Last Sunday I made a return visit to a church that features a traditional service. I wanted to hear their new pastor, who is excellent. He uses an effective mix of thinking material, laughter and silent moments. Delivering his message from memory, he truly communicates with the parishioners. He also ministered to me. 

My only problem was that the church has gone back to its old ways. Not surprisingly, the congregation is getting older and smaller.

First, they have reverted back to the worship time being the "music director show." The service is centered around what the music director does—and what he does is not very good.

Second, while the choir had a pleasing sound I couldn't understand a word of the anthem. Fortunately, they printed the words in the bulletin so I could read them.

Third, this church has returned to a worship format that begins with a whimper and ends with death. They start the service at the appointed hour with announcements and then do the prelude—how strange. Then they end with prayer requests, which in a congregation of this age relate mostly to the infirm and dying. Then, they sang one verse of the hymn, "Spirit of God Descend Upon My Heart," and we went out into the world to minister to the people around us.

Actually, we went out with feelings of desperation about the world around us. The church had quit this worship format a number of years ago but, for whatever reasons, have resurrected it. It's not hard to envision the factors that led to that decision, but it doesn't make it any less sad. 

Had I been a visitor in the 25-to-40 age group, I certainly wouldn't come a second time. What a downer. 

Churches must awaken to the fact that we live in a different age. Yes there are people who will worship no matter what the service is like, but they are people who have been going to church for years and likely come out of habit. We need to minister to the new generations and we can't reach them in the same old ways.

Perhaps the criteria that I use to evaluate a church can help you evaluate your own from a visitor’s point of view. I ask the following questions from the moment I arrive until I leave: