The other day I had some spare time between errands, and I decided to play church tourist. I ended up taking 10 minute walk-ins of two fairly-prominent evangelical churches in the area, and met the staff that were going about their weekday church business. At each house of worship, I introduced myself to the first staff member I could find, and asked some basic questions about the history of the church and asked to tour the facilities.

What I experienced at each church could not have been more different!

I got the same basic tour at both churches, but the hospitality I received severally skewed my impressions. At one church, I was warmly greeted with energy and enthusiasm by the church secretary. She answered all my questions with a beaming smile, and spoke very proudly about her church family and the great things that are going on there. She gave me a quick tour of the building, letting me ask additional questions about the venue, and even letting me poke around a few corners. When it was all done, she said “God bless you”, and even spoke some positive things about her interactions with my own church.

At the other place, it was the exact opposite. The person I met made me feel like I was interrupting an especially important moment in time (I wasn’t). Her tour was short-worded, and the look on her face gave me the impression that she thought I was snooping. She made one somewhat backhanded comment about my church, and responded defensively when I asked about the ministries her church offered.

As I walked away, my impressions were pretty set as to the makeup and vitality of each church. But then I caught myself - I had only talked to one person at each place, and surely I didn’t have an accurate picture of the inner attitudes of the church, right?

Wrong. Every time you interact with someone interested in coming to church, your attitude and countenance forms lasting opinions of what your church is really like. It doesn’t matter that you are only one person. To the person you are talking to, you ARE the entire church. You are the pastor, you are the greeter, and you are the coffee they might have tried after the service.

If we are excited to be here, then others will be excited to be here. And if we have a sour attitude, then people will assume that Living Faith Fellowship is a sour place to be.

It was a very convicting half hour, as I realized that everything I know about those church’s corporate health and inner momentum (positive or negative) was based on only one person. The next time you are telling people about your church, remember that your energy and enthusiasm will give a lasting impression about the makeup of Living Faith Fellowship.