God’s Mission Has a Zip Code: Tangible Ways Your Church Can Love the People Next Door

by Sam Rainer President & Senior Consultant

God has a purpose for you: to love your neighbors and reflect Christ to them. Yes, even the odd ones. I’ll never forget the first time my wife and I spotted “bathrobe guy.” That’s what we called him, at least until we learned his real name. From the hill where our house sat, we had a perfect view into several nearby yards, including his. Nearly every day, we’d watch him in his backyard, robed and barefoot, gathering sticks from the neighborhood and performing what could only be described as a kind of interpretive dance around a small fire. My wife and I were fascinated. Then came the moment of conviction.

“We should go meet him,” she said.

“What? And lose our daily entertainment?” I protested half-jokingly, fully convicted.

The next day, she baked cookies and walked over. I waited like a kid waiting for a report from a spy mission.

“His name is Ernie,” she replied. “And he’s actually really nice.”

“Did you ask about the robe… and the dancing?”

“Nope. But I did invite him to church.”

I’ll admit, part of me hoped he’d show up in the robe and start dancing during the worship songs. But that moment taught me something: you can’t mock your neighbors and love them like Jesus at the same time. A healthy spiritual life includes a heart for the people right outside your front door. If we don’t share Christ’s love out there, we won’t grow much in here.

God’s mission sends us to the nations, but it also sends us across the street. For some, getting on a plane is a bold move. For others, it’s stepping across the lawn and saying hello to a neighbor who seems… different. But everyone needs the gospel, even those who dance in bathrobes.

As Paul wrote, “Christ’s love controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14, NLT). Your home, your job, your…