Outreach involves reaching out, and today outreach is more inclusive than ever.

The church today extends a welcome to those who are single, married, divorced; those who are rich or dirt poor; skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few pounds; and those with pink hair, purple hair, Mohawk hair, or no hair.

The church welcomes those who can sing like Carrie Underwood, Sandi Patti, and Larnelle Harris, and those who can’t carry a tune in a bucket. The doors of the church open and the welcome mat is rolled out for those who just woke up, just showed up, or just got out of jail.

It doesn’t matter if they are more religious than the Pope or haven’t been to church since 9/12/01. The call goes out to those over 65 in their second childhood and to kids who are in their first one, and to teenagers who have grown up too fast.

The church reaches out to soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, and junk-food addicts.

Welcome are those with problems, or who have problems with organized religion. If they blew all their money at the boat; work too hard; are a computer geek or don’t even have one, they are welcome.

Outreach is to those who are inked, pierced or both; who are hip, cool, or so square they were born in a box. The church welcomes tourists, seekers, doubters, bleeding hearts and those turned off by church, because Jesus can turn them on again.

It is He who says, “You catch them; I’ll clean them.”

So the outreach continues, generation after generation.