Silvia Park Christianity

I live down the road from Silvia Park Mall. Quite a good place to be. 3 minutes walk from anything I need to get. A choice of 2 Supermarkets, the Warehouse extra, loads of retail stores for clothing, computer stores, and many others. Beside that a section of the mall that has a choice of fast food places in a food court, an entertainment area that houses restaurants, cafes, a book store and a huge cinema. Anything that I could want or need I can get in just a simple walk. If I had to, I think it would be possible to live there.

I personally enjoy mag nation the best. I get good coffee, free wi-fi, and can read from one of the many mag titles they have without buying one. How good is that? All I have to do is walk in, order what I want, read what I want and look at what I want.

I got thinking about this and the same attitude that I have to malls sometimes creeps into my thinking about church. If I can get a coffee, turn up when I want, and get all that I want then I'll keep coming back. It is sad to see that churches have brought into this idea. We now program for peoples wants, provide things that keep people coming back, and ask nothing in return except maybe buy a coffee. All we are missing is free wi-fi.

But lets take a look at this. I believe that churches should be attractive. People that are not tied in should want to come back without committing. But what should they be attracted to? The programs we offer, the entertainment they get? I believe that we should be living in such a way that people come back because of the authentic relationships we have with each other. The challenge is to have this as the main focus rather than having a good face. Yes we do need to reach out to the community and having things that people will come to will draw people in. The key is to have relationships that keep people coming back. This can only come from the same Spirit that we have in Christ. If people are only there because of the coffee or the children's program then what is to stop them from going somewhere else when better coffee or programs are offered?

It is a challenge that we face. To be relevant, attractional, and still strong in relationship building. If we are not deep in our relationships then people only stay until it suits them. We need to be willing for our churches to be different to malls and offer something that people can commit to and are linked into. A challenge for all of us.