Touch Grass. Then Come to Church.

I haven’t done the research, but I’m fairly confident that no one has ever come to faith in Christ because of a church marquee sign. At best, marquee signs help a church become visible in its community. At worst, they become part of the background noise, competing with fast-food logos, traffic lights, and, let’s be honest, the phones in most drivers’ hands. Recently, I asked one of our elders to put a message on the sign facing the crosswalk where Sequoyah Middle School students pass every afternoon: “Touch Grass, Then Come to Church.” His response, understandably, was something like, “What in the world does that even mean?” “Touch grass” is today’s shorthand for “step away from the screen and reconnect with the real world.” It’s the 2020s version of “vibe check,” or “get real,” or “take a chill pill,” or “mellow out,” depending on what decade you grew up in.

Is it corny? Absolutely.

Is it dad-joke material? Without question.

Does it make perfect sense to most people over 50? Probably not.

But for the 11-, 12-, and 13-year-olds who walk through our parking lot every day after school, it’s my way of saying something simple but important: we see you. In the coming weeks, you may notice a few more youth-lingo messages like this on our sign. They’re not really about saying, “Come see us.” They’re about saying, “We see you.” We see the students across the street. We see our neighbors passing by. We see the people who might otherwise assume this historic church has nothing to say to them.

Do I expect a massive influx of visitors because of a silly marquee message? Of course not. But if even one middle school student glances at that sign, smiles, rolls their eyes at the corny humor, and feels noticed by the church across the street, then it has already done its job. Part of our calling right now is to become more visible in our community so people see where we are and who we are. But a higher and holier calling is for us to see our neighbors. You can’t love people you don’t see. We want our neighbors to discover how unique the Disciples of Christ tradition is and how special this church family is for seeing the unseen, loving and welcoming everyone with the radical love of Christ.

When I think about visibility, I also think about the ministry of Jesus. He didn’t run marketing campaigns. He didn’t rely on slogans or signage. He simply saw people. He saw those who were hungry and fed them. He saw those who were searching and taught them. He saw those who were lost and saved them. The ministry of the kingdom begins with the simple act of noticing the people around us.

So as we move forward together, let’s keep finding ways—big and small—to let our neighbors know something powerful and true: we see you.