by Catherine Hughes

You only get one chance. That’s all. The world is too fast-moving, life is busy and hectic, things change too rapidly. People move on, go with the latest trend, turn to someone, or something else that appears to have the answer. You only get one chance. After that, they’re gone – likely never to return.

Perhaps I’m being a little harsh, as many people do give churches a second chance. In most of our churches today we don’t expect someone new to be attending. We don’t expect an outsider to come in off the streets. We don’t expect people to be searching for God. If they do turn up, we’ll suffuse them with the warmth of our welcome – but what are we welcoming them to?

Particularly as summer approaches and new school years begin, there will be many people who are moving around the country – not just Methodist ministers! There will be people who are leaving a home and church and looking for both, often in an area that is new and unfamiliar to them.

It is certainly the situation I find myself in this year. Due to a new position for my husband we are having to relocate and, along with all the anxieties about finding the right house, the right area, the right finances and the right schooling, we’d like to find the right church. But we don’t have much time. We have just a few days available in the new area to weigh all these matters up before we move and settle.

We are doing our best to make sure that we stay for a Sunday service as often as possible. This helps us get a feel for what the worship is like, what the community is like, how God is moving among his people there.

Sometimes it makes us very sad. The preaching is weak and uninspiring. The hymns are turgid, the organist making us feel like we’re trudging through mud. The Sunday School is primarily a craft activity exercise, not a lesson about God.

Sometimes the church is shut, even though the noticeboard clearly states they have morning and evening services…

Others are warmer, more welcoming. Others have a vision, have a life that is Spirit-led and preaching that is biblically-based. They may still not be appropriate for us as a family, but they do give us hope for the Methodist Church today.

As a local preacher myself, I have been fascinated by this experience. Now I have to do a quick reconnaissance and make snap judgements, which brings me back to my original point: you only have one chance. One chance to make a first impression. And for many, many visitors, only one chance to encourage them to come again. It is the preacher’s duty to make that one chance the best chance possible.

It is the preacher who is at the front – leading, co-ordinating, holding it all together. He or she is the one who will be responsible for giving that first impression. I am not dismissing the role of the congregation itself in the welcome of a visitor, but I can get a good idea of where a church is – spiritually – by the wooliness or wisdom of the preaching, whether the service plods or jogs.

With my ‘family’ hat on I will quite happily attend a different denomination’s church. I am not tied to Methodism: it is not the way, the truth and the life! It is a style of worship with which I am comfortable, but I have also regularly worshipped in Baptist, Church of England and House churches.

As a family, as individuals, we seek a church where God is worshipped, His word is taught and the Spirit is working in the activities of the people. For us, and for anyone else, I recommend these qualities far above denomination. How is the Church – your church – seeking to fulfil all these needs?

You only have one chance. It could be this Sunday, or next Sunday, or every Sunday. But each service has to be as perfect as possible, because it could just be that your preaching is what does, or does not, invite someone back.