Accessible Community

One thing which binds any community together, to borrow from Sean Michael Lucas, is its beliefs, practices and stories. For me, I think practices and stories can sometimes be the most binding. One thing to keep in mind, however, is the fact that sometimes communities can become too entrenched in their practices and stories that they create an artificial barrier for newcomers.

This is often the problem of people who come into a new church. Suppose a new family moves into your neighborhood and visits your church, will they feel comfortable in addition to feeling welcome? And, by welcome, I mean the initial welcome. If they keep coming, will they "fit" or are their hoops to jump? This is an area that many need to pay careful attention to. One may not know the vocabulary of a certain community and if it is not accessible, they may or may not be back.

A good example is denominational quirks. Say I'm speaking about missions and I spout off as many denominational acronyms as possible for a Presbyterian Church in America pastor. I talk about MNC, RUM, RUF, and MTW. Now, will a newbie feel comfortable?

Additionally, I think it's important to assess local church culture. Sometimes we can become so tunneled in our vision that we realize the Church is so much bigger than our imagination and just maybe some will not be familiar with what we do. If we ignore that, we run the risk of pushing out good potential members. I think it goes without saying, we must make our practices and stories accessible to outsiders.