Welcome Home

Welcome Home

Welcome Home!  A statement that has become very familiar in the church world, but also in the business and marketing world.  We see furniture stores and TV stations saying This is Home, Welcome Home, and many other versions of this statement.  I believe it is because this simple statement has struck a chord in the lives of so many. At the end of the day, no matter where we go, and what we do, we all want to be able to come home.

At Encounter Church, the church that I pastor in Hot Springs, AR, we use this phrase to welcome guests and attendees alike.  We want it to be a place that truly does feel like home. A true home, loving, respectful, and compassionate. That may or may not be a description of the home you grew up in, but man I know this, we all wish it was.

In ministry, as well as life, we have a very specific and strategic plan to help make that happen.  Now, I personally echo Andy Stanley and feel that true spiritual growth happens best in the context of Small Groups, so one way we help people build a sense of community and family is through our Small Groups.

But I also know, that only a small percentage of the church will ever participate in them, no matter how much we talk about and promote them. So… we take it a step further and we do everything we can to create “Irresistible Environments” that people, especially those who do not currently attend church, want to come back to.  We do this through three Encounters that we strive to have every time we get together.

First, we want to have an Encounter with God. (Through Worship)  Then an Encounter with Ourselves.(Self-Awareness)  Finally, we want to have an Encounter with  Each Other. (the mystical word thrown around right now – Community).

So, let’s break these down real quick.

Number 1- An Encounter with God.  This is the mark of demarcation for us as a church, the single thing that separates us from a country club or a motivational - self-help class.  Without this encounter we can become better people, better friends, and better members of society… But we cannot grow in a maturing relationship with Jesus without having an encounter with him.

Every great person in the Bible, and in history, that made an eternal impact on us had an experience, and encounter with God.  Let’s look at one of them… Paul in Acts 9:3 - As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” His life was totally changed because of a single Encounter with Jesus.

Number 2 – Encounters with Ourselves.  One of the greatest song writers and entertainers of my generation, Michael Jackson, said it like this… “I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways.  No message could be any clearer, if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change”

The Bible says it like this: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. – James 1:22-25

We want to give an opportunity for us to look at ourselves, become “self-aware” and then have the tools in our hands to make the change need every week.

Finally, Number 3 - Encounter with Each Other.  The first time I said this phrase, someone asked me, “What kind of church is this gonna be?  Encounters with each other just sounds a little, well, off.” So let’s just get past that little bit of awkwardness and look at it from a true perspective.

Genesis 2:18 - The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”  Look at this scene; God has just made the most amazing place on the planet.  Everything is perfect, God even says to himself, “I did a pretty good job!” When God impresses his own self – that is a pretty big deal.  But even in the middle of that, Adam could not find true happiness, because he was alone.

Reminds me of a story of a priest who “called in sick” one Sunday morning because it was perfect golf weather.  He was playing a course far enough away to guarantee he would not run into any of his parishioners. And wouldn’t you know it; he was having the game of his life.  He shot not one, but two holes in one, and ended up finishing at 1 under par. He picked up his phone to tell his friends about it, but had no one to call – they were all in church, and he lied to get to go play golf…  Plus since he was playing alone, no one would have believed him anyway. A perfect day was ruined by loneliness.

Here’s a phrase I heard on time, “Loneliness will trump even the greatest of events!”  We’re just better together!

That is really what it means to be home.  That we are not alone, that we are better together.  So if you are reading this and you do not have a church home, contact us, we will make room for you, we will direct you to our live stream, or we will help you find a local church that will say to you, “Welcome Home - You Belong Here!”