The four stages are: first day of school, deskmate, cafeteria, and recess. We all have people in each stage of our lives…The people that we barely know or just met is the “first day of school.” ”Deskmates” are those that you have small talk with…The “cafeteria” is where you hang out and have extended conversation and “recess” is where there is a high level of influence and authenticity.
I bet you have people in each phase. People that are far away from you and people that are close. At imagine, we are intentional about helping those around us that are far away from a relationship with God and bringing them closer. It is about recognizing who is in each phase (first day, deskmate, cafeteria, or recess) and how do we take them to the next one….
(Ideas for taking the next steps)
First day of school is about meeting new people-
this could be a new neighbor, a coworker, a person at the gym, or the starbucks worker…a simple “hi, how are you doing?” works well, or talk about the weather, or the things around your environment
Deskmate is about asking questions-
Once the first day of school is over, you can ask more questions such as, “What classes are you taking?” “Do you have any kids?” “Do you watch sports?” “What type of movies do you like?” Questions allow others to tell there story and it shows that you are genuinely interested.
Cafeteria is about the invite to an event and holding a conversation-
The next question, after time, is the invite…”Want to go to lunch?” “Want to go workout?” “Want to come over for dinner?” These events allow for you get to know them even better. Barriers in the relationship are are usually broken here, because you went to a different environment.
Recess is where both people (or couples) can be themselves-
In every relationship, eventually, you get to a point, where you talk regularly, go to the movies, and can just be yourself. This is the best time to ask someone to attend a sunday service. If you ask before this, they might come, but the likeliness is much lower before this stage. It is high in this stage because you have invested in that person. (After the service, you can ask them what they thought, did they like it, and what they thought of the message)
If you are at imagine, or any church around the country, identify the people in these stages, and take them to the next stage. If you do this, you will see lives changed for Christ!
