As a young boy I would always look out the window whenever someone moved into the neighborhood. My neighborhood was a bit different in that we didn’t welcome people into the neighborhood with cookies. Our neighborhood welcomed people by inviting them into our way of life.  It was certain that the ill effects of my neighborhood would quickly introduce itself to each family that moved in. I knew that whoever offered the first invitation would more than likely have the greatest influence on the family. And I, along with my siblings, wanted to be the ones to extend the first invitation to the children of each family.

I can remember one particular family that we befriended when they arrived. The boys in the family weren’t tough–at all. However, as we grew older they wanted to fit in and be tough like everyone else. I know at least one of them didn’t live to see his twenties.

The same mentality I had as a little boy staring out the window is the same mentality I need as man ministering to the city; because the same tension still exists in our communities. Evil is actively looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) and we should be actively looking for someone to disciple.

The challenge is that it’s much easier to invite people into our church building than it is to invite them into our lives. But the church body is made up of many brothers and sisters who find life in Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 5:1-2). So we should be looking out of our windows to find people that we can invite into this Life.