A Heart for our Neighbors
How many times do you walk across your driveway, see a neighbor, and wish you could offer more than a quick wave? Life is busy and it’s not easy to get to know, let alone build relationships with those around us.
Eric and Kerri Jones felt that way in their old neighborhood, but two years ago they were challenged to change that perspective. In the Venue services, they heard about an outreach effort coinciding with Halloween that was an opportunity to connect with neighbors by giving out hot dogs, snacks and Scottsdale Bible glow sticks. Eric, Kerri, and their three kids—Caleb (12), Joshua (10), and Evie (9)—joined an event with some friends from the Venue the first year. “We saw it as a chance to love people in the neighborhood with no pressure or expectations,” said Eric. The neighbors loved it, and so when Eric and Kerri bought a new home last September, they decided to host their own event.
“We had literally moved in three weeks before Halloween, so it was a great opportunity for us to break the ice and say ‘Hi, how are you, we just moved in,’” said Eric. “It’s not easy these days to knock on people’s doors and say ‘Hey, we’re your neighbors.’ There’s a reason we don’t have successful door-to-door sales people anymore. When someone comes to your door, there’s an automatic suspicion. Having a BBQ out front with a bunch of hot dogs and saying ‘Is anyone hungry?’ was a great way to show generosity and a neighborly spirit and hopefully establish our home as a safe place.”
Many kids and parents from the neighborhood came and tables were set up so people could sit and talk. “Everyone was really surprised we would be giving out hot dogs and snacks for free,” said Kerri. The glow sticks (with Scottsdale Bible’s logo) were a hit and they allowed us to share about our church without being overly forward.”
“Kerri and I are not necessarily the ones who will come right out and tell people they need to go to church,” said Eric. “Our first priority is establishing relationships and getting to know who they are.”
“We’ve definitely shared about the church and let people know who we are and what we stand for,” said Kerri, “but we hope to communicate that we’re not just serving people because we go to church. We want them to know we do this because we love Jesus and that’s what He would have us do, to show love to them.”
“We found out we have a really diverse neighborhood, with lots of people from different walks of life. Many of the kids need love and it’s given us a chance to open up our home to them,” said Kerri. “The parents know who we are now and feel safe letting their kids come to our home.”
“Some neighbors we’ve talked with don’t have any spiritual beliefs and we were able to discuss some of their past church experiences.” said Eric. “As the relationship grows, we’re praying we can speak directly about Jesus with them, in love and without judgment. Hopefully, we can be the light of Jesus in their lives. Whether they are going to make drastic life-changing decisions will be up to them and God, but we can show specifically with our testimony how God truly feels about them, how much He loves them.”
Eric and Kerri said they’ve sensed God leading them to make their neighborhood ministry one of the first priorities for their family. “Until recently, it had been a secondary thought for us,” shared Kerri. “This event definitely pushed us to be more purposeful and thoughtful about loving our neighbors and ministering to them. Doing things like helping them pull weeds or bringing cookies at Christmastime—just little things, have helped us connect with our neighbors and set the foundation for deeper relationships.”
“We used to be really involved with our friends at church, but we realized how do you reach lost people and earn that trust to share the Gospel with them if you don’t know them or if they don’t know you care for them? That’s what we’re trying to do.”
