You can probably tell that one of my passions is reaching people who are disconnected from Jesus and connecting them to his love. You probably can also see that there is a bit of a frustration at times, and disappointment too, that the local church has quite frankly failed in its attempts to reach the world that is right in its own 
backyard. If you sense this, you are absolutely right. But I also love the church dearly and believe that the church is the tool that God has established to bring his forgiveness and truth into the world today.
So if the church is God’s tool, and if many of our local churches aren’t connecting with their own communities then what do we do? And how do we do it? Over the next several weeks I’ll be laying out some thoughts on how do we better connect with the local community. These won’t be silver bullet approaches to convert our neighbors. The purpose is to get us thinking differently. We’ll unpack some principles of reaching out. We’ll even look at a few practical steps.
The first principle is to leave the garage door open. It may seem a little weird, but think about it for a minute. When you come home, chances are you pull your car in the driveway and open the garage door. If you have room in the garage, you’ll then pull your car in. I like to back my car in; it makes for an easier exit in the morning. You then unload your car of your belongings and head inside. But before you enter the house, if you’re like the vast majority of people I know, you close the garage door behind you.
Who wouldn’t, right? You’re probably thinking, it’s a safety thing! Hold on a minute. I’m not anti-closed garage door. There’s a bigger issue here. After a long day of work, you close the door and then what? Chances are you sit down for dinner and the door stays closed. You probably don’t even go back outside, unless you have to mow the lawn or collect your garbage cans. And if you do go back outside, how likely are you to intentionally strike up a conversation with your neighbor?
My family has lived in our current home for a little over 4 years now. We know most of our neighbors by name, but that’s about it. We don’t know a lot about what makes them tick. What gets them excited? We don’t know their heart’s desires. We find ourselves walking around the neighborhood surprised to see 9 out of 10 garage doors closed. The people are inside, even on gorgeous days.
We’ve lost a sense of community in our culture. We have become so individual that we rarely notice our neighbors. Have you ever thought to try a new approach? Perhaps drop a fresh batch of cookies off to the new neighbor. Maybe it’s collecting their trash cans from the curb and taking closer to their garage.
The principle is simple. And if you don’t have a neighbor, find a place where community can be developed. This doesn’t only work in a neighborhood. Try it at the places you frequent – work, school, the gym. One of the first things needed to reach a community for Christ is to recognize where that community is present.
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