Building a Relational Bridge

It’s our desire to engage people emotionally when they attend Imagine Church.  We want to create a journey for all who attend — not just the church people.  Our goal is to engage the audience, involve the audience, and finally challenge them.  This is where a lot of churches I’ve known miss the mark.  They assume that everybody is already interested, engaged, and informed.  I suppose that’s fine for a church designed for church people.  But it won’t work for Imagine Church, because we’re committed to engaging the hearts and minds of the unchurched.  We want everyone from the skeptic to the saint to be engaged from the beginning.

In order to do that, we want people to feel comfortable, first of all.  Why comfortable?  Because anytime we walk into a new environment, especially if our children are involved, there is an element of discomfort.  We aren’t sure where to go or what to do.  Bringing children into an unknown environment raises a litany of questions.  That’s why we go out of our way to address these issues as early as possible.  We make the Imagine Kids check-in as clear and easy as possible.  Coffee and doughnuts are always available from the moment people walk through the door. First impressions are important!  That’s why, in this important area, comfortable takes precedence over theological.

The next thing that happens as worship begins is the welcome.  We think the welcome is important because that’s what you do when people arrive at your home.  You welcome them.  We do whatever we can to make our guests feel . . . drumroll please . . .  at home.  In Imagine Church world, the welcome is all about the new folks, not the home folks

A great way we’ve discovered to get people involved is through singing.  Truth put to music penetrates the heart like few things can.  Jennifer Tankersley and our music team do a marvelous job of leading us in songs that highlight God’s glory as revealed in nature, God’s love, God’s power, and God’s forgiveness.  We give people permission to sing poorly.  We give people permission not to sing at all if they prefer.  But there have been so many times when people have been brought to tears by songs we have sung in worship, and by lyrics that pierced their resistance.

Finally, it’s our hope that people are challenged by the message.  This is where we run the risk of offending our audience.  it’s here that we sometimes challenge people’s beliefs, assumptions, lifestyles, and anything else that runs contrary to what the Scriptures teach.  But we’re okay with that.  The apostle Paul warned us that the gospel  is a stumbling block for some and just plain foolishness for others.  But in the same breath, he observed that the gospel is the power and wisdom of God.  Some may be put off by it, but many will receive it.

The goal of all this is to capture for Christ the imaginations and ultimately the hearts of scores of people in the Carolinas.  Building a relational bridge is the critical first step.