Back to Church Sunday 2010: Come as you are

“Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn” (John Wesley) This was the quotation I used last year when launching our first Back to Church Sunday - if we are enthusiastic about our faith, if we are enthusiastic about our church and about worshipping together, then our enthusiasm will attract other people; because enthusiasm, like laughter, is infectious! Barony St John’s is again taking part in Back to Church Sunday on Sunday 26th September. The reasons for this are very simple: perhaps we can encourage those who have stopped attending church to give it a try again; maybe we can encourage our friends and neighbours to come and see what it is all about.

Also there are a lot of rumours circulating around the town about our church and its possible future. Most of these are completely without substance. Back to Church Sunday gives us an opportunity to say to people “we are still here. We are still worshipping. We are still open for business.” So please think about inviting a friend or neighbour back to church on Sunday 26th September. If you are an elder you can take this opportunity to issue a personal invitation to someone in your district who hasn’t been to church recently. If you are in the Sunday School, invite a friend to come along just to see what it is all about. Maybe you haven’t been in church yourself for a while and are curious about what is happening here? If this is the case, then please come along on the 26th September. You are guaranteed a warm welcome. Back to Church Sunday is something the whole congregation can get involved in. So please be thinking and praying about friends or neighbours, family members or people in your district that you could invite back to church - invitations and post cards are available to give to the people you intend to invite to church. These can be collected from the church on the three Sundays in September leading up to the 26th. The emphasis of Back to Church Sunday is on personal contact and personal invitation, on asking someone face to face to come along to church with you. Then meeting and greeting them on the day, perhaps sitting with them, introducing them to your friends and making them feel part of our fellowship. Even if you have no one to invite along on the 26th September it is important you are there to give a warm and friendly welcome to visitors on that day. People stop coming to church for all sorts of reasons and sometimes it only needs you to take a personal interest and then extend the hand of friendship - and issue that invitation. So please be thinking and praying about Back to Church Sunday over the next few weeks. Think and pray about individuals. And most importantly pray for yourself and for our fellowship here in Barony St John’s that we may all be enthusiastic witnesses for Jesus Christ and the Gospel.