What do people want from a church?

 At various times churches will conduct surveys to help them determine possible next steps. Such surveys are common when the church is seeking a new pastor or considering building a new facility. They might conduct a survey when thinking about starting a new, significant ministry, Sometimes a church will do a survey just to check how people feel about the church and the direction in which it's going. But, who does the church typically survey? Often, it's the members of the church, and that's a problem.

When we ask the preferences of just our existing members we are ignoring the people we are supposed to reach out to. Even worse, we are perpetuating the way things already are because it's our most loyal members who are most likely to respond to these surveys. This helps ensure that we maintain an inward focus on pleasing our existing members rather than developing an outward focus that would better enable us to reach the unchurched.

How many churches truly know how people in their community think about their church? How many know what unchurched people might want in a church or what a church could do that might appeal to them? In a pastor's conference I led a few years ago I challenged the attendees with these questions. One pastor asked how he could find out what the people in his community wanted or needed from his church. I suggested he ask them.

Specific needs would be different in different communities, but broad-based studies have identified some things that many unchurched people want in a church.

• They want a church that actually believes something. Surveys consistently point out that there is no need for a church to water down the Gospel in an effort to reach people. They want a church that believes something, proclaims something and stands for something.
• They want a safe place for their children to receive religious and spiritual instruction. Churches cannot overemphasize the safety and security of its nursery and children's ministries to today's parents.
• They want a church that is welcoming to all people. Younger generations are much more racially inclusive than older generations have been, and they want to see that in a church they might attend. Singles, single parents, the elderly, persons from different economic levels all want to know if they will be made to feel welcomed to attend.
• They want to see women in leadership. The glass ceiling has been shattered in most areas of life but not always in the church. 
• They want to see the church involved in the community. They are not interested in joining an organization for the sake of joining. They want to be involved in things that make a difference in people's lives and will not be interested in a church whose focus is strictly inward.
• They want churches that address real life's challenges. They are not particularly interested in the history of the Hittites, but they are very interested in how to improve their marriage or help a child suffering from depression.

 There are many very good books that explore this in more detail that I would suggest you read. Like I said above, people in your community may have more specific things they are seeking in a church. The only way to find that out is to begin asking.