Over the last few months I have had the opportunity to visit several different churches. I have attended churches where I have a connection (I know others who attend). One needs to keep in mind that “blanket” statements are never good, but as I attended these various churches, I saw some common threads.
1. Greeters – Every church had someone waiting at the door to greet you. The secondary layer was another person inside ready to greet you and hand you a bulletin.
2. Casual Attendance – I don’t mean people who come once in a while. In every church, without fail, as the service begins, the room is empty and as the service continues, people begin to enter and the room fills up in about 15 minutes.
3. They struggle with how to connect with first time visitors – Of the churches I attended, at this point, only one did it well. Most encourage you to complete a contact card and place it in the offering plate as it passes. I like this format, though often ample time to complete the card is not given. This method allows one to provide the info they want and “participate” in the offering as the plate is passed. The struggle also comes with how to follow up with the firs time visitor.
4. They send mixed signals – In almost all of the churches, the one presenting the message would encourage people to open their Bibles, and then proceed to display the verse on the “big screen”. Why should I open, or even bring, my Bible if you’re going to show it to me anyway?
5. Visitors are often “invisible” – I find this true in “larger churches” (churches with greater than 200 adults attending on a Sunday morning or more than one service). While they claim that relationships are important, except for the greeters, seldom did anyone introduce themselves to us, and often passed by without even a “general” acknowledgement. Smaller churches are more apt to know who the visitors are on a given day and can acknowledge them easier.
I may comment more on some of these items in future posts. What are some common threads that you see in churches?
Valid observations here. I do like that the verse is on the screen as well though. Someone may have forgotten their bible or there could be any number of other reasons that it is helpful. My church does well at welcoming visitors and getting them “plugged in”. I have been in churches that struggle with this and it is so important.
Thanks for commenting Sandy. I agree that having the verse on the screen can be beneficial at times. As I noted, blanket statements never work. Often churches are in their own bubble and forget that others face the same issues and struggles. It’s good to know there are others working through things. After all, we’re all human.