This past weekend I was able to get away and go to The Ohio State University to see my cousin (he really isn’t my blood cousin, but its easier to call him that) and catch up on the many things that have been happening to both him and myself. Being down there was very good for me to see things in a way that I have never seen before. I am thankful that I was able to have good conversation and fellowship with many non-Christians, showing them that being a Christian isn’t a set of do’s and do not’s but a lifestyle, one that I choose to live and love to live.
Before I set out Saturday afternoon for Columbus, on Friday we meet with alot of people and started to make our connection within the community of Lyndhurst. Our first meeting was with the Mayor of Lyndhurst, Mayor Cicero. We took this time to get to know him and the community, asking questions that allowed him to share his plans and desires for Lyndhurst. It was a good first connection with him and resource to use to help meet the needs of the community.
The next stop for us was Chucky Cheese! No it wasn’t to play and eat pizza, although that wouldn’t have been a bad idea, it was to make contact with Tim, the manager there. The reason we did this was because we are in the process of making our first big connection in Lyndhurst. Vision is planning on partnering with Chucky Cheese to get our name out in the community. On March 22nd (the day before easter) we will be giving away free candy to the kids that come and allowing them to take pictures with Chucky (that sounds scary
considering the movies). We will then be giving the family the pictures for free. This will start the process of making connections in a large scale in the Lyndhurst area. Doing this will allow us to talk and get face time with people who could possibly never step foot in a church or even come into contact with believers.
After our meeting with him we went to eat at The BoneYard on Mayfield. This place is awesome! The environment was really cool, one section of the restaurant had video games and the other had a bar/concert stage/eating area. It would be a great place to have a church service (if there was enough room) because of the non-threatening environment that it produces. While we were there, Scott who talks to everybody, meet a guy who was eating lunch by himself and invited him to join us. He accepted and we were able to have good conversation with him, learning about who he is and what he does. He in turn asked us question about who we were even asking, “What exactly is a minister?” This shocked me! I thought that everyone, be it positive or negative, knew what a minister was. This is exactly why we do what we do. We want, and crave, the opportunity to meet people who don’t know God and bring them into a relationship with him. This was a very productive lunch, even though it was only for an hour, it was a start and we hope to connect with him later.
Our final stop of the day was Beachwood Mall where we did a soft demographic survey. What this means is that we walked around and asked people questions. For example, one question was, “Would you rather dress up for church or wear jeans?” This type of question allows us to determine the culture of the community so that we can connect with them in the most effective way possible. This was very beneficial for us as we continue to shape what our “church” is going to look like.
All in all it was a great Friday! Very busy and fun! Please continue to pray for us as we try and finalize our meeting location and make connections within the community. This has and will continue to be a great adventure and I am glad that you are apart of it!
In His Grip,
Jeff
