Old Towne Orange Shooting

A young man named Sergio Vasquez visited our church a few months ago. His neighbors were getting married during the service and friends invited him to tag along.

You welcomed him in.

He heard you sing the gospel. He heard you preach the gospel. He watched as his neighbors were married and celebrated with you over a potluck meal afterwards. 

And that's it. We never heard from Sergio again. Which makes you wonder...

Is reaching out to the guests worth it? 

Some guests are looking for a good church and we rejoice when they find one (it doesn't have to be our church). Other guests are searching for the truth. Some are desperate and hurting. Some only come for the party afterwards.  And most will never return.

We greet guests with this goal.

Don't let one-time guests discourage you. God sends us people for a reason. He wants us to welcome them in as Christ has welcomed us.  He wants us to share our one thing with everyone.

Jesus saves sinners.

Unfortunately, Sergio's story doesn't end well. Our guest died last week after being shot at the corner of West Walnut and North Lemon. Just a few blocks from where many of us live...only four months after his visit with us. We don't know what happened between his visit and last week and wish we could say he believed. But we just don't know. We hope so.

However, this you can be sure of...more guests like Sergio are coming again next Sunday.