Whilst it is impossible for every demographic to be represented and visible in even the largest congregation, a closed monocultural church community may put off rather than attract new members, purely because people tend to act like members of a private club. There is a very much greater chance that visitors will return if their initial experience is one of the sort of welcome that transcends demography and concentrates on simple humanity.

Many churches, especially those well-placed geographically, have visitors who are looking for a spiritual home. Alas, very few churches have major success at turning those visitors into valued members of the community. Books about how to grow churches narrate all sorts of techniques to encourage people to return after an initial visit – making sure they are talked to, providing decent hospitality, finding a point of contact that “hooks them”. However the single most important factor other than the worship experience itself is also the hardest to engineer. Consciously or unconsciously any potential new congregation member will ask themselves the question: “Can I see myself here?”

At least part of the church growth narrative presently being deployed to “rescue failing churches” is in danger of becoming focused on what is “attractional” rather than “attractive.” I am all in favour of new initiatives, but to each of these initiatives I would want to ask a fairly fundamental question: is the Gospel at its heart?

It’s a bit late for 2023, but barring the Parousia or human-induced Armageddon there will be a 2024, so to those of you who control the liturgy in your parish, here’s the news: there are authorised forms of service for Holy Week from the Anglican Church of Australia Liturgical commission. They’re pretty good.

In order to get from off-putting church to attractive church, a congregation (and their priest) must be prepared to have an honest critical look at what they do week by week, and be prepared to change those things most likely to send a visitor or invitee running.

Signage is a pretty basic indicator that a church a) exists, b) is open and c) is or is not likely to be welcoming. A good or bad sign can make the difference between whether a person considers walking into your church or not.

How often does your parish community celebrate the Eucharist? And would your parish benefit from additional weekday opportunities to give thanks to the Lord our God?

Church buildings are, first and foremost, places where people gather together to pray. How many days per week is there an advertised opportunity to gather for prayer in your local church?

What to do if your parish or church community wants to have good music but operates on a shoestring budget and cannot afford to pay anyone to lead it?

Most parishes do not have the financial resources to fund professional singers, even if they wished to do so. Many, however, will seek to employ one musician, often an organist, as Director of Music.