“I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.  Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” –John 15:16 (NIV)

Is it possible to genuinely love a whole city toward Jesus?  For over 20 years we’ve been answering this question with an enthusiastic and resounding “Yes!”  We’ve worked hard to come up with fresh, new ways to reach our city of Jesus’ love—helping to create over 300 different kinds of “community projects” for offering “humble acts of service in Christ’s name with no strings attached.”  And in the process, we’ve personally washed thousands of cars for free, distributed untold numbers of complimentary soft drinks, and even scrubbed toilets in hundreds of businesses—all to let the people in our city see that Jesus personally cares about them.

The church Steve [Sjogren] founded in Cincinnati and its 22 daughter churches all over town are known throughout the area as “the ones that do all those generous things in the name of Jesus.”  People from these churches touch and serve between half-a-million and a million people every year through a variety of programs and outreach events.  But as great as these projects are, Steve says participating in an outreach every now and then is not what God wants from you.

Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves.  Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.  You didn’t choose me.  I chose you.  I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.  This is my command: Love each other” (John 15:14-17).

If you’re a friend of Jesus, it’s only natural to care about what he cares about and to want to do what he does all the time.  The overflowing life he’s calling you into is more than an occasional thing—it’s daily.  So whatever you do to pay your bills, it’s just a means to fulfilling this higher calling.  The Apostle Paul funded his day-to-day outreach by making tents, but you might fund yours by working for an insurance company or a plumbing supply business.  Whatever it is that you do, you can go about your day intentionally flinging seeds, nurturing relationships, and bearing lasting fruit for God in the lives around you.  If you do this, loving your city will become part of your everyday lifestyle!

A Countercultural Love

Loving your community to Christ means making a deeper commitment to it than most people ever do.  It means putting down deep roots and really caring about the physical and spiritual welfare of everyone who lives there.  It’s true you’re just passing through on your way to heaven, but as long as you live there, reaching the people in your city or town is part of your mission from God.

Of course, this goes against the prevailing “me first” message of our culture.  The 24/7 media blitz around us keeps telling us we’ve got to “shop around.”  We get so busy hunting for the best deals and the most convenient locations that we never commit to being a part of the place where we live.  We need to get involved in what’s happening locally.  Shop at the same stores.  Eat at the same restaurants.  Get to know the clerks by name.  Request to sit in a certain server’s section (and tip generously!).  Be willing to stand in the longest checkout line in order to chat with a clerk you know.  Sure, it may cost you time and a few more pennies to shop at your local grocery or eat at a local restaurant, but the opportunity to get to know people makes it more than worth it.

In fact, Steve has made it his personal mission to live this sort of lifestyle in his city.

I’ve made a strategic decision to do all my shopping at the same stores over and over.  I want to get to know the clerks and managers by name.  I’m willing to stand in the longest checkout line if it means getting a chance to talk even briefly with a new friend I’m starting to develop a relationship with.  The name of the game isn’t saving 90 seconds in line; it’s making generous relational investments.  If the employee I’m hoping to see isn’t there, I ask about him or her and do my best to make friends with my current teller.  Often I give that person a dollar or two as a tip or a gift certificate to a carwash or something else that might demonstrate the generosity of Jesus.

People love getting little gifts.  And they love being recognized and treated with dignity even more.  One way I know I’m making progress is when several different employees start saying, “Hi, Steve!” when I pass them in the grocery store aisles or on the street.  Since we’re becoming friends, it’s the most natural thing in the world to ask how their family is doing and if there is anything they’d like me to pray about.  As they get to know me better, it’s also natural for them to begin finding out about me and my church.  Each week I try to go just a little deeper.

It’s amazing how much people will share if I slow down long enough to listen.  In fact, so many people that I connect with in this way ask me for directions to my church that I’ve had cards printed up.  The cards say, “Here’s your invitation to the party!”  They give my personal phone number, explain when our celebrations are, and provide directions and a map.  They also explain a few distinctions that set our church apart.

Although I live in a metro area with a population of well over a million, I try to live a “small town” lifestyle.  I go out of my way to learn the names and histories of the people I meet.  Folks who know me notice that I frequent the same small handful of restaurants all the time.  It’s not just because I’m boring or even because burritos are my absolute favorite food.  It’s because I love my city so much that I want to get to know its people well enough to help them get to know Jesus.

There are so many practical ways to love your city . . .

When you go to the grocery store or to the gas station, stop and talk to the tellers.  Don’t scan your groceries in the self-serve line just to save a few minutes.  If your gas station is one where you pay at the pump with your credit card, make up a reason to go inside the station and talk to a person.  Go in there and buy a Coke or a bottle of water and talk; find out the cashier’s name, and start a conversation that will continue for weeks or months.  Don’t be tempted to shop around.  Sure, you might save a penny or two across the street, but what’s the value of a few cents compared with a relationship that could impact someone’s eternity?  Loving your city isn’t necessarily convenient, but it’s rich and exciting—and totally worth it.

One thing we’ve discovered in 20 years of outreach is that most people really do want to talk when you approach them the right way.  If you avoid putting the gospel cart before the relational horse that draws it, you’ll go a long way.  During the past several decades, people have become averse to hearing about the gospel without first seeing and experiencing the practical love of Christ in action.  Though it’s needed now more than ever, loving people as a means of introducing Jesus is nothing new.  It’s a New Testament idea that goes all the way back to Jesus himself.  When Jesus proclaimed the coming kingdom, he fed and healed people, too.  When the early church told others about Jesus, they also helped the poor and took care of widows.  The truth of their words was validated by the power of their loving actions.

If we’re followers of Jesus, pouring out his love in practical, visible ways needs to be part of our essential nature.  After all, we’re following the greatest, most loving person of all time.  All others are mere shadows by comparison.  Whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert, there are plenty of ways you can pour out the love of the Master.

Quiet Approaches for Quiet People

One of Steve’s best friends is the regional head of an insurance company.  For years his national office used “We’re the Quiet Company” as their advertising slogan.  It makes sense doesn’t it?  Wouldn’t you prefer a quiet, gentle insurance to one that’s loud and flashy?  Even though surveys have consistently shown that about 75 percent of the general population in America and Western Europe is at least slightly extroverted, in our experience most followers of Christ (and the people around them) feel more at home with calm, understated outreach.

For this reason—and because they usually listen far better than their extroverted counterparts—introverts are some of the most effective evangelists around.  We know this sounds contrary to the image you’ve been led to expect, but it’s true nevertheless.    Small things done by quiet people can change the world.  Here are two quiet and not-so-scary ways to love your community toward Jesus:

One of Steve’s all-time favorites is paying for the meal of the person behind you in line at the drive-through.  As you stop at the window to pay for your food, tell the cashier you’re paying for the order behind you as well—the cashier will probably already know the total cost of that meal.  Once you’ve paid, give the cashier a dollar tip for telling the lucky person behind you, “Someone bought your meal today as a practical way of saying God loves you!”  If you’re too shy to say all this to the cashier, write it out on a card and ask the cashier to give it to the next customer along with the food.  And don’t forget that dollar tip, it will make the cashier’s day!

Another idea for quietly reaching out in your community is to be a great tipper.  Waiters and waitresses will tell you that church people (followers of the most generous person the world has ever seen) have the reputation of being the least generous tippers.  You can change this by putting down a nice tip of at least 20 percent—and then adding another 5 percent or 10 percent on top of that!  When your server comes to collect the check, say “Here’s a little extra something just to remind you that God loves you.”  Again, if you’re too shy to say it, you can always write it on the check.  You don’t have to confine yourself to restaurants, either.  Try noticing, talking to, and tipping anyone who serves you wherever you go.  Give the cashier at the grocery or the attendant at the tollbooth a warm blessing along with an extra dollar or two.  Learn their names and choose their lines even when others would be faster.

These people who are serving you will be awestruck as you turn around and pour out a little kindness in God’s name.  Be ready to answer when they ask, “Why are you so different?” or “What church do you go to?”  It will happen more and more as you continue to pour out God’s love in your community.

A Chosen Few

Although we want to pour out love wherever we go, it’s also a good idea to consciously ask God to assign particular people to us—people that you can really start building a relationship with.  Regularly take time to pray and ask God to bring people into your life who you can love toward him.

Maybe God will give you three or four people—or even a dozen—who you’re praying for and consistently reaching out to in any given month or year.  Some people may tend to confuse your acts of love and generosity with flirting, and so if you’re a woman, it’s often wiser to focus on reaching out to women; and if you’re a man, reach out to men.

As you consistently show practical love, mercy, and generosity week after week, you’ll draw that person closer and closer to a place where it’s natural to invite him or her to “God’s party!”  This might mean inviting that person to catch lunch or a movie with you and some friends at your home, or inviting your friend to a Sunday worship celebration or some other activity at your church.  Unfortunately over the years we’ve found that one of the main reasons people don’t come to church is that nobody has ever invited them!  But it’s really not that hard—if you have a relationship established first, it’s rarely an offensive gesture to invite someone to church.

Just say something like, “Hey, since we’re getting to know one another better, I’d like to invite you to come with me to . . .” Then enthusiastically describe what you have in mind.  If it’s lunch, and you love Chipotle as much as Steve does, you might say, “I want to buy you a burrito as big as your head and hear more of your story!”  If it’s a church activity, describe what will happen in accurate, positive ways—but keep it short and upbeat.  Oh, and it never hurts to say, “Afterward, I want to take you out to eat.”

And, if you’re worried that once people know you’re a Christian they’ll start asking tough questions about your faith, don’t fear!  We’ve done this hundreds of times and nobody has ever asked one of those complicated theological questions we thought we were supposed to have answers for.  As we mentioned in Reading 17, listening is usually more powerful than talking.  If you give them the opportunity, most people love talking about themselves.  If they talk about faith at all, usually it’s to ask you about your story.  When they do, don’t give them the super-extended version; keep it brief and they’ll ask for more if they want to hear it.  Don’t worry about quoting Bible verses or offering long-winded theological treatises.  In our experience, when people ask about the Bible it will probably be something like, “What kind of Bible should I read?”  Our answer is: “Whichever one you want, just make sure it’s easy to understand!”

If you ask God for them, you’ll get lots of opportunities to invite people to check out your small group or church and—even more importantly—to turn complete strangers into your friends and eventually into friends of Jesus.  As you go around your community pouring out Jesus’ love—doing all kinds of good to all kinds of people all the time, the word will get out.  People will begin to tilt their heads and ask, “What has gotten into you? “  Then you can just smile and thank God that he is not only getting into you, he’s getting out in ways that change everything!

Getting Your Feet Wet

Write down some places you go during your average week.  Where do you buy your food or put gasoline in your car?  What restaurants are your favorites?

Now think about some practical ways you could pour Jesus’ love out to the people in these places.  Write out some of your ideas and pick one to try this week.

The Reflection Pool

• What places in your community do you already go to on a regular basis?  How can you connect with the people in those places?
• Who in your community has God placed in your life so that you can reach that person—or people—with his love?
• Specifically, how can you personally make a commitment of love to your city?