The Invisible Church

We're not here.

Oh,I know that physically we occupy a corner off the highway, across from the elementary school and Little League field, just down the road from city hall.

But ask most of the town's population where New Hope Baptist Church is, and they won't have a clue.

We're invisible in the same way a liquor store is invisible to a teetotaler. Or a dry cleaner is to a bricklayer.

You have absolutely no need or interaction with a business or concern, so your eye just sends it to the background.

Doesn't help that our buildings have been here for decades without change. When I was in the grocery business, we knew that end of aisle displays had to be rotated, otherwise shoppers stopped noticing them. They became part of the fixtures in as little as two weeks.

They became invisible.

We become visible only when the people who make up New Hope touch other people's lives. While we are engaged in that, we come into view. As soon as we stop, we fade away.

For years we thought that a lit steeple, or outdoor signs would do the trick.

Nope.

We are the steeple.We are the signs.

How can we become more visible?

I'll talk about that tomorrow.