Monday, October 19, 2009

Who are the People in Your Neighborhood?

Do you remember that song from Sesame Street? Can you answer that question?

Michelle and I are now living in a new neighborhood.

So far we've been here for 2 weeks since the move. With all the activity that goes with a new move, I don't want to miss out on an opportunity to connect with my neighbors and set a good tone. My experience has been that it's much more difficult to reach out to your neighbors after 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, go by and you haven't walked across the street yet.

I once read something challenging in a Willowcreek magazine that basically charged folks to be known on your block as the most compassionate person around as a witness for Christ--to pursue people in such a way that they know they can turn to you in need.

Please send me any suggestions you have that have worked for you, or that you've seen demonstrated in others that incarnate the greatness of Jesus in a neighborhood...

rob@gracechurchfrisco.org

2 comments:

  1. I've lived in my neighborhood for about 2 months now, and am thinking of ways to reach out too. Share what you hear!

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  2. man - I've been thinking about your question awhile now - sad that it's so tough to answer, and that I have so little experience to share. I have found, as you probably have, that my children are able to open a lot of doors. Adults seem willing to participate in things when children are involved. There's still this vistage of an idea of "community" that my neighbors (at least some) seem willing to encourage for the sake of the children. We try to make it easy for our neighbors' kids to hang out in our front yard. This generally leads to some open doors to speak to parents. We've also had our kids do "can drives", which so far hasn't produced much in the way of conversation or relationships, but at least we're able to get some doors to open. Hope you'll share the other stuff you come up with.

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