A Hackey Sack, Mountain Dew and Next Steps

Excerpt from becausepeoplematter.com | by Mark Waltz, Pastor of Connections

Stories carry vision. They remind us of the "why" behind the "what," the "Who" behind the "why." They celebrate God moments. We love to hear them and share them.

So I wasn't surprised a few weeks ago when Carl, one of our volunteer guest services leaders, shared this story with me. I wasn't surprised because it's what we do and it's who Carl is. But, I was amazed! Here's Carl's story:

Four young men (middle/high school) begin playing "hacky sack" in the atrium. Because guests were distracted as they tried to take in the service via monitors in the cafe, the guest relations team ask them to go outside.

Some time later I was called to the guest relations kiosk where I was met by a concerned member who wondered if perhaps the boys should be asked to leave. This is where things could have gone "south". I said" Let them play. They aren't hurting anything". We watched as the boys had a great time playing outside the south entrance. After they had enough and were freezing from falling in the snow, they came back into the building. As they re-entered the building, they were laughing loudly, pushing each other and just being boys. Rather than assume they'd continue to distract others, I felt there was a God-opportunity. [Read the rest of the story to find out what Carl does.]

Are you hearing stories? Sharing stories? God's story runs through them. Look for them. Find them. Share them. And celebrate God in your people!

Learn more from Mark about how to make great First Impressions on all kinds of guests at an upcoming one-day workshop at Granger on Friday, March 19. You can register your teams for Less Clutter. Less Noise. with Kem or First Impressions with Mark Waltz for $119/person.