Cheri Strange, Christian Speaker and Author

Happy New Year!

If you are interested in making a lasting impact on those you live around, getting to know your neighbors is paramount. One way to do this is to simply host a neighborhood party. This year, we chose to host a late New Year's party to welcome our neighbors and the new beginnings of 2012.    

     I realize most of us have settled into the regular routine and moved past celebrating the newness of 2012, but my celebratory state is lagging behind the general population. Our house flooded while we were out of town for Thanksgiving. This created a great deal of chaos and destruction at my house. In fact, we were forced to spend most of our time upstairs. We turned Addison's room into our "family room," complete with stockings and an artificial tree until all the repairs were made on the main floor.

     When the clean up was finished, we decided to host a neighborhood New Year's party and have it the week after the holidays officially ended. Please note, THERE IS STILL TIME to host a gathering in your neighborhood or begin planning one for 2013.

Why should you?

1. We don't know each other. We are becoming more and more isolated as a culture. At our gathering, we had people introduce themselves to others they have lived around for over fifteen years. Unless you give them a reason, most people continue to live their lives in isolation, surrounded by hundreds of people.

2.  We need each other. People are relational. Most of us would appreciate having more friends. It is how God made us -- to live in community with one another. A neighborhood gathering is the perfect opportunity to begin building a relationship-based community, right where you live.

3. We are called to go --- even if it's just across the street. If you are like most people, God has planted you in the center of His design and mission for you. There are reasons for your particular street address other than school districts and price tags. So often we spend all our time inside our personal property boundaries, and never look to see what the Bigger Picture of God's plan for our location. Some may have never heard of Jesus, like our neighbor's Stacy and Alijah. Some may worship other gods or no god at all. Others may profess Christianity, yet have never seen it lived out in authentically. But we will never know if we don't go. We will never fully live out God's purpose for our address, if we remain confined within our own boundaries.

4.  We are called to serve. It's a lot of work to host a party of any size. Even if it means simply cleaning the house and making a couple of desserts, it is a hassle. But it's working! Serving my neighbors in this capacity is a small act of service with huge benefits. We had a great turn out and I have received several notes and phone calls thanking me for bringing everyone together. 

5.  We are called to be light to a darkened world. Jesus said that you and I "are the light of the world..." and we are to let our "light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify their Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:14, 16) Coming together for a simple New Year's party, celebrating the beginning of a new year, is the perfect opportunity to begin shining right where your live. 

     If you have been thinking about how you can more fully live out your faith exactly where God has placed you, maybe planning a small gathering with the people who live closest to you is just the thing for you. Why not make 2012 the year that God is able to use you more fully precisely where He's planted you...simply because you were willing to cross the street.