MIM Ezine, August 23, 2007

-- "Attracting, Retaining, & Returning: Bringing New People Into Your Church," Part 1 of 3 - Attracting People to Your Church, by Teena M. Stewart

-- Book Review: "Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change," by Mark Lau Branson, reviewed by Tom Hanover.

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Where Christianity was once the cornerstone of American culture, it has now been replaced with multiple religious belief systems. For a variety of reasons, Christianity is looked down upon and, therefore, churches are no longer the draw for a spiritually seeking public. This means that in order to reach unchurched people for Christ, we must be intentional about what we do.

Some have found new approaches to reaching non-Christians. Neil Cole, author of the Organic Church, believes we are most effective when we go out into the world to reach people, rather than expecting them to come to us and adapt to our church culture.

Many in church ministry are realizing this, but are still dependent on a centralized location (the church building). The feeling is that to make such radical changes would require them to alter the way they think about the way they worship. They may even take the attitude that, “We are in our current church paradigms for the long haul. And since we already have the building and the programs in place, to make this kind of drastic change is just asking too much of the congregation.”

It is important to rethink what you are doing. Ask yourself: Is the approach you are currently using to recruit new members really working? How do you know whether it is or not? Reflect for a minute on how many new people your church reached for Christ this week

If you are serious about increasing the number of members who not only attend worship services, but also will become active in other ministries in the church, you and your congregation will have to make a drastic change in the way you approach this objective. Is your congregation willing to consider and implement alternative, yet effective, ways to bring people into your building? Do you think it is too late for your church to change?

Though you may go out and enthusiastically seek members, you are much more likely to draw people to your church if they are actively seeking a church home. Considering this as your goal then, there are a few points that you should consider.

Nothing beats the personal approach. Our church bulletin has a tear off “Welcome Form” that visitors can complete. (I will cover more on this form in my next article), but one of the questions asked is how the visitors heard about and eventually came to our church. Some of the options they can check include personal invitation, yellow pages, web site, newspaper advertising, and others. Most people indicate that they came through a personal invitation. A warm smile, personal welcome, hand shake or some other form of acknowledgement is important and goes a long way to making visitors welcome in your church. It is also important to impress on your members to personally invite friends and family, even total strangers.

One of your best advertising investments is Yellow Page advertising. People seeking churches often look in the phone book first so make your ad as professional as possible. And be sure it indicates your church's style of worship, whether it is denomination or nondenominational, contact information, the names of the pastors and youth minister along with key ministries sponsored by the church.

In terms of church promotions, mailers are not as effective as other methods, and can be expensive. But appealing handouts for special sermon series that provide the church's name, contact information, location with a map and worship times can be left at the local Christian bookstores and other appropriate places around town. Or you might even want to have church business cards available for church members to hand out. These are great because they fit easily into a wallet or purse so people can have them with them at all times.

Your signage can even affect whether people want to enter your church or not. An unprofessionally painted sends a message that more of the same will be found inside. A billboard style sign with quotes or sayings meant to draw people in may instead make them see your church as hokey and may discourage rather than attract them. If space is available, the sign should provide the times of service and a contact number.

In some cases attractive signage can send a positive message, but may not be used effectively. One church I am familiar with spent nearly $500 on attractive seasonal banners that were installed on light posts in the church parking lot, but were not visible from the road. Perhaps those who initiated them felt people would see them as festive, or perhaps they believed the banners would compel people to attend their seasonal services. But the only information the banners contained were the worship hours. Nothing else. Overall, the banners received mixed reviews. Some in the congregation felt they were an attractive outreach tool. Others felt they were too churchy. Before spending the money on this form of advertising the church should have asked, is this the best way to use our financial resources when it is so costly and there are so many other options out there?

Before people ever set foot in your church, they will sometimes examine your building, the exterior, the surrounding grounds and, in some cases, the landscaping. Is it well kept? Does it look dated?. Most churches have tight finances and limited funds for updates. But just like any house on the market, your building needs to have curb appeal. And, the less churchy your building looks, the more it may appeal to the unchurched public. Will that be enough to draw them in? Probably not, but it might help.

There are many more techniques and tools available to attract people to your church, so keep your eyes open to what other churches are doing and pick up some new ideas.

In our next issue I will be covering the many ways to retain members who have an interest in being involved in your church, and how you can provide them with the spiritual guidance they are seeking.

Teena Stewart is a published writer, a ministry consultant and coach, and a product developer for DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion. Her new book Successful Small Groups from Concept to Practice (Beacon Hill) is scheduled for release in November, 2007. To learn more about Teena, her writing, coaching and consulting services, click here. Email Teena at smartwords@sbcglobal.net

Last month I introduced the concept of the broken stained glass window theory based on the writings of Rudoph Guiliani and Michael Levine. (Check it out HERE)

The broken window theory is so named because in the beginning it was about how fixing broken windows can be used to reduce crime. The theory holds that apparently trivial things like broken windows in abandoned buildings directly leads to a serious deterioration of neighborhoods. Someone who wouldn’t normally throw a rock at an intact building is more easily tempted to break a second window in a building that already has one broken window.

Applying those same theories to leadership in the church leads to a broken stained glass window theory. The appearance of broken stained glass windows sends the message to the world that the church just does not care. Or it may be a choir that sounds apathetic, greeters who don’t smile, and a lack of signage that keeps visitors guessing which door to open.

First, we must establish the difference between church and business. We must decide who the consumer of the church is and who is in charge of meeting the consumer’s needs.

I am not seeking to figure out who the poor are or who the “underserved” are who need evangelism or ministry in a specific geographic area. That is important, but it is not my focus here. My focus here is the church members and leaders themselves. Are they consumers or owners? Owners are responsible for a company’s reputation, image and ability to meet the needs of the consumer.

The difficulty is that many church members see themselves as consumers, instead of the owners. The church membership often feels that the staff and various programs are in place to serve them. It makes the mission confusing. If we picture the church as a pizza business, we spend all day making pizzas. At the end of the day we eat all of the leftover pizzas ourselves. As long as the members and leaders of the church see themselves as customers instead of owners, it is impossible to discover all the broken stained glass windows. That in itself is a huge broken stained glass window.

The church must be re-educated to see themselves not as consumers, but as owners and this should happen from the very beginning, when one joins the church. Basically, one loses privilege because with membership comes the responsibility to take care of the consumer. Once ownership is clear, then we can decide together what our values are and what we want as our image. It also helps us to have a clear focus on our customer service. This then should help the church leaders, employees, search together for broken stained glass windows.

Let me pause to clarify what I am saying about this concept of members being owners and not consumers. Everyone at every age needs ministry. Customers need ministry. Employees need ministry. Owners need ministry. Leaders need ministry. It would be a wide open stained glass window if a church earns the reputation for being friendly to their customers, but shows little interest in helping their employees who are hurting and in need of comfort.

Relationship building is a critical responsibility of the church, if we are to make authentic, passionate, fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Relationship building is as important to the church as medicine is to a hospital. The more relationships an individual can build in the church the more they will experience quality ministry in a time of need. The pastor as leader must help customers move from being visitors to becoming members, or from being consumers to being owners. That movement will only happen through a variety of relationships within the church. Obviously, small groups are critical to this process and everyone in the church must be encouraged to grow in grace through small group relationships.

The key to success in ministry is often a balance between the extremes and balance. Members learn they are not the customers, but are instead owners of the ministry. At the same time, members also learn the importance of relationships; not only for the purpose of ministry to the hurting, but also for the obvious effect relationships have in helping us be all that Jesus has empowered us to be as new creations. The better the balance of time and energy between serving customers and building disciples through relationships, the healthier and more successful the church will be at both outreach and making disciples. Therefore, church leaders must be alert for broken stained glass windows in both of these critical areas of ministry.

Broken stained glass windows are about perception. How do people feel when they walk through the church doors? What does the building say about how we care? How are both customers and owners greeted? How are people helped when they call the church with a problem or question? Do the people answering the phone know enough about the church organization to help the person on the other end of the line? Can the church meet and even go beyond the expectations of the consumer? For most consumers, the answers to these questions will be a resounding “yes” if the church leaders have paid attention to the small details.

I have a memory of an experience early in my ministry. The country church that I was sent to in my first appointment had a bush that blocked the sidewalk to the front door. The door was in need of painting. Bats, which lived in the steeple, left their waste around the front door. And nothing around the entrance said, “Welcome!” When I challenged the Trustees about making some improvements, the one man who ran the church said something similar to this. “Everyone knows we are here. If they want to come in, it isn’t going to make any difference what the front door looks like.” I think of that speech so often because in less than a year later that same man closed the doors for good when they voted to stop being a church. He could not see all the broken stained glass windows that discouraged visitors from attending the church.

Rev. Dr. David Chivington, District Superintendent Assistant for the United Methodist Church in West Ohio. "Chiv" holds degrees from Taylor University, United Theological Seminary (Dayton), and Perkins School of Theology (SMU). He and his wife, Roxie, have four children and four grandchildren.

(Editor’s note: Check in next month when Dr. Chivington concludes his series on “Broken Stained Glass Windows.”)

I’ve been out of commission the past two or three weeks due to a broken toe I sustained while hiking in the Alaskan wilderness. My group was about 15 miles away from camp when we were attacked by a 12-foot Kodiak bear. I realized my group’s only chance for survival was to use myself as a distraction while everyone else ran for safety. As I was charging the bear, I tripped over a 12-foot Kodiak log and broke my toe

This, of course, is an outright lie and we all know it. The log was 13 feet if it was an inch. No, the whole story is a shameless fabrication, but it still sounds better than “I broke it climbing over a baby gate when I was racing for the phone” which is, in fact, what actually happened.

The main problem for a man with any visible injury is that sooner or later someone is going to ask him how it happened. Every guy knows there are both acceptable and unacceptable answers to this question. The criteria for acceptability pivots around the issue of manliness. Thus, any explanation with the words “Kodiak bear” is going to sound better than one with the words “baby gate.”

When confronted with the injury question, a man should only render a tough-guy answer such as he got wounded in a fight, or while playing a sport or better yet, in a fight while playing a sport. Or even better, in a fight with a Kodiak bear while playing a sport.

Men should also note that any acceptable reason for an injury is immediately ruined if the injury happened while you were interacting with a woman.

“I broke my arm in a fight” sounds much better than “I broke my arm in a fight with a girl.”

“I busted my ankle playing basketball” sounds immeasurably better than “I busted my ankle playing basketball with my 8-year-old niece.”

I’ll admit it is somewhat surprising to me that accidental gun injuries are considered by many to be acceptable manly injuries. Yes, in the case that you accidentally did yourself in (“I wonder if this trigger-thingy works?”), your friends would indeed talk in lowered tones about how manly you were.

After that they would regale each other for hours with numerous stories of other not-so-bright-things you did in your life. Meanwhile, you would have to spend all eternity explaining to everyone just how it was that you got there ahead of schedule.

Please keep in mind that I didn’t invent any of these rules for manliness. No, these are well-worn, time-tested laws of nature, just like gravity, lunar tides and bad breath on the first date. These things are going to happen whether we like it or not.

Pain is a difficult thing to deal with, though. I remember being in the doctor’s office as the nurse drew blood from my newborn daughter for some necessary tests. I gritted my teeth as my little girl’s face registered her surprise and then pain, and I would have gladly traded places with her without a second thought.

I’m told this is not an uncommon sentiment among parents. Over the years, I must have heard a half dozen stories of parents who drowned while attempting to save their children from a deadly undertow.

Such is the nature of love. Such is the nature of a parent’s heart. Such is the nature of God’s love for mankind. There is no pain you experience that the Lord is not aware of and does not care about. It is his nature to love you as his child.

And speaking of children, I have to go play basketball with my 8-year-old niece, I mean, um, with a Kodiak bear.

Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change

David Cooperrider developed Appreciative Inquiry in his doctoral program at Case Western Reserve in the 1980s. Since then the discipline has grown, mostly in the organizational development field.

Branson applies these insights to ministry leadership. Branson is the Homer L. Goddard Associate Professor of Ministry of the Laity at Fuller Theological Seminary. The book grows out of his consulting with First Presbyterian Church, Altadena, California, during pastoral transition.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) features creating new images that energize and focus a group of people on a new vision. Instead of solving problems and overcoming obstacles, AI leaders fasten their attention on what is working well. By raising questions about strengths, successes, and accomplishments; the leader can help the group reframe its understanding of its challenges in a positive, more hopeful light.

Branson applies these techniques to the life of a typical church. His experience offers insight as he analyzes the elements of AI as they are implemented in the church’s life. He demonstrates some remarkable progress as the church redefines itself during the transitions and assessments between pastors.

Branson also reflects on the impact of AI in the American Japanese culture of the church. He uses this opportunity to reflect on several ethnic cultures and report useful research.

As a seminary professor, Branson also features excellent review of Biblical and theological materials to undergird the application of AI to the life of a church. The Biblical images he identifies become excellent resources for the AI leader who is helping a congregation name new images for mission and ministry.

This book reflects the depth of Branson’s research, yet it is accessible to any leader. Branson includes practical examples of how to lead a group with the insights of AI. He provides sample schedules and scripts to use in meetings and retreat settings. The ministry leader engaged in leading congregation change will find this work a useful resource.

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DBMIM Ezine- August 23, 2007