The Wal-Mart Well

When it comes to ministry, it's important to know not only what to do, but when and where to do it as well.

In Jesus' day, the well was a gathering place. We're familiar with the story of the woman at the well, where Jesus had a miraculous encounter with a woman whose life was changed as a result. We don't have wells like that today. But we do have gathering places. Here in Culpeper, one example is Wal-Mart. It seems every time Carrie comes home from doing her weekly grocery shopping, she tells about seeing some friends.

One of City on a Hill Church's first organized Kindness Outreaches was a Dollar-Drop at Wal-Mart. Carrie, the girls and I walked around Wal-Mart and randomly and conspicuously dropped dollar bills on the floor of the store. Each bill was attached to a card that read

"This $1 is to give you just a little help today.
It's to show you God's love for you in a practical way."

We dropped fifty of those bills and cards all over the store.

Since then, we've used Wal-Mart as our venue to hand out carnations to ladies on Valentine's Day and host a wellness check in partnership with the Lion's Club. In fact, Wal-Mart has even awarded COAHC with small grants for the last two years to be used in our community.

Jesus engaged culture on their turf. Let's open our eyes to the opportunities that are around us. Let's get out of our church buildings, find those wells in our communities and engage our communities with the love of Christ.