and sometimes even members go to die.
I was less than 10 years old the first time I ever went door-knocking, and about that same age the first time I participated in a weekly visitation program. I was afraid. I was weak. I was imperfect. I am still all of these things. The point is that there is really no excuse for not reaching out to people who need the Lord and His church.
There is a place where visitors go to die right in our church buildings. If you wanted to do a study on it in your local congregation, you would locate the spot. Visitors sit there, and nobody speaks to them. They got unlucky.
They just happened to sit in that part of the building where some of the members only talk to their friends after services. Where members beat them out the door as soon as amen is said. Where there are members who have never decided to obey the great commission.
Forget going into all the world. These members won’t even go across the pew.
I am looking for visitors on Sundays. Jesus died for our visitors, too. I may not talk to you every week because I am looking for lost sheep. If you would join me, then we could make sure that there are no places in our building where visitors go to die.
It may not be what you want to hear, but I know exactly where some of the dead spots are in our current building. And unless things change, I hope that visitors don’t sit in those particular places.
Move off your pew and make a place for a visitor. Invite a visitor to eat lunch with you after services. Introduce yourself and tell each visitor you are glad to see them. Invite every visitor to Bible class and show them how to get there.
There is a place where visitors go to die. Make sure that it is not next to you. You are accountable.
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all” (Galatians 6:10).
—Jeremiah Tatum, Willow Avenue church, Cookeville TN, via bulletin-digest.com
[...] Jeremiah Tatum has a good reminder about “Where Visitors Go to Die,” in a new Bulletin Digest article. Have you ever been in a church that ignored you? Most of [...]
Back in my days of traveling throughout North America to announce motor sports events, there were many times when I was a visitor who walked into an auditorium and sat down before worship servies and never had a single person walk up and speak to me. Many of those places after worship services were over I made it a point to speak to others around me, and was left with the impression they were more interested in beating the Baptists to the local eating place then learning who I was. When I found myself back in the area a second time I had already found another congregation to attend and a number of times that was several miles down the road in another town.
On the other hand there were places like Hutchinson, Kansas where I had members of the church come up to the track fence to ask if I would be in town on Sunday morning, then invite me to Bible class and worship services and then met me the door to show me where to go. That was at the Eastside church of Christ in Hutchinson, KS and they will always have a place in the heart of this traveler.