20 May Make the Drive to Church Worthwhile

Confronted with the price of gas and a 20-mile daily commute to the office, Jeff Bleijerveld and I thought it made sense to ride together. So today, I picked him up. We both live on the southwest side of Fort Wayne, maybe a mile apart. It was good fellowship, we saved money, and we reduced our carbon footprint.

Seth Godin predicts that in the business world, with the price of fuel, it’ll become more common to hear people, after a meeting, complain, “I came all the way here for this?”

Churches don’t have nearly as many meetings as they once did.

• Monthly board meetings have become bi-monthly or quarterly.
• We’ve dispensed with lots of committees that once seemed necessary.
• We’ve streamlined our church structures. Streamlining is good.

But now, church meetings don’t only take up a person’s time. They also hit the wallet.

• Every trip Pam and I make to church costs us around $5.
• Other people drive much, much farther.
• A single board meeting could involve a collective cost of $50 or more.
• Since we’re a low-income church, gas hurts.

So whatever awaits us at church, whether a meeting or music practice or a service, needs to be well worth not only the time, but the gas money.

That, of course, should have always been the case. But money has a way of focusing our attention.