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The Foyer

There are three scripture references that form the basis of this topic.

It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:31)

Two men went up to the temple to pray . . . . . But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner'. (Luke 18:10a, 13)

Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you', but you say to the poor man, 'Sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:2-4)

Who comes to church?

You'd be surprised! Boy, the churches I've been to. Alone. Out of town. With everything going wrong. And received a quick smile and a handshake. After the service? Wow, the preachers I've shaken hands with as they looked right through me. I can't honestly say I've ever been in a church where an intelligent approach to the interface has been made.

The quotations above are not in our Bibles just for sermon illustrations. Listening to sermons is the easy bit. (Well, OK, not always that easy - some of them would put a mug of fresh brewed coffee to sleep!) Studying scripture and putting it into practice is the difficult bit.

Again, referring to tools of perception and changing our focus, park yourself in the foyer for a few Sundays. Not just before the service but during and after. Look outside through the doors (glass doors, I mean - no magic stuff here) and see who looks in or who looks like they might wish to come in. (I did this in a well-known Vancouver church and noted one man who kept walking back and forth, looking in but not attempting to enter) Who hangs around the foyer without connecting to anyone? That kind of exercise.

If you do it with some regularity you may find the same non-connected people or you may start to see classes of people. Some churches have awesome foyers but use them for little more than chat rooms. However, a foyer can be one of the most useful structural components for evangelism and pastoral care.