As a child, I lived with my grandmother, whom we affectionately called “Granny.” Before we moved to a ranch-style home in the county my Daddy built, we lived in a “shotgun” house in the city that stood on cinderblocks in Newtown, a neighborhood built after the 1936 tornado in Gainesville. The house had front and back porches with screen doors. 

Granny or Mama always yelled, “Don’t let that screen door slam,” at me and my cousins as we left the house to play. But the warning always came a couple of seconds too late, as we always let the door “slam” behind us. 

Several neighborhood kids went to the front porch to peek through the screen door to see if I could play. When Granny saw the kids looking through the screen door, she invited them into the house. Other kids from the “next block over” occasionally came by the house to play, but I wasn’t allowed to play with them. I knew these kids from seeing them around the way, but I didn’t know them well. When they came to the house, Granny or Mama would ask, “Who are your people?” When Granny or Mama didn’t recognize their names, they were politely sent home. 

In my neighborhood, the difference between the “front porch” and “next-block-over” kids were that Granny built connections and relationships with the “front porch” kids’ “people.” Over time, the “front porch” kids convinced Granny and Mama that several of the “next-block-over” kids were “good kids,” and I was eventually allowed to play with them. Today, many of these “next-block-over” kids remain close friends. 

It's been fifty-one years since I lived in Newtown. When Daddy built our new house, Granny moved with us “out the road” to the county, away from the city limits. Though we had a smaller front porch, two things remained the same: we still weren’t allowed to play with the kids from the next block, and my brother and I continued to let the screen door slam. 

Like my old neighborhood, our church has a metaphorical front porch, a screen door, and a next-block-over group. The “front porch” represents people on campus in our buildings or near the church, e.g., our Preschool and Kindergarten. The “screen door” is a metaphor for people looking inside to see who’s there and what’s inside who check us out through social media and watch online. Finally, “the next block over” represents people who may see us around the community and may attend our events but are not connected to us yet. 

This last group, representing the largest group in our community, is like the kids in my old neighborhood who lived nearby. Because I didn’t have a close relationship with this group, they didn’t come around the house much, and I didn’t interact with them. The same is true with our church. Without building relationships connecting us to the “next block over” group, getting them invited to our “front porch” will be difficult. 

Beginning in August, we will focus on the “front porch” activities for our Preschool and Kindergarten and a “next block over” event, a community concert for our families in the South Gwinnett community. 

- Saturday, August 10: Community Concert featuring our Praise & Worship Team
From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., there will be outdoor games for families with kids. The concert will be inside the Christian Life Center (CLC) from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. 

- Sunday, August 18 - 25: Preschool & Kindergarten School Supply Collection  
We will be collecting disinfectant wipes, paper towels, boxed gloves for food and cleaning, and copy paper (white 8 ½ x 11) for use by teachers in their individual rooms. Please place these items in containers outside of Wesley Hall. 

The goal is to get families with kids on our “front porch” to look through the “screen door” and be invited into the church. We want to build stronger ties with our Preschool and Kindergarten families and get to know the people who are the “next block over” through the community concert while allowing them to look through our “screen door.” 
 
I hope you will join me in building relationships with our “front porch” people and those from the “next block over.” 
 
At the Intersection

At the Intersection,

Dr. Quincy D. Brown

Senior Pastor