When Pastor Elijah Mwitanti was between pastoral calls, he took a job as an Uber driver for 18 months and quickly realized he had a new mobile congregation.
“Trying to satisfy the ‘friendly atmosphere’ aspect of the [Uber] contract brought the pastor in me out into the open” Mwitanti realized. God had put him in that car and at that time “to be a connection between people and God” (Living Lutheran, April 2018, 40).
Here are the lessons he learned through the experience:
- People were willing to engage in meaningful and uplifting conversations when approached in a nonjudgmental way.
- People were more responsive to small talk than he expected.
- People had an interest in knowing about him.
- People were receptive to his comments about his faith.
- People were civil and respectful.
Mwitanti returned to the pulpit with a greater sense of appreciating the need to connect with people on a personal level, not being afraid to initiate conversations with whoever entered through his church door.
Mwitanti’s experience makes me realize that I am often reticent to approach people in church to start conversations. But that may just be what God is calling me to do at that time and that place. People are more open and welcoming than we may think, and there is so much we can learn from each other about our faith lives and about what our Savior has done and is doing.
It often takes just one simple conversation starter to get the ball rolling. See what you can do to be a God connector with someone you don’t know at church.
