Inviting People to Church

I was asked today why I thought that the service we call ‘Food Church’ works, and by 'works' they meant why were people ready to bring their friends to that service. First off I would say that not all of them are. We do get a lot of new people coming along to that service, and some of them stick around for the following week, and the week after that, but there is no instant success when it comes to living our lives and seeking to make disciples.

I think there are probably four main reasons why people come. Firstly and obviously, God. However, that needs to be said. All the best ideas in the world aren’t worth toffee if God is not in the midst of our Church community. Secondly there is, I hope, a simple and clear message that we need to be an open community that wants people to witness great worship. Worship is about giving glory to God, and giving glory to God is about people who have been transformed by the Gospel and who express the depths of their relationships with their Creator: that can mean energetic songs, but it doesn’t have to. By all that I mean that we try and be as clear as we can that we should be inviting people in to Food Church to experience God’s hospitality. Thirdly, I think it is about being welcoming, in a relaxed way. We don’t always get this right, some people slip in and slip out, some people who we should say hello to we miss, but we try. Fourthly, it is a natural part of who we are as a Community. It is not somethign we put on, or work at, it is not that different from what you would experience in other places and gatherings of the Uncut Project.

And then I had an interesting thought. Church should be a place that welcomes people in. Members of the church should know that the Church, using an old cliché, should exist for non-members. And therein lies two problems, if I may be so bold: some churches are not very good at communicating this and so they become a ‘holy huddle’ looking inwards. Other churches are good at communicating the need to reach out and be a priesthood to the world that God creates and loves; but a lot of people don’t want to invite friends to their church. So I thought it might be worth asking why that is. So perhaps I will one day soon.

As for us? We could improve on both counts, but I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit is shaping us and changing us into a community of radical hospitality which proclaims God’s kingdom in word and actions.

(Thanks to Dave Walker for the image which I used without asking.)