Building a Connecting Atmosphere

One day I was having lunch with a friend of mine who had recently retired as pastor of a very successful church. When the new pastor came, there were some who had trouble adjusting and changed churches. Actually, there was a great exodus that took place. We ran into a family who had recently left the church and as we were talking to them, my friend asked them where they were attending church. Now understand that this family was third generation in this church. My friend was shocked to hear that they had joined a church of a completely different denomination that did not embrace the same traditional beliefs. When we asked why, their answer was enlightening. They said, “Well, we joined over there because the Bensons and the Wilcox’s are going there”. Wow! Talk about the power of connecting. Here was a family that prioritized their connections over their basic foundational beliefs. This opened our eyes to the importance of feeling connected to the average person. This marked the beginning of Connecting Points. We realized that if we were going to start keeping some of these folks who were visiting our church, we must begin to build an atmosphere in which people can get connected to God and each other. God help us build an atmosphere where people can get connected!