Yesterday coming home from Sydney, after spending time with family, we decided to call into a church on our way, instead of arriving home and then going to evening church as we sometimes do.
We walked into St Peter’s, Anglican Church Glenbrook to find a congregation of predominately people of retirement age and older. First impressions could have been this was an aging and lifeless church. Nothing could be fruther from the truth. What a blessing the morning turned out to be.
People welcomed us and chatted to us before the service and after. The preaching on 1 Peter 1:13-25 was Bible centered and focused on practical ways of incorporating holiness into our lives. The singing was enthusiastic. Accompanied by a variety of instruments, they used a mix of modern and old songs/hymns and one, I suspect, the youth worker had written himself which the congregation had been learning. It was great!
The atmosphere was informal, God centered and friendly and the video clip about BCA work going on in Newman, a mining town in the North West of Australia, and the trip of some BCA Nomads from within the congregation was illuminating and encouraging. It showed we’re never too old to be used by God.
When the children went out for their program part way through the service, the church had a break. Then, and after church congregation members told us about their youth work, and service that caters predominantly for young families as well as church plans to accommodate their growing congregation. They were also keen to hear about the way God is at work in our church.
It’s lovely to be able to drop into another church and feel that oneness with God’s people. By the time we left that church we felt richly blessed by God. Is that the way people feel after leaving your church?
When people first come into your church do they find such a godly and welcoming atmosphere? Do you leave the job to your pastors or those on welcoming at the door, to make people feel at home? Do you hide behind the excuse of shyness or lack of confidence? Or do you take time to go up and introduce yourself and make newcomers feel welcome? You might feel shy about doing this, but chances are as people come into a new church, they can feel self conscious and longing for someone to make them feel welcome. Who knows they might be looking for a new church to go to and your welcoming attitude or lack of it, could make all the difference in their decision.
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