When school began last month, I focused on the front porch and next block over metaphors to connect our church to the community (in case you missed it, click here). Now that school has been in session for almost a month, I want to recap the discussion to focus on how they apply to us.

Every home in our community of 51,000 residents, whether a townhouse, apartment, or single-family home, has a front door to enter the house. Several of these homes also have front porches. A home's front porch is more than just an entryway. It’s the unofficial greeting to guests, neighbors, and passersby and gives a brief yet notable impression of your home and personality. More than curb appeal, a front porch is the front door of your home that serves as the extension of your living area.

Like many neighborhoods in the area, our church also has curb appeal for a “Front Porch” group that represents people who are already in our building and use our facilities but are not connected to the church. Two of those groups are:

- The families of our 69 preschool kindergarten students who occupy Building D Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

- The 45 elementary, middle, and high school students who train with the Hoop Haven/Skills N Harmony coaches in the Christian Life Center (CLC) Gym during the week and their parents.

A “Next Block Over” group also represents people who live near and drive past the church. But we don’t know them, and they don’t know us yet. This group includes residents from the Town Center at the Grove and surrounding neighborhoods, Britt Elementary, South Gwinnett High School, and other schools.

The church’s task is inviting “front porch” people to enter the church and connect and cultivate relationships toward commitment and abundant life. Once this occurs, the next step involves our members and “front porch” people going to listen to the needs of the “next block over” group so that they become the new “front porch” group. Then, when this new “front porch” group attends our events, such as Wednesday Night Dinners, they can come to the church to connect and cultivate relationships toward commitment.

Our new associate pastor, Eason Adams, will champion this process of building connections and bridges between our “front porch” groups, congregation members, and “next block over” families with kids within our church community.

I hope you will join us as we continue focusing on our two “front porch” groups, the preschool and Hoop Haven/Skills N Harmony, to connect with them and invite them to attend the church.

At the Intersection,

Dr. Quincy D. Brown

Senior Pastor