"Welcome" but "Do Not Enter"
On Friday night, my wife and I went out for our date night. On our way, we swung through a store to pick up something or other, (I don’t know.) Anyway, as we were walking into the doors of the store, I noticed that the set of doors to our left had 2 big stickers on them.
The first said “WELCOME.” It was big and green, with bold, all cap white letters.
The other, right above it, said in Big Red Bold letters: “DO NOT ENTER.”
Same Door … Two Messages
One saying, “Hey, come on in, we’re glad you’re here.”
The other sayng, “We really don’t want you here.”
I don’t know why but that struck me as funny! I think I spent the next several minutes laughing to myself about it! But then I started thinking about it in terms of church. How many churches are communicating the exact same thing, unconsciously, every Sunday?
At NLC, everything we do in our Weekend environments is done with the “New Person” in mind. We know that excuses and reasons for NOT coming back to NLC are everywhere! Everything from Parking too far away, unclear signage, to unfriendly people, to the fact that we’re a ‘mobile church.’ That’s why we want everything we do from the time someone drives on the parking lot to the time they drive off to be strategic! We call it our “Parking Lot to Parking Lot” Philosophy. And it’s all about eliminating as many of those excuses as we possibly can b/c we know that we only get 1 chance to impact someone’s life for eternity!
So what are the “keys” to our Parking Lot to Parking Lot Philosophy? Here are a few thoughts:
1. At NLC, the first big win for us is that people will Come Back. We understand that true Life-Change happens over an extended period of time, not just in a one shot deal.
2. A second thing we understand is that people will size up their impression of God based on what they see, feel, & experience while at NLC! Whether we like it or not, the truth is people will form an impression of God based on what they experience at NLC each weekend! That’s why “everything matters.” Period.
3. Third, we understand that every Sunday is someone’s “That Day.” It’s the day that someone will give God one last chance to make Himself real to them in a personal way. And we take that responsibility very seriously! We never want to communicate in words or actions or unspokens a dual message that says: “Welcome… Do Not Enter.”
“We’re glad you’re here, but not really…”
To so many of you around the NLC world who serve faithfully, I want to thank you for grabbing a hold of our “Parking Lot to Parking Lot” Philosophy & for taking seriously the opportunity we’ve been given on a weekly basis to impact someone’s view of God!
Just a bloggish thought,
Matt