February Pastor’s Pen

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Within the next few years, I hope to use some of my vacation time to visit this great nation of ours. Beth and I would like to one day visit New England in the Fall, Washington D.C., New York, Mt. Rushmore, and many other National Parks. Opportunities abound for those who like to get out of doors. Of course, no matter where one lives in the U.S.A., opportunities are virtually limitless. We are surely blessed in this way.

So with all of these wonderful opportunities available to us, why do we go to church? Why do people place church or worship on their list of activities?  Why do people choose church among the vast list of things to do?

I believe people attend church because they are looking for something, and what that something is must be as varied as the people themselves. Perhaps people come for an experience of God, or an experience of the Holy. Perhaps they come for a little calm within the storm of life. Perhaps they come looking for a place to belong. Some surely come to see that their children are raised in the faith. Some come for God’s forgiveness; some for God’s saving grace.

I am particularly interested in why people attend First Lutheran Church for the first time.

What draws them to our place of worship? Surely there is a reason. Will our church be a place of solace, hope, and grace for them? Will they experience us as being a congregation that is loving, humble, and open to them? To be a loving, humble, and open church requires us to be mindful of both our own needs for church and worship, and the unique needs of the newcomer.

Our guest may have needs for spiritual nurture that are quite different from ours. For instance, a visitor could come to us because they have recently received bad news from their doctor. Another may come struggling with grief and needs to hear that God has not abandoned them. People come to church for a reason, and we in the church are called to receive them and care for them as if they were Christ himself. A simple and loving welcome could make all the difference in the world.

For many of us church is the place we come to be in communion with our friends and loved ones. We gather with our brothers and sisters in the faith and sing our praises to God, giving thanks for God’s overflowing grace. But do we fully know that we…we are vessels of that overflowing grace of God for our guests?

The available literature on greeting church newcomers states that visitors make up their minds about returning to a particular church within the first 10 minutes; some say as quickly as 3-5 minutes. This suggests that people make up their minds about what kind of church it is by their experience with the first few people they meet; greeters, ushers, and those in the pews where they land. So, if the first 10 minutes goes well, and the sermon doesn’t bomb and the pastor doesn’t preach them to sleep, they will probably come back for another visit. Being mindful of our first-time visitors and newcomers is an opportunity to pray for them, asking God to speak the words each needs to hear. And maybe…just maybe, God will use us to speak those words. The Lord has called us to be salt and light, and continues to bless us to be Christ’s church of gracious welcome. TBTG! May God bless you in these days of lengthening light.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Steve