How to Welcome New Neighbors and Invite Them to Church at the Same Time
By Ed Stetzer

Invite new neighbors to church!

So, when I moved to Wheaton, I loved how my neighbors reached out and welcomed me.
They created a four-page (four page!) long list of things, including…

In Our Humble Opinion
Welcome to Wheaton, Stetzers!
I know you are going to find it to be a wonderful community to live in BUT it can be a little daunting at first. I moved into the brick house across the street from you when I was 12. Now we have lived in the cream house next door to that house for 23 years. I guess we like it here…

Thought I would share some tips from the 40+ years I have lived in Wheaton. Thus titled – In Our Humble Opinion.
• Best Pizza for Deep Dish – Lou Malnati’s in Carol Stream – in a strip mall that faces Geneva Road to the west of Main Street (*at Geneva Road, Main Street Wheaton turns into Schmale Road) (Gino’s is walk to downtown Wheaton and so a good option but not my fav)
• Best Pizza to Share – Bricks on Front Street in downtown Wheaton (near Starbucks)
• Best Pizza Delivery – Papa Johns on President in Wheaton. Nothing fancy just good in a pinch.
• Best Starbucks – Corner of Geneva Road and Main Street because it is a Drive Thru. Downtown Starbucks is TINY and always crowded…
• Best Breakfast – I don’t even need to say because you will have your own opinion within a week. Everything social revolves around breakfast in Wheaton! The two rivals are Egg’lectic (corner of Hale & Wesley, as in really close!) and Egg Harbor (across the tracks on Hale) Moral of the story is PAY ATTENTION when you make breakfast plans or you can be waiting at the wrong location. There is also an Egglectic in Danada just to make it really confusing.
• Best Chocolate – Grahams is amazing. Pricey but worth it. This is on Front Street between Hale and Main. A great go to gift. All handmade in either in Geneva (*cute town 25 minutes west down Roosevelt) or Wheaton. “CPR” is caramel chocolate covered pretzel rod. My kid’s favorite. Stop in just to smell the goodness.
• Best Popcorn – The Little Popcorn Shoppe is famous. It is literally a covered alley between two stores on Front Street and has been there since I moved to Wheaton so a really long time. Jars and jars of candy and fresh popcorn. Look for the red and white striped awning
• Best Grocery Store – Mariano’s just opened with MUCH fanfare. It is at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Main Street. It is quite amazing and a destination in itself. It has healthy smoothies, coffee bar, gelato for a $1, hot and cold food buffets, pizza, BBQ and sushi. I have empty nester friends who go there for dinner often. Their deli is slow and their prices are pretty good for all the bells and whistles.
• Best Discount Grocer – People love Trader Joes (I personally don’t get it) and it is on Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn. Aldi is owned by Trader Joe’s brother (closest one on Schmale in Carol Stream) and is a great no frill option. For big families you save a lot. Bring a quarter to borrow a shopping cart – you get it back when you return it!…
• Best Doughnuts – French Market every Saturday morning is a great outing (across the tracks from Starbucks) in downtown Wheaton. Lots of vendors with produce and interesting crafts. BUT the best they have to offer is the stall that has Apple Cider sugared doughnuts! April to October. Open 8-2.
• Best Church – HA! Did you really think I would go there?? But hey, we go to College Church and you are most welcome.

Welcome!!

Then they go on to give holiday fun facts (about every major holiday and what the neighborhood does). Then, there is a suggestion, “Pay Attention or it will cost you” facts, which include parking rules, trash pickup, etc.
Now you won’t care about all the details, but we did—we consulted this list regularly.
And every time we saw their invitation to the church.
Their list made us know:
1. They were glad we were here.
2. They took time to welcome us and care (and we just had dinner with them).
3. They invited us to church.
So, what a great idea for you to make with new movers.
Our family has a long tradition that we take some brownies to all the new folks who move in, we introduce ourselves, and often invite the new movers to church. In this case, it’s even easier.

From: www.christianitytoday.com web site. February 2017.
The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”