(Note: This post was orginally written by Tim Smith, pastor at Mars Hill Church Portland, and it's been changed to fit August Gate. It's words are timely.)

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV)

Jesus said one of the top two commands in all of Scripture is to “love your neighbor as yourself.”  As we prepare to meet for the first time in our new building we have to acknowledge that we have a lot of new neighbors as a church.  Our new location is right in the middle of Tower Grove East and, as you might expect, our new neighbors are anxiously waiting to see how our church will effect them.  You can’t blame them as any of us would likely be concerned if all the sudden there were exponentially more cars in our neighborhood making otherwise quiet streets busy and threatening our parking spaces.  In light of that I want to call all who would join us in worship on Sundays to take Jesus’ words to heart and seek to be the best possible neighbors to the residents of Tower Grove East.  Here are a few ways we can do that:

1. Park well…

It should go without saying but be considerate as you park.  Don’t block driveways or  crosswalks.  Don’t box anyone in.  If the potential parking spot is too tight go find another one.  Leave extra space around everyone.  Be overly careful around others’ vehicles.  We have heard stories of multiple cars that were anonymously damaged by past churches meeting in the neighborhood and that is the last thing we want to be known for.  Come prepared to drop your folks off, go park somewhere and walk a few blocks.

2. Be gracious as you meet neighbors…

You will have a chance to meet many folks from the neighborhood in the coming weeks.   Sooner or later there will be concerns raised.  It could be about where you parked, or it could be about what we believe, it could possibly even be a frustrated neighbor.  Whatever the circumstance our response should be filled with grace.  Listen to what the concern is.  Do whatever you can to help.  Answer whatever questions you can.  If you can’t answer a question, you can refer them to us at .  In all circumstances be aware that we represent Jesus in everything we do.  Follow his commandment to be the best neighbors we can possibly be so that people will know that Jesus is great.

3. In all you do, seek to share and show the Gospel...

We have to remember that our purpose as a church is to point to the glory of the Gospel by exalting Jesus in all we do. We desire for our genuine Christian hospitality to be a marking characteristic of August Gate, especially in the neighborhood where we reside.

We are excited to see how God is going to move the Gospel forward in our new location. Continue to pray as we make more relationships in Tower Grove East and the rest of our city.

Read the original post here.