Who is watching your online services?

Many churches report that the number of people who watch their worship services on social media or online outnumber those who attended services before Covid-19. If this is true in your case, do you know who these people are? Many churches try to capture information on the guests who attend their physical services so why wouldn't we want to know who the people are who attend the services online?

One of the keys to a growing church is developing a connection with people who show an interest in your ministry. That connection cannot happen if you do not know who those individuals are and how to make contact with them. There is a reason they are tuning in to your services, especially if they watch the services regularly. Something about your service speaks to them. This gives your church a window of opportunity to minister to them.

For too long the church has practiced a front-door ministry. We opened the doors of the church each week and invited people to join us. The problem is that few did. Still, we stuck to the old strategy that worked years ago and saw our numbers continues to shrink. Maybe one good thing that will come out of this pandemic is that churches will begin rethinking how to do ministry. Part of this strategy must include taking the church to the people, which, by the way, is what the Great Commission tells us to do anyway. This is going to require churches to consider how to best do that given their communities and the people in their congregations who are involved in ministry.  This new paradigm of ministry will not feel comfortable for many in the church, but it is a change that, in my opinion, will not be optional.

As many of you know, in addition to being a minister I am an auctioneer. Covid-19 has caused the auction world to change. In many states live auctions are still not permitted due to crowd size and social distancing. In order to survive many of these auction companies have gone to online auctions. This involved a big learning curve and a financial investment. Some have learned that their business has actually improved since making the change. I've been told by some that they will never return to live auctions. Others refuse to make the change for various reasons, but one of the reasons is that they don't want to give up what they've always known. It's too early to make a prediction, but they may not have any choice if they want to survive.

Churches are in the same situation. When this pandemic is over I'm not sure churches will be able to return to their old normal ways of doing things. Now is the time to begin considering what new ways of ministry God might be leading your church into and begin taking the steps to get there. Those churches that are able to make the necessary changes will be the ones God will use to further His kingdom.

What message is your church sending?

Col. Harlan Sanders life is a true life rags to riches story.  During his life he had a number of jobs none of which were successful. It was not until he was in his 60s that he found success with Kentucky Fried Chicken. For the rest of his life he was a popular spokesman for the franchise even after he sold it. Today, the company that owns KFC has used various actors to portray Sanders in their ads. Personally, I've found the commercials offensive to the memory of the founder of this company and haven't eaten at KFC since they began airing.

Dr. Pepper is another company that has turned me off with their commercials. That is my favorite soft drink, but I haven't had but one or two bottles since they began running an ad with some screeching guy promoting the drink. This commercial doesn't offend me; it just seems dumb and annoying. Instead of making me want to drink a Dr. Pepper I don't want to take the chance of running into Lil' Sweet!

What message does your church send to people, especially to those who might be looking for a church to attend? First-time guests decide whether or not they are going to return within the first few minutes of arriving at your property, so those first impressions are important.

The appearance of your property is the first thing most guests are going to notice. Is the lawn mowed? Is the front of the building clean and attractive, or is the paint chipped and falling off the front door? Are the shrubs trimmed and the flower beds weeded? Are there people at the entrance to greet them and give directions. Is there good signage to direct people where to go? Is your church telling guests it is glad to have them, or is your message one that says that this church is for our members who know where everything is and how we do things?

Your community ministry also sends a message. Is your church active in the community ministering to the needs that exist there, or is it primarily focused on itself? A friend of mine has grown disenchanted with her church because of its inward focus. Although this is a larger church, it has little involvement with the community. It is constantly conducting fund raising efforts to pay off or purchase things for the church, but it does little to serve those outside the church. As a result, many have left this church, and my friend doesn't attend it as she once did. Her family is discussing visiting other churches.

The church has been given the greatest message of all to share with the world. It is a message of grace and forgiveness. It is a message of a God who wants to have a personal relationship with every individual for all eternity. But, before we can share that message we have to deal with the message our church is giving. When our message is right we earn the privilege of sharing God's message with others. If our church's message is wrong we'll never have the opportunity to share God's message.

Greet your neighbor

I know I will ruffle a few feathers with this post, but I want to address something that annoys me every time I visit a church that does it. I'm talking about the time when we're told to "Greet your neighbor." For the next five, ten, or even fifteen minutes we walk around shaking hands with people we've already spoken to. Exactly what does this add to a worship service?

Studies consistently show that most church members don't enjoy it. Neither do most first-time guests. Yet, churches continue to do it. Why? So they can continue to believe they are "the friendliest church in town?" I've never felt it made a church friendly when people had to be told it's now time to be nice to one another.

In yesterday's post I mentioned the importance of having a flow to the service. This welcoming time is a major disruption to that flow. In some churches it takes forever to get everyone back to their seats.

There is no question that many churches need to improve their hospitality, but this is not the way to do it. It feels forced. I want people to speak to me because they are genuinely glad I'm there, not because it's the next item in the bulletin.

Where there is no vision....

A few days ago I was talking with a friend about the church he attends. His church is in a different denomination than the one in which I serve, but the problems he mentioned sounded very familiar. Their church has struggled for the past few years meeting its budget. They find it difficult to bring in new members or to attract younger people.

When I questioned him about his church's vision he admitted the church had never, to his knowledge, pursued a vision for ministry. In fact, he said he had been waiting for the pastor to present a vision for ministry. We began to talk about vision and how vision discernment isn't just the work of the pastor but should involve others within the church.

Earlier in the same week I was talking to an associate minister in another church about some of the challenges that church is facing. This church does have a vision statement, but it is a very generic statement. It certainly is not one that would be specific to that church. I pointed out that such a generic statement really doesn't give much guidance to ministry in the church, and it's impossible to ever know if and when that vision is achieved.

Both of these churches, one smaller and the other much larger, are both struggling because they have no clear vision that actually influences what the church is doing. When I talk about vision I am referring to a statement that lends itself to easily identifiable goals and steps that will lead to reaching those goals which in turn achieves the vision.

Here's an example I often use in workshops I lead. Let's assume a church has discerned a God-given vision of reaching one percent of its unchurched community over the next five years. Further, let's assume the population of that community is 20,000 and we've determined that half of those people, 10,000, is unchurched. That means our vision is to reach 100 new people for Christ over the next five years.

From that we can begin to set certain goals that we need to achieve that will enable us to fulfill that vision. Some of those goals may include developing small groups to reach out into the community, starting new Sunday school classes, identifying and training people to lead these small groups and classes, developing better ways to greet first-time guests and creating an effective follow-up system to ensure that those guests do not fall through the cracks. A church might need to check as to whether it has sufficient space to handle a hundred new people and sufficient parking, and some goals might have to be set to address these space issues. As these various goals are established, Key Result Areas (KRAs) can be identified that will break each of these goals down into manageable actions. As the church intentionally works through these KRAs it is working towards the achievement of each goal and eventually to the fulfillment of the vision.

The key word here is intentional. No longer is the church drifting from week to week hoping that someday something good will happen. It is now actively pursuing a God-given dream, and such intentional ministry will always beat drifting if a church wants to impact its community.

As I prepare to retire from my current ministry one of my prayers is that I will be able to help churches ready to become more intentional in its ministry to those outside the church. If I can of service to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Making your guests feel welcomed

As I mentioned yesterday, my wife and I spent the previous week vacationing in Panama City Beach. We've gone there nearly every year for many years. We enjoy the beaches, and there are several restaurants that have been our favorites for years. I love fresh seafood, and the food and service at these places are always excellent.

However, returning home was another story. After driving three hours we stopped at a chain well-known for their breakfasts. We've eaten there before and had a pleasant experience, but that was not the case this time. Our waitress never returned to the table once our meals were brought out. No refills on coffee, no asking how things were, no bill. I finally went to the cash register to pay, and our waitress asked if I had my bill. I told her she had never brought me one, and she just laughed.

Several hours later we stopped for lunch at another well-known chain. It wasn't the cleanest restaurant I've been in. Even though it was not a rush time, half of the tables had not been cleaned. After waiting for several minutes the manager finally came by and asked if anyone had taken our drink order. He took the drink order, and our waitress soon came for our meal order. The table behind me kept asking her for things he had ordered that she had never brought. My wife's drink was finally brought out, but mine never came until several minutes later, and it was wrong. She took it back and got into an argument with whoever fills the drink orders over my drink. After several more minutes went by and my drink and our food never arrived we got up and told her to just cancel our order.

There are several learning opportunities from these two events. We could focus on a lack of proper training, poor management that wasn't aware of what was happening in their restaurants, hiring people with poor attitudes (it was obvious that both our waitresses had attitudes), a lack of good systems, or a host of other issues. But, I think there is a root cause that goes deeper than any of these.

I think the main culprit was that they failed to appreciate their guests. Located near an interstate they may think it's not important to treat their customers well. Millions of people will pass by and some will stop so who cares if any returns because of poor service? While that might work for a while, eventually people will get tired of such shoddy treatment and take their business elsewhere. And, because both of these were chain restaurants, people will transfer the treatment they received at these restaurants to others in the chain.

Does your church appreciate its guests? Have you trained your congregation how to welcome your church guests? Maybe you think it's not necessary since you haven't had any guests in recent years. Did you ever think there might be a reason for that? I once heard a speaker say that there are many churches a person can attend so why would God send first-time guests to your church if you weren't ready to receive them?

As I've posted here before, I am in different churches nearly every week. More than a few of them treat their guests no better than we were treated in those restaurants. I can tell you that we will not be stopping in either of those restaurants again, and first-time guests will not return if they are not welcomed in your church.

Will your church guests return?

From the moment a first-time guest to your church arrives on your property you have seven minutes to make a positive impression. That's how long it takes that person or family to decide whether or not they will return to your church. This means they will make that decision before they experience your worship service or hear the message.

In his excellent book, Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church, Nelson Searcy tells us that everything the guest experiences informs that decision. They are looking at your parking lot, your grass, and the condition of your facility as they drive into your property. The appearance of the front door speaks volumes to the first-time guest. So does such things as signage, the cleanliness of the restrooms, and the security of the child-care area.

As they encounter the greeters and others in the congregation they are looking for people who are genuinely friendly who know how to smile. Unless your front doors open directly into the sanctuary, it is helpful to escort a guest to the sanctuary rather than just point in the general direction of where they will find it.

During the service most guests want to be anonymous. I still see churches have their guests stand up and tell everyone where they are from. If you're still doing that, STOP IT! This isn't 1950 anymore. People despise that when it happens to them. They also don't want to wear a special name badge or ribbon that identifies them as guests. This is not being friendly or welcoming. It is an intrusion into their privacy. They are there to check you out, not to become a spectacle.

Studies have shown that guests also do not like the "stand and greet" time. By the way, these studies also show that a majority of church members don't like it either. As I tell people who attend one of my workshops, if you have to have a time in your program where you tell people it's now time to be nice to one another, you've got problems. "Stand and greet" times are a distraction from the worship service, people don't like them, and they need to be eliminated.

Good hospitality begins with preparation. Greeters should be trained before they are allowed to serve. An honest look at the church property needs to be done and anything that sends a message you don't want first-time guests to receive should be corrected. Sometimes all it takes is pulling some weeds or putting a coat of paint on the front door. Signs pointing to the restrooms and other areas of the church should be posted. Do everything possible to make your guests feel welcomed, and you'll start seeing more of them return.

If you've not read Searcy's book I highly recommend it. In my opinion, it is the best book on the subject of how to treat first-time guests available today.

What every pastor should know

Every writer comes across a book now and then that makes him or her wish they had written that book.  That's the way I feel about What Every Pastor Should Know: 101 Indispensable Rules of Thumb for Leading Your Church by Gary McIntosh and Charles Arn. Even more than wishing I had written the book, I wish the book had been available when I served as a pastor.

One of the great things about this book is that it is not necessarily one you want to sit down and read from front to back. The 101 rules of thumb are grouped together in sections which makes it a convenient guidebook. If you have a church leadership question you can turn to the chapter that covers your question and quickly get the information you need. My recommendation is that you do read the book so you'll know what's covered and so you'll begin to gather information that will help you more effectively lead your church.

For the next few days, I want to share with my readers some teasers from the book so you'll begin to see some of the material covered in this book. The authors go into much more detail about each of these issues than I will cover, but I want to simply demonstrate some of the information that pastors need to know that is discussed in the book.

Many smaller church pastors tell me they have a problem closing the back doors of their churches. They bring new people into the church, but within a matter of months these folks seem to disappear. The book explains that of all the people who drop out of church, 82 percent leave in the first year. Further research has found that many of them leave at the six-month mark and at the twelve-month mark. The authors provide some clear steps the church needs to take to ensure that their new members want to continue to be a part of the church.

The most important reason new members remain at the church is that they have made friends with people in the congregation. It is vital that newcomers have at least seven friends in the church within the first six months. Those who have two or less friends in the church are more likely to drop out at the six month mark.

I know that many smaller churches pride themselves on being the "friendliest church in town." From attending a different church nearly every week I can tell you that many are not. They may be friendly to their fellow members, but I've been in many churches in which my wife and I were totally ignored. If you are seeing a lot of people slipping out the back door there's a good chance that your church is not doing a good job of developing friendships with your newcomers.

Declining churches will only retain about 9 percent of their visitors. Growing churches will average about 21 percent retention, and those churches who make it a high priority to follow-up with their visitors will see more than 30 percent of their visitors become involved in the life of their church.

At this point, it is simple math to determine your visitor retention rate. If it's less than it should be, then you need to determine the causes for that and correct them. Again, this book will provide you with some information to help you increase those figures and close that back door.

Understanding relationships in the small church

The small church is often referred to as a "family church."  Quite often, a handful of families make up the majority of those who attend a church.  I know of one church with four primary families who have made up the bulk of the membership for decades.    Sometimes only one family provides most of the members.  In one church almost three quarters of the members come from one family.  Unfortunately, if there are problems in one of the families there are often problems in the church.

There is another reason these churches are known as family churches.  They function much like a family.  There is often a matriarch or patriarch, sometimes for each family represented in the church, that everyone looks to for guidance.  If these folks are not present, it is not uncommon for decisions to be deferred until they return.  Votes are unlikely to be taken until their input is received.

One of the key principles that pastors need to know about small churches is that everything in these churches is built upon relationships.  All the leadership skills and seminary training in the world will not help a pastor if he or she does not build good relationships with the people in a small church.  Regardless of your title, you are not the leader of that church; the family is, and until you are adopted into the family you will be an outsider.  You are invited to give input and recommendations, but you will not be a leader in that church until the patriarchs and matriarchs adopt you into the family.

I once had a young pastor call asking me to assist him in finding a new church.  He had been at his present church less than a year.  When I asked why he wanted to leave he said that no one wanted to do anything he suggested.  I asked him why he thought they should.  I explained that he had not been at the church long enough to build relationships with the people, he had not yet earned their trust, so he should not be surprised that he was not able to lead them.  This was a church that treated him well and had made a substantial investment in his ministry.  They wanted him to succeed as their pastor, but he refused to spend time with the people and build much needed relationships with them.  A few months later he left for a staff ministry position in another church, and a couple of years after that was out of the ministry.  New pastors must spend substantial time building relationships with the people in the church if they want to enjoy a productive ministry.

It's also important to know that these relationships impact any change efforts that may be suggested.  One of the first things people want to know when a change is suggested is how will it affect the relationships that exist in the church.  A pastor once invited me to speak to the church about its future.  He felt the church may have no more than ten years left if it didn't change some things and begin to reach new people.  I preached and offered to assist them in identifying some changes they might need to make.  After the service we had a Q&A time which went well until one older lady said, "I was excited about what you were saying until you said if we make changes we might lose some of the people we now have.  When you said that, I looked around and didn't see anyone I was willing to give up."  When she said that I noticed several others shaking their heads in agreement, and I knew they were not going to be open to even looking at change.

To build the relationships you need to enjoy a productive ministry in a small church you have to be willing to stay there.  As most of you know, I served as the bivocational pastor of our small church for twenty years.  Our church enjoyed some very positive ministry especially later in my pastorate.  I've often said the only thing I can take credit for was that I stayed there long enough to build relationships with the people.  We learned to trust one another, to forgive one another, and to work together to accomplish wonderful things for the Kingdom of God.  We laughed together, we cried together, we worked together and played together like a family.  We were family.