While visiting a friend last weekend, we visited a church that neither one of us had been to. I haven’t visited a new church in a couple of years, so it was a little bit out of my comfort zone. I went in very skeptical and was analyzing everything – something I do when I’m not sure of something.
However, as a visitor to this church, I realized how important it is to make the people that sit around you feel welcome. Not one person talked to us during the service. The only contact I had with anyone was a conversation I initiated with a girl sitting next to me minus the stereotypical smile-and-shake-your-hand greeting time. How sad!
I walked away feeling a little unwanted at this church, but with a new aspiration – that I will start talking to the people who sit around me at my home church. You never know if it’s their first Sunday or how much of an impact a simple “hello, how are you?” will have on them.
I suppose it’s good to get out of our comfort zone and go be a visitor every once in awhile. It makes you see things from a different angle.
Photo by Andreia
This website uses IntenseDebate comments, but they are not currently loaded because either your browser doesn't support JavaScript, or they didn't load fast enough.