Why the Marquee Lights Up

If you’ve walked through our lobby on a Sunday, you’ve probably seen the marquee. It’s a big sign with light bulbs around the edge, and most of the time it just sits there. But every time someone is baptized or joins our church, we turn it on, and the whole lobby lights up.

People ask about it all the time. The answer comes from a story Jesus told.

Jesus goes after the one who is lost.

In Luke 15, the religious leaders are upset because Jesus keeps eating with people they’ve written off. So Jesus tells them a story about a shepherd, and He starts with a question.

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?”

Luke 15:4 (NLT)

Everyone listening knew the answer, because they all knew shepherds. A good shepherd doesn’t shrug off one missing sheep. He goes looking, and when he finds it, he carries it home on his shoulders and calls his friends to celebrate with him. Jesus says heaven celebrates the same way every time one person turns back to God.

Heaven celebrates, so we do too.

That’s why we say “For the One.” Our church exists to help the people who are already here reach the people who aren’t here yet. The marquee is how we celebrate when that happens. When those lights come on, it means someone was baptized or joined our church that week, and we want everyone in the building to notice.

There’s room for you here.

Maybe you grew up going to church and drifted away. Maybe you’ve never been part of a church at all. Either way, you’re welcome here. If you want to talk about following Jesus or getting baptized, stop by Next Steps in the lobby after either service, or plan your first visit online.

We’d love to meet you.