limited tastes of eternity

Over the weekend I was chatting with an Anglican bishop about the town I grew up in. At the moment the Anglican church there is fairly small and without a Rector. The strongest church in the town is the Baptist church (which I also grew up in). Thinking about the strengths of this church, the key one seems to be continuity. There are multiple families in the church who have lived in the community and ministered in the church for years. The people running the youth ministry have been there a long time. The church has plenty of newcomers, but seems to be able to retain people. Whether this is planned, or whether the church happens to attract the kind of people who stay in the area, the people there have history. They are a community that has ministered and lived, laughed, cried and forgiven together. They are a foretaste of the kingdom.
So, how can we be a foretaste of the eternal kingdom, when many in our church are 'just passing through'? Is it possible? I hope so, since I'm only going to be at my current church for another year and a half (the diocese moves you on). Still, I'd love your suggestions, since the temporary commitment thing is quite new to me.
My second question is, what would you do, going in as a new rector in this town? What do you do when there is a reasonably strong church (that isn't too dodgy) in your area? Obviously you don't want to undermine their work, but you probably do want some bums on pews too!