Cookies & Cute Kids
Since Kristen and I have been married we have lived in four houses in three different cities. In each neighborhood we have learned that people generally want to know their neighbors. As we look back at our church planting years in Austin it is funny to confess that one of the best ways we got people plugged into our little house church was through cookies & cute kids.
When we first moved onto Malvern Hill Dr. we made cookies for all our neighbors. Mason was at the cute age of 7-months-old. I had knocked on doors in the past but it was amazing how cookies and a cute kid seemed to open more doors. We simply said that we were new to the neighborhood, wanted to meet our neighbors, and wanted to bring them some cookies. This simple approach works even if you have been in your house for years. You might say that you have a New Years Resolution to get to know your neighbors better and just wanted to come say “hello”.
We would ask questions about the neighborhood, offer to have them over for dinner, and I began asking if there had ever been block parties done on the street. Some were less interested, but over the next couple of months we ended up meeting most everyone on the street and even having five of the families over for dinner at different points. After six months two of the families were attending our little house church. Later that year we hosted our first block party on National Night Out. Community was being built.
Making cookies and walking across the street to say “hello” was a fun and natural way to make some new friends and have an eternal impact. It also helps if you have cute kids!
- Micah Caswell
