May 2026
Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly“…
National polls have consistently pointed to association as the number one reason people will come, and stay at a church. If people know somebody, if they feel an attachment or have a relationship, the odds are much more likely that they will stay. This scripture has often been misquoted and misunderstood. As we see, the Bible teaches us if we have friends, to show ourselves friendly. That means if I am fortunate enough to have friends and associations, I ought to give that feeling of friendship to somebody else. I want to be somebody’s friend. I want to be the reason that they come to church, and ultimately stay in church.
We live in a very lonely world and people’s inner circle has gotten smaller. The only way we’re going to be able to reach our world is if we will take personal time to show our self friendly to others. Go out of your way to visit somebody. Go out of your way to call somebody. Go out of your way to send somebody a card. Most importantly, personal interaction is how you build friends, not through social media and not through cards. (They have their place). I want to encourage you to show yourself friendly to others, even those within the church you may not regularly associate with. That gesture might bring somebody through their storm.
I pray that you will allow the Holy Ghost to speak to your heart on this topic and that you will make a concentrated effort to show yourself friendly.
Senior Pastor Ardary