Blessing versus Converting: Which is the Best Approach to Loving Your Neighbor?

The point of being a loving neighbor is to first develop a relationship with your neighbor. Your neighbors doesn’t want or need a sales pitch and they do not need to be your “pet project.” 

But odds are they are lonely, looking for connections, and occasionally need help or a good listening ear. You could be that person!

Then if once you know your neighbor well enough to call them or visit with them, what is the next step? That is when you want to be a blessing!

Let me refer you to the book “B.L.E.S.S.: 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World” written by Dave Ferguson. He makes lots of great observations but this one really caught my eye. 

This study also points to the importance to developing a relationship with your neighbors first. Here is how Dave Ferguson relates the story.

BLESSERS VERSUS CONVERTERS

That was what the subject line in the email said. I didn’t know who had sent it, but as I read the contents, I could see why he was so excited about his doctoral dissertation. 

The sender shared a single chapter titled “Blessers versus Converters” that cited research based on two teams of missionaries who went to Thailand. While both teams went with similar goals, they carried two distinctly different strategies.

The “Converters” group went with the sole intention of converting people and evangelizing. Their goal was to “save souls.”

The “Blessers” group explained their intention like this: “We are here to bless whoever God sends our way.”

The study followed both the “Converters” and the “Blessers” for two years. At the end of that time, the researchers discovered two key findings:

First, the presence of the “Blessers” in the community resulted in tremendous amounts of “social good.” It appeared, according to the study, that this group contributed to the betterment of society, community life, and the creation of social capital. The presence of the “Converters,” however, seemed to make no difference.

The second discovery—and this was very surprising—was that the “Blessers” saw forty-eight conversions while the “Converters” saw only one! The “Blessers” group saw almost fifty times as many conversions through being a blessing than the group that was only trying to convert the people around it. The bottom line: the best way to accomplish Jesus’s mission of helping people love each other and come to know the love of God is for His people to become “Blessers!”

BE A BLESSING

So the needed approach is very clear: be a blessing! Extend mercy to your neighbors. Be a good listener and helper. Be the peace keeper and the joy giver. When you walk out in to your yard, look for opportunities to be a blessing, and God will work on the other details.

For more information on neighboring, visit David Burton’s blog at www.we-are-neighbors.blogspot.com.