© j o h n t r u s c o t t : c r e a t i v e o r g a n i s a t i o n f o r e f f e c t i v e c h r i s t i a n m i n i s t r y
Helping people back to church
Basics we often overlook
A31 Articles series: Management
This article was first published on the website in August 2013 and last updated in July 2015. It is copyright © John Truscott. You may download this file and/or print up to 30 copies without charge provided no part of the heading or text is altered or omitted.
The annual ‘Back to Church Sunday’ has proved a big hit with churches of all denominations. The key elements include a service that is attractive to those who have moved away from regular church worship and a welcoming congregation who go out to invite people.
But why not have a ‘Back to church Sunday’ attitude every week? If so, you need to do some careful planning for some of the supporting aspects of your church that can welcome or detract almost as much as your style of service and your people can.
This article seeks to highlight some of the background issues you need to face if you are to encourage people who have drifted away from Christian faith or church to return. We consider what needs to happen before the welcomers get to work.
How can you make the route back to a church event as easy for these people as possible, whether they are brought by friends or come on their own? Such issues run the risk of being ignored in some ‘welcome’ training.
This assumes you have your own church building. If you hire a school or community hall, you will need to adapt one or two of the points.
To make this come alive here are three case studies to illustrate the ideas that follow. Gary is a member of your church, single and in his 20s. He works in a local shop and is trying to persuade his work colleague Gladstone to take another look at the Christian faith. Gladstone drifted away from his Pentecostal church upbringing about four years ago.
Guy and Gloria live locally but gave up their church membership years ago after an unfortunate incident with the elders at their Baptist church. But their teenage children are friendly with peers who are members of your church and belong to a Sunday evening young people’s group. So Gloria is wondering about trying your church out and hopes Guy will come with her.
Gill has been retired for several years and is trying to encourage her Bridge partner, Gladys, to come back to church. Gladys used to belong to an Anglican church before her divorce but she sees no point now.
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