You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Matthew 5:14-15
Jesus addressed his disciples and called them the light of the world. For too many years of my Christian life, I hid my light under a bushel basket, or at least didn’t make much effort to let it shine. While attending seminary, I actively participated in a church in which most of the members and attendees did not live in the community surrounding the church. I thought how sad it was that we gathered in the church building several times a week and made no effort to communicate with the neighbors who lived near the church.
When I became a pastor, I made a conscious decision to make sure that we were interacting with the neighborhood surrounding the church building. I approached 6 members who I believed were ones who already had a heart for the lost and would be willing to step out in faith with a little encouragement. We developed a system so that every week at least two of us would pair up and go into the neighborhood right near the church building to meet and get to know the neighbors.
At some point, one member named Cy was inspired to take more of a leadership role. This was during the days before social media and Google maps existed. He drove through the small town where the church was located and drew up maps by hand on 8 ½ x 11 pieces of paper of all the different houses in the neighborhood. On several Mother’s Days, we attempted to go to every single home in the community to offer a carnation to mothers. On another occasion we offered homeowners a free 9 volt battery for their smoke detector.
In all of these interactions with the community, we had opportunities to pray with and/or discuss spiritual issues with any interested recipient. For some it developed into a longer term relationship of sharing the Good News and discipling them.