Have you ever walked into the aisle of a small hardware store and noticed everything covered in dust? I am talking about dust on dust on dust. I’ve seen dust so thick that you could not read the writing on the package. My first thought is, “How do they expect to sell anything in this condition?”

Have you ever been in a bowling alley or other independently owned business and noticed cracks in the floor, broken floor tiles, or torn places in carpet, and perhaps even broken window panes.  Other businesses are so cluttered and disorganized that it is difficult to shop. Perhaps like me and many others you wonder how these places can stay in business.

If we were to look at our churches and our class rooms with the same eyes we might see many of the same situations. I know you do not want to believe that about your class room, but it is true of many of our churches.

We tend to overlook what we get use to seeing. What may start out as a small stack of left over quarterlies turns into a stockpile of previous years lessons. And the posters –if we take them off the walls– start another pile in another corner of the room. That small stand at the front of the room was placed there for the teacher to place her two markers and eraser. Now on it lies three different Bibles left behind, several magazines, greeting cards, and a stack of unused napkins. Looking at the floor we might see carpet ravels, the scuffed up floors, and walls? “Oh, that light? That one hasn’t worked for three years!”

A few years ago, I walked around a church building on a Saturday snapping pictures of broken floor tiles, burned out light bulbs, cluttered rooms, and even holes in the wall. That morning I snapped forty-seven photos. A couple of weeks later when I projected those pictures on the screen – on a Sunday evening – all present were embarrassed. Some were shocked and did not know many of these areas of need were in their own church.

I have been in many of our churches and seen these and other circumstances including broken windows covered with cardboard and plastic, yet none of the members could remember how long the window had been in this state of disrepair.

It is easy to overlook these things because we are use to seeing them this way. We may see the disrepair at first, but after walking past it for a time it becomes natural to us and we tend to overlook the obvious need to repair. However, to a guest this is like walking into a hardware store with dust so thick they want to ask, “How can you as a church stay in business?” or “If this is the way you do not take care of your building, how do you treat one another and me, your guest?” What message are we sending to our guests and new members?

It is time to take a walk-thru (with the eyes of a guest) and see what can be discarded and what can be cleaned up to make your room more appropriate for a teaching/learning environment.

For information on avoiding this type situation or recognizing these areas in your church, contact George Yates & visit SonC.A.R.E. Ministries.