If someone from the neighborhood walked in the back of the church, would this attract him or her to Jesus? Traditions make us feel warm about our history, but do nothing for the person who did not grow up within the tradition. Every action and tradition should be questioned, tested, and abandoned if it does not bring the unfamiliar person from the community to Christ--old songs, worship forms, communication styles, vocabulary, dress, activites--everything!
What we do and say matters when people walk through the doors for the first time. Try an experiment the next time you walk through our doors on a Sunday morning. See if you can view the experience with new eyes. Sit in a new place. Are you greeted by multiple people? Do you extend out a hand to a new person struggling to understand our worship order? What instructions are clear or which ones are left unspoken?
Why does this matter? People have an innate need to have a relationship with the Holy One. Considering that the Kingdom of God suggests that we are part of making the invisible grace of God visible, it matters a great deal. Just something to ponder.
On the journey,
Alecia
i think back to when i first started coming and though i was feeling this is where i will hang my hat. in fact i was thinking that for a year before i started actually attending. i remember paul roudoph smiling and engaging me in coversation plus the numerous invitations to the monthly potluck and the yearly camp out. this was important to feeling welcomed. i think of our church as welcoming. it must continue to be that way. we need a check-up committee too. as part of the welcome group. someone who would ask them over to dinner and find out what their interests are and then direct them where they can meet their needs. i think we learned this in church growth class at lay ministry school. what i thought was going to be a boring class became one of interest because of how the instructors were passionate for the topic. any way a form of follow up is necessary. both when they keep attending and when they begin to stop attending or their attendance becomes spotty. also getting them invloved in a small group is crucial. this where we grow spiritually. their are so many web sties about how to be a christian and all of them worth anything include attending a small group study. maybe i could join the welcoming committee if the meetings were held at my house. i am struggling with my wife not liking being left alone. perhaps if she got to bake cookies and i staid home she would be open to me being involved with another church activity. at any rate energy put toward welcoming people into our church is never wasted.
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