A Church Attraction Strategy

Note: I wrote this for other pastors last Fall, after we did our "What are people looking for in a church?" series..  Now I want to share it with you.  I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

- Dave

Like many country churches, ours is figuring out how to manage a seismic shift in our community.  Our area’s population is dwindling; farms are larger, with fewer families; new residents aren’t related to old residents, they work elsewhere, and therefore have no natural connections here; and two entire generations went to college, found out there was more to the world, and moved on.   Sound familiar?  

For most of our 156-year history, the primary growth drivers have been sexual reproduction and social inertia.  People who knew they should go to church had babies who knew they should go to church.  But thanks to this shift (and others nationally), those aren’t working anymore.   We have to think about attraction.  

When I consider the idea of a church being attractive, what come to mind are the strategies that the American Church Growth Industry has pushed: change your music, change your messages, de-emphasize sin, untuck your shirt, and watch the people flood in.   Sure, I would like different coffee, but these don’t feel like strategies at all; they’re fads.  And fads didn’t make people flock to Jesus.  In fact, what draws people today is similar to what drew people in Jesus’ day.  And the same things keep them away, too.  

--

This fall I asked our congregation to do some homework: Ask someone from a different generation than yours – older or younger:

• What do you care about seeing in a church? And, 
• What makes a church unattractive?

I’m thrilled that about half the congregation took up the assignment.  They found that most people want to experience:

Lots of people – especially younger people

• Loving & welcoming people
• Good music and solid Biblical preaching

And they also heard what turns people off: 

• Unwelcoming/hypocritical/judgmental/gossipy people
• Poor sermons and/or worship service

These categories make up about 80% of responses, and it’s no surprise that they almost perfectly align with what general surveys reveal.  According to MissionInsite (which I helped the District provide this summer), what do people in the Heartland consistently look for in a church?  Warm and friendly encounters and quality sermons.   What are the biggest turnoffs?   Judgmental and unwelcoming people.  Big cities, small cities, college towns and rural townships: the same things attract and the same things repel.  

This is great news!  Not only did we get consistent answers from people (Phew!), but we got answers that don’t require elaborate schemes to act upon. We got actionable data!  

--

God gives the increase, but there are some very New Testament methods to making our church attractive – or, at least, keeping it from being unattractive.  

First, Focus on welcoming and integrating people.  The phrase “Fold people in” comes to mind.   How are people greeted – newcomers and long-timers alike? How many different people interact with them during their time at our church? How do we include them in our communication?  How do we find out their needs?  What opportunities will they have to serve?   People are looking for that.   Every church can strategize it.  

Second, Preachers: Preach.  I was amazed that “Quality sermon” is a Top 2 consideration with people looking for a church everywhere.  People are hungry for the Word, hungry for truth, hungry for ballast.  Regional President Steve Krier told me, “Sure, pastoring is more than preaching; but it’s not less than preaching.”   Preachers, there’s not a whole lot we can control, but we can own this.  Give people substance.  Solid food.   Challenging perhaps, but satisfying.   People are looking for this.   Every pastor can give his all to it.   

Third, Repudiate hypocrisy, gossip, etc.  The younger someone is, the more cynical they’re likely to be.  They will notice hypocrisy.  They will be repulsed by gossip.  We can’t get away with these.  “Does a Christian’s Tuesday afternoon look like their Sunday morning?”   People will know.  “If I show up at church, will the Christians talk about me at the coffee shop?”   People will know.  The smaller the community, the more damage hypocrisy and gossip can do.   People are desperate for sanctuary.  Every church can provide it.  

And fourth, Show up.  It’s an old joke that if everyone showed up on a Sunday morning, we wouldn’t have enough chairs.  Yet everyone – everyone – loves seeing a full house.  I don’t know, but perhaps the answer to seeing more people in church, and to having better music, is to have everyone there and singing together.  Maybe I’m crazy.  But people say they like it.  Every church can make it happen.    

--

These ideas might not sound exciting, but they thrill me for one reason: they are attainable, even for country churches like mine.   They just require a little sacrifice; and humility; and patience.  We serve a God who – in His infinite grace – can give those.  

Will a commitment to these “strategies,” and a simultaneous commitment to prayer, make the difference for us?  Only God knows that.  But why should that matter?  I’ll control what I can control, and encourage our church to control what we can control.  I’d rather be faithful: sacrificial, humble, patient, and not anxious.  And leave the rest up to God.    

With encouragement,
Pastor Dave