Thom S. Rainer - We Want You Here

Copyright 2018 by Thom S. Rainer

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

978-1-4627-8089-1

Published by B&H Publishing Group

Nashville, Tennessee

Dewey Decimal Classification: 254.5

Subject Heading: CHURCH FELLOWSHIP \ FRIENDSHIP \ CHURCH

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

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To

You who honored our church with your visit.

We are glad you came.

About the Book

I get it. Many of you who read this will think, I dont think this was the guy we heard preach last Sundaywas it? No, you are not crazy. I am not the local church pastor in your community. But I am connected to the church you visited.

First, if you are a follower of Jesus, we are all connected. Local churches in Annapolis, East Africa, Australia, and Antarcticawe share a bond and common mission through the gospel. We are all connected through Christ.

Second, I lead an online community of pastors who care about you deeply. I create content to help pastors in many different ways, but some time ago, a particular topic stuck a chord. I learned that the pastors in our online community are very concerned about finding the most effective way to say to guests who visit their church (and those who they hope will visit their church in the future), We want you here. So I wrote this book as a way to help those of us who care about church guests.

I was in your shoes once. I know what it is like to join a new church community. I hope you will find help in the pages ahead. Because we really want you here.

Thom S. Rainer

Chapter 1

T hank you.

We know. Those two words can seem trivial. We say them so often we can take them for granted.

But we really do want to thank you for being a guest at our church. We do not take your visit lightly. You have given of your time and energy to come to our church.

So, thank you again. We really mean it.

You may have some questions about our church. You may have some questions about your experience when you visited.

We get it.

Anytime you go to a new place, there may be uncertainty, and there may be questions. Our staff and church leaders are available to help you. We want to be as transparent as possible. We want to tell you about our church. We want to hear from you. And we want to answer your questions. Please let us know how we can help.

We want you to know something else: We really want you here!

Okay, that may sound absurd on the surface. How can we really want you here unless we know you well? Let us share five key reasons and you may get a better idea of our excitement about your visit.

Reason #1: We want you to experience the love of Christ.

We believe in Jesus Christ.

We believe he is the Savior of the world.

That is why we gather and worship at this church. Quite frankly, that is why we do what we do.

There are many good organizations out there. And many of them are doing a great job serving others and helping others. We are grateful for those organizations.

But churches are different. We do all we do because we love Christ. We know his love. We have experienced his love. We have given our lives to him.

You may already be a Christian. That is great. We hope that you can continue to experience the love of Christ at this church. Serving and loving Christ was never meant to be a solo effort. It was meant to be shared with fellow believers.

Maybe you arent a Christian. Or maybe you have questions or doubts about being a Christian. We will explore this matter further in chapters 5 and 7. But please understand you are welcome here regardless. We want you to experience the love of Christ.

It is transforming.

It is forgiving.

It is life-changing.

Perhaps this reason is the greatest reason we are glad you are here. We really hope you experience the love of Christ at our church.

Nothing could be more important.

Reason #2: We want to serve you.

Everyone has needs. Everyone has hurts at points in his or her life. Everyone has questions too.

We really love serving people and meeting needs. We would really love to serve you.

What is your need? Do you have questions about marriage, children, and family? Have you experienced the pain of loss in recent months? Do you feel lonely at times?

We want to serve you.

You will find at our church a number of people who find it a great joy to serve others. Many of them may have walked in your shoes. Someone in this church had experiences amazingly close to yours.

You may feel like you dont want to bother us. Hear us clearly. We take great joy in serving others, in serving you. So please, dont hesitate to tell one of us how we can help you. Please let us know. Dont think for a moment you are alone. We are with you and for you.

But you may not be experiencing some tough moments at this point in your life. We know that life has peaks and valleys. You may not be experiencing those lower moments right now. Instead, you came to this church to see if it is a place where you can connect and where you can make a difference.

That is another reason we really want you here.

Reason #3: We want you to make a difference.

Frances Mason was her name. She lived to be almost ninety years old, and she made every day count. She loved her church. And she loved people.

Frances had this never-ending desire to make a difference for God. And she had two primary passions. First, she had the passion to pray. Rarely will you see someone so committed to prayer. Second, she had this crazy notion that God designed everyone to make a difference.

Okay, its not such a crazy notion.

Frances knew that, in the heart of everyone, there is a desire to make a difference and to be different. That is how God designed us.

Yes, we want to serve you at our church, but we want you to make a difference as well. In chapter 6 we will talk more about this idea of making a difference.

Big adventures for God often begin with small steps. You came to our church for a reason. Perhaps God sent you here so you could make a difference.

You see, we are really glad you are here because you may be here to make a difference beyond any expectations youve ever had.

Reason #4: We want to get to know you.

There is really something special when people get to know one another. They learn about their families, their hopes, their dreams, their fears, and their hurts.

You have been a welcomed guest, and you brought your unique self to our church.

Thank you.

But we know there is so much more to learn about you. We know you have stories and insights that will make our congregation a better place. So we hope to get to know you.

Jim was a recent divorcee when he was a guest at church. He obviously was wounded and hurting. He never planned for his marriage to fall apart.

At first, he was hesitant to get involved in the church. He just wasnt sure he was ready to develop relationships at any level. But he got involved, and he started getting to know people. He developed relationships and friendships he never could have anticipated. He loved the people in the church.

But the love was not a one-way street. The people in the church began to know Jim better. And the more they knew about him, the more they liked him. No, Jim was not perfect. Neither were the others in the church. But the more they got to know each other, the more they appreciated each other. They accepted each other just as they were.