Back in church

There's a new effort to persuade people to get "Back in church".  It's targeting those who once attended church but who no longer come.  Most participating churches showed an uptick in attendance, and the effort is gaining momentum.

We're for anything that gets people back to church. But how much better to never drop out to begin with! Many church goers run into trouble after missing a week or two--perhaps due to work schedules, sickness, travel disruptions, or sheer laziness.  The devil takes advantage of these lapses.  We find we like sleeping in on church days, taking the day off, reading the paper, going to the park, and catching up on our work.  The next thing we know, we ourselves are the mission field, needing someone to persuade us to get "back in church".

Church is the community of faith where we share our joys and sorrows.  Much joy comes from giving and receiving love, rendering worship, and serving Christ.  We should never need to get back in church.  Instead we should back our church with love, appreciation, energy, and faithfulness.......

It was a shabby church house, the preacher was plain, the organ wheezy, and the music off key.  But there was something that reminded one of the upperroom....