You Belong. You Matter. You Are Needed.
There was something almost magical about Everyone Belongs Sunday. Maybe “holy” is the better word.
It was not perfect—and I did not want it to be perfect. I kept telling our leaders, “I don’t really care exactly what happens.” What I cared about was getting more and more of us engaged at the heart level—truly caring that every single person who comes to Perry Methodist knows that they belong here, meets people, makes friends, and finds a group.
From the feedback I have received, something worked. People loved the tent, the visible greeters, the signs on the rooms, and the booklet describing our different groups.
Some saw new faces in Sunday school. One person described the morning as “low key” enough that no one felt overwhelmed, while still providing a tremendous amount of useful information.
Another said she simply loved standing outside, talking with people, and welcoming both new and familiar faces.
There were helpful suggestions, too. Some people would still like us to try the fuller table or “job fair” format. Others suggested better directional signs, a permanent welcome spot, and keeping the booklet available every Sunday.
We will keep listening, learning, and improving.
But the real magic was not in the tent, the signs, or the booklet. It was in the people. It felt organic. It felt grassroots.
People noticed one another, talked to one another, welcomed one another, and invited one another. It was not a staff program being carried out. It was the church being the church.
That connects with another experiment we are trying right now: taking a break from verbal announcements during worship. We are not doing this because communication does not matter.
We are doing it because announcements do not work nearly as well as we often assume they do. Sometimes an announcement can even give us the false impression that we have “gotten the word out,” when very few people actually respond.
A general announcement is directed toward everybody, which makes it easy for everybody to assume it is really for somebody else.
A personal invitation is different. It says, “I thought about you. I believe you would enjoy this. I would love for you to come with me.”
An announcement shares information.
A personal invitation builds a relationship.
That is what happened last Sunday. It did not happen because we advertised belonging. It happened because people practiced belonging.
Now we are looking ahead to Everyone Matters Sunday, tentatively scheduled for October 18. Joining a church is important. Coming forward, professing your faith in Jesus Christ, promising to support the congregation, seeking to obey God, and encouraging one another are meaningful commitments.
But when it comes to practically feeling connected to a church—or almost any organization—two things make an enormous difference:
If you have a group, you know you belong. If you have a job, you know you matter.
When there is something you are responsible for—something that happens when you show up and might not happen if you do not—you begin to recognize that your presence and contribution truly matter.
We want every person at Perry Methodist not merely to feel that they matter, but to know that they matter.
We do not have to wait until October 18 to begin.
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