People who come to your church for the first time have made a serious investment of two or three hours of their time, overcoming anxiety about going to a new place, and trusting their kids to complete strangers. Churches must reciprocate by making their own efforts to make their environments welcoming and comfortable.
- Within a few seconds after walking through the church’s door, all guests know if this is the kind of environment where they want to stay or even return.
- Lobby furniture tells guests the kind of audience the church wants to attract and keep. If the furniture in the entrance is old, then it tells newcomers that the target audience for the church is older people. Think about the restaurants you go to – what atmosphere do they create at their entrance and what kind of clientele they are attracting?
- De-clutter the building by going through the hallways and rooms looking for things that are not needed and/or which distract people. Change the furniture, wall hangings, and anything else you have so that everything is appeals to your target audience.
- A good way to make all this happen is to recruit four or five 20- and 30-somethings and ask them to give serious feedback about the decor of the church.
- Newcomers are the people coming in your doors who are looking all around trying to figure out where to go. Greeters should be actively looking for newcomers and immediately stepping forward to talk with them.
- Ask newcomers for their phone number or email. If they do, then have a task force that calls them Sunday or Monday to thank them for coming. That’s old fashioned but it works. People like a personal touch.
Lead On!
Steve
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