The church must give people faith that God wants to do something in their life, and a clear and accessible vision of what that looks like—for them as well as for the people around them. The church can and must give people hope so they’re not discouraged.
What we tend to forget is that people wait all year for Christmas to revive them with precisely this hope.
People are seeking rituals, traditions, stability, thoughtfulness, connection. And these men, women and children come from all walks of life. People seeking hope come from all backgrounds. You don’t have to be obviously disadvantaged to be profoundly vulnerable, lonesome or lost.
And receiving the vulnerable, the lonesome, the outcast, the marginalized—whoever they are—is what the church has always been called to do. Ministering to those in spiritual and physical need isn’t an optional spiritual discipline. It’s a central part of making Jesus known and felt in the world.
If churches create spaces that feel welcoming and real, people may discover something unexpected: a trusted community and the truth of Jesus that helps make sense of life the other 364 days of the year. And churches might be surprised to find that welcoming people makes them richer, fuller and more dynamic communities.
The more we make church relevant to people’s needs, both spiritual and physical, the more we may see people come to believe that religion and relationships are indeed an important part of their daily life, a real solution to the needs they so urgently feel.
