The Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, NC is more than a local general mercantile store serving mountain folk in North Carolina since 1883; it is also an iconic destination for tourists. It originally carried everything from “cradles to caskets”, including milk, bread, cast iron, feed, chicken scratch, mouse traps, locally made bonnets, berry baskets, overalls, and much more. When a young couple bought the store in 1979, they reinvented the store, maintaining the original flavor while utilizing modern management tools. It has succeeded in large part because of the “feeling” that people have when they leisurely shop the store. It often-times brings back wonderful memories of childhoods, grandparents, hometowns, or maybe just simpler times. An 1883 style of friendly, helpful staff remains. The owners brilliantly highlighted nostalgia while using modern tools to manage, market, and promote the store.

Is this not a lesson for many churches today? Can we not utilize modern technology, tools and methods while honoring past traditions and remain focused on the mission that Jesus clearly instructed in Matthew 28:19 (NIV): “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”?

The mission remains the same, how we achieve it is changing.

Just like the Mast Store, church traditions can be revered while utilizing new, modern tools and techniques to “make disciples”. It is time for a brain-storming session!

I Found Him…reminiscing in the Mast Store.