One of the biggest dangers is settling for the status quo. One phrase that we try not to use in HMCC is – “It’s because we have always done it that way.” If we get too comfort or locked into a particular way of doing things, then there is a good possibility that we can miss out on what God is doing.
God never changes, but the times and circumstances do. Therefore, it is critical that we are able to discern. Methods can always change, but the principles remain the same.
It is easy to think that because something worked at one place it should work at another place, but this is not always the case. In fact there are times when it backfires. Also, when you add cultural differences into the equation, then it adds a different twist to the whole situation.
For the last 12 some years in Ann Arbor, we have always had an outreach event to reach out to the new students. Over the years, we tried to find new ways to make the first contact with students and introduce them to our church. Some of the things that we have tried throughout the years worked well and other things did not work out so well.
But the common lesson has always been the same – in order to reach out to people, we cannot wait around for them to find us, we have to find them. It is all about making connections, but it is always easier said than done.
The students in Indonesia are a little bit on the shy side compared to some of the students in the States; therefore we could not just sit in our booth and wait for people to come to us. We had to be more proactive and start the conversation with people as they walked by. The first day was pretty difficult in meeting new students because of their packed orientation schedule.
But after some prayer and re-strategizing, we were able to reach out to more students. This is going to be a learning process for us. It is the “learn-as-you-go” method. It has been exciting and full of surprises (good ones).
I have always been a firm believer that some of the best sports teams are the ones that can go into the locker room at halftime losing the game, but then they are able to make adjustments and win the game at the end. Our team is making adjustments.
Joe is representing our booth at the UPH Festival
You can never go wrong with food and fellowship. You got to love it when multiple camera are going off.
I have always been curious to know how they make some of the fish… and now I know