I had a great phone call with a good friend from home a few weeks ago, we spoke about many different things, ranging from sharing corps stories to talking about our work and our mutual friends. As we talked about what we appreciated and had learnt in our various corps throughout our life, one thing that came back over and over again was that the welcoming atmosphere and the feeling of being in a place of love mattered far more to us than how big the band was or indeed how good the preaching was.
This feeling of being loved and valued was something that the whole corps or church was responsible for, it wasn’t something that stopped because an officer or local officer was away, creating an atmosphere of love, a place where every individual who attended felt valued and felt like they were among friends was down to every person in the hall that Sunday. And we could each testify that the knowledge we were loved, and valued members of a church helped us in our commitment to attend each week, helped us get involved with different activities, and ultimately meant we felt comfortable bringing friends to the meetings.
There is a passage in James 2 that talks about the welcome you give at a church meeting, and whether or not you show favouritism in treatment to those who attend, whether they be well known or new, whether they be rich or poor, whether they come able to contribute much or only contribute a little.
James 2: My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
I want to challenge you today to think about how you can make that difference when your church or corps meets back for worship, and for activities like toddlers and kids clubs, for debt advice and for foodbanks, for older peoples’ activities, for music practices and ministry opportunities, how will you contribute to making your church home a welcoming loving place, a place where the love of God rests within the members, a worshiping community growing together in faith and love?
Cartoons used with permission, Dave Walker https://cartoonchurch.com