The other day I heard an ad for a car dealership. They were touting their new showroom, which is 2 levels and has all sorts of goodies, including childcare and a cafe. My first thought was, why bother with all that stuff? Why not focus on having a good product at a good price?
Then I thought about churches. Lots of them now have coffee bars, cafes, elaborate play areas for kids, gift shops, and the like. And they do promotions, like a drawing for a free gas card or a sermon series ripped off from a TV show. Anything to get people in the door.
What if the car lot focused on selling cars and the church focused on preaching the Gospel?
Crystal Cathedral in California still has an area of the parking lot where you can do “drive-in church”. You pull up, roll down your window, and watch the big screen TV on the side of the church building. Perfect for introverts – a car lot-church combo.
You should listen to a series from my mom’s church called “Desperate Households”…instead of…Desperate Housewives…get it. Oh that would be better if you could hear my weird accent and fake laugh.
http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2008/03/17-unspoken-prayer-requests.html
And randomly, here is a website of interest by a guy in the ATL.