How do we make our Mosques, Churches, Synagogue and Temples impactful

I will try to keep it simple — baby steps. If we follow these simple and easy steps, we can turn things around.

I will be calling all our religious places "community centres". Because, initially all these centres were built for the betterment of our society.

1 — Be a good host

You know which hotel dominates the city?

One, that offers good rooms at affordable prices. Hotels, are flourishing in today’s economy but not our churches. What is the reason?

Because churches are not hotels, and they are meant to pray, meditate, confess and go lost back in the world?

In fact, the true reason our religious institutions are failing — these places are not providing much value to its visitors. Even when visitors are paying their dues in the shape of donations / charity works, still religions are fading out.

Tinder apps, Friends with Benefits and dating has become a new norm. Why ??

Because Sex is Fun. And today’s religion is opposite of Fun. Start contacting your honest businesses and prepare a list. Make negotiations with them. Get to terms and prepare discount vouchers. Take vouchers from the hotels. And, suggest travellers the best hotel in your town.

People reaching hotel with your voucher gets a discount. Circulate this message around

“GET A DISCOUNT FOR STAY AT HILTON HOTEL FROM SAINT PETER CHURCH”

As people arrive, offer them tea. Give them a walk through of your place. Understand their problem. Let them take shower. And give them the voucher for a night stay at HILTON. It can be done, with your local Gymnasium, or a your local beauty parlour.

Unless we make our religious institutes colourful — I and people like you, are not going to turn towards them. If you are elder of your town, it is your responsibility to lead the town through these community centres.

And if you can’t lead your town, you need to give way to the teenagers / youngsters / entrepreneurs to make them colourful for you.

2 — Listen to an issue everyday

I do not know about UK or USA. But in Pakistan, poverty is a problem. With poverty, comes its consequences. Lawlessness, health related issues, child labour and weaker civil infrastructure.

Our mosques are not listening to our problems. As we go there, we do not find an ear — to LISTEN to us.

We can become this ear ourselves. And start sitting in the mosque everyday after noon prayer.

We can make the announcement in our community that any one feeling left out of what he feels is rightfully his / hers, can come to the mosque and talk to us. We will not solve the problem. We will only listen to you and try to feel the pain — you are going through.

Make it a habit, of sitting in the mosque, and let people talk to you.

You listen to them, like it is your job, and give compassion. Compassion gives life fire, power and energy.

When people share their problem with you, knowing you are hearing them — they feel compassioned.

3 — Teach one Skill

I am a web developer. I also arrange monthly meetups. And like now, I write an article everyday [ almost ]. My life has turned around. I was a boring person, not fun and a typical office guy.

Skill learning has lifted my living. I am richer now and I am somehow contributing to my town.

Instead of preaching boring religious books to our kids, we can teach them worldly skills.

We can arrange a skilled worker who can knit good leather. Give him a studio space in the temple. And ask him to teach our kids to stitch leather.

As you start it, you will be able to write a course curriculum around it. Make a flier, or a quick advertisement card, and circulate it through your local newspaper delivery guy.

People will start finding fun. They will grow their skills, establish their earnings and slowly, they will start understanding the message hidden underneath our religious centres.

Conclusion

We are divided today. Divided in siblings, relationships, sects, casts, ranks and religions.

I am a strong preacher of establishing co-working spaces around our towns. Places like Apple Stores around the world, where they teach photography to visitors for an hour or two everyday.

But — these places, the Apple Stores in the shape of our religious centres, are already there. We have so many co-working spaces around us, only need is we lit them up.

Religiously speaking, from Quranic point of view, it is not our job to evaluate who goes to hell or heaven. Our job is to make people’s life easy.

With religious discrimination, we instead of making it easy, are making it harder.

I feel, if we teenagers; gather, team up, and start working on these lines / idea — we will start having an impact on all bad things that huant us today.