July 9, 2021

Walk-Ins Always Welcome!

Planting healthy, accessible neighborhood churches is the best way to reach people with Jesus’ good news and fulfill His Great Commission.

To bring this nation where we serve gospel access, our team engages with many local churches here to secure property and plant small, welcoming neighborhood fellowships.

We work hard to ensure these neighborhood churches are inviting to outsiders—where “walk-ins are always welcome.” So passersby can see what’s happening inside and listen in without feeling forced to enter, we leave our church windows and front doors wide open during services.

We also encourage regular attendees to sit in the front of the church, so space is available in the back for those hesitant to enter for the first time. This “walk-ins welcome” posture has resulted in many changed-life stories.

Joyful Worship Inspires Conversion

A Christian woman here recently told me that when she was a little girl, she would walk by a small Alliance church on the way to the market. She was drawn in by the worship music.

Although this girl’s family followed a different religion, a longing was stirred within her to be part of that group singing with such joy. She explained how she had lingered for several years outside the church building until finally she felt she was old enough to ask her family’s permission to leave their religion and follow Jesus.

Widow Experiences True Religion

Our neighborhood churches also serve as a resource for people in great difficulty. A widow in our group shared that when her husband died, she didn’t know where to turn. The Alliance church in her community stepped in to take care of all the many details. This congregation continues to assist with her family’s food needs and children’s education.

A Place of Healing Prayer

Neighborhood churches are also a place of prayer for healing the sick. One pastor confessed to us that he felt overwhelmed when a family laid an ill relative on a mat on his church’s porch. The man’s hospital treatments hadn’t cured him, and his family had run out of money.

So this pastor and his congregation took on the health need in prayer. Slowly, the man regained his strength—one day he literally took up his mat and walked (see John 5:9).

Pray with us that all our Alliance churches will be welcoming neighborhood fellowships, impacting their communities with Christ’s message of abundant life.

And thank you for giving to the Great Commission Fund, which equips us to plant and invest in these life-giving, local churches—where walk-ins are always be welcome!


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