The Revd Nick Thompson, Minister in charge of Earley Trinity, says that Back to Church Sunday was a positive experience – but not in quite the way he had expected.
“The day itself went well. The congregation did a good job of inviting friends and neighbours, and we recorded about ten new people that morning.
“The service was kept simple and ‘user friendly’ (free of jargon I hope!), and we had some really good cakes and fair trade biscuits afterwards. Sadly, none of the ten have become regular worshippers.
“However, we have learnt from the experience in the longer term. Back to Church Sunday was a great spur for developing a better strategy of welcome and integration into church life. We are developing a better welcoming team, and running the ‘Lost for Words’ course [a CPAS course on speaking our faith naturally in conversation].
“Our congregations subsequently from January to March have seen a 15 per cent rise.”
