YA'LL COME BACK NOW, HERE?

by

John D. McArthur, Jr.

A recent poll indicates a renewed interest in religion. Christian bookstores are filled with books on how to tap this interest and make us "User Friendly Churches". Trouble is, most of these books are written for larger congregations than the vast majority of churches in our country.

The following are suggestions any church, regardless of her size, could use to keep visitors. Using the word "VISITOR", let us consider these concepts.

By vision, I do not mean goal setting and strategy, but a simpler idea of looking around and seeing what you have. What does the visitor see?

Most small churches have limited parking. Instead of expanding the lot, a less expensive approach would be to have regular attenders leave the spaces closest to the building open. This will usually provide ample parking for visitors. Although no cost is involved, it will take extensive training and encouragement to convince some members of the importance of parking down the street, car pooling or walking to church instead of taking their regular spot next to the front door.

I have seen visitors, who usually arrive shortly before church begins, cruise a full parking lot, not find a convenient place to park and drive away.

Once a visitor finds a place to park, how do they get in? Every door should be unlocked and at least one entrance modified with a wheelchair ramp. Even if no one at church currently needs the ramp, the invitation will be clearly marked that the disabled are welcome (and many of the older members will appreciate the easier access!).

When visitors enter your building, where do they go? Most members could find their way around blind-folded, but to a visitor, even the smallest church building is a maze of hallways and doors. A diagram of the building with everything labeled is a very appropriate addition near the main entrance. Signs and arrows should fill the hallways and doors. Even hand made signs are better than nothing!

One note of caution: when labeling classrooms, use words everybody can understand. I made the mistake once of putting signs on doors with words like "Beginners" and "Primary". This was totally confusing to the visitor (and even some members). It is better to assign classroom doors names like "4 & 5 year olds" and "1st & 2nd grade".

Of course, nothing can take the place of human instruction. There should be someone at the main entrances before every service to help visitors find their way around. One Sunday my family and I arrived fifteen minutes before Sunday School was to begin at a church where I was going to preach a trial sermon. When we walked in the front door, the lights were off and no one was around. We stood in the foyer for a few minutes until we heard voices down the hall. Eventually, we found someone who could tell us where to go. We had to stay that morning because I was preaching. What would a visitor do?

Visitors will remember your respect of their time. How often have we become so busy talking with our friends at church or waiting for brother So and So that five or more minutes are wasted? It might not seem like much to us, but it sends a clear message to the visitor. If we do not seem anxious to start, what we are doing must not be significant.

The other side of the coin, ending on time, is equally important. People today are very time conscious and have things they want to do or places they have to go. Do we want to lose visitors just because we can't tell time?

Some congregations enjoy making visitors stand up during worship. Others put blue ribbons on them. Most visitors shudder at the thought of this and would rather remain anonymous until they are ready to speak up.

Ideally, the ones who brought the visitor will introduce their guest to others in the church. This is less threatening and means so much more to a first time visitor. For those times when a visitor walks in off the street, someone (perhaps the Sunday School teacher or greeter at the door) should introduce the guest to someone else at church.

Everyone must take on the responsibility of finding an unfamiliar face on Sunday and introducing yourself. There is always the potential of introducing yourself to someone who has been coming for the last six months but, isn't it better to be a little embarrassed now than to have a visitor never come back?

As a child, I always thought Eutychus fell asleep and out of the third floor window because someone turned the thermostat up too high. Even though that idea is theologically and historically wrong, the extent we are able to control the environment of worship can largely determine whether a visitor will return.

Why should a little thing like a thermostat control our outreach? Maybe we can learn something from the world that can help us reach the world?

Who will make sure the doors are unlocked and the lights turned on? Are the ones serving at the table lined up before church starts or is there a mad rush to find enough workers? Who will see that the thermostat is set correctly? Will there be greeters at the door this week and will they know what to do?

Too often administrative details are treated as minor and we just assume someone will pick up the slack. We shy away from organization because we like to think of ourselves as "informal" or "friendly". However, those two attributes have nothing to do with organization. Organization has more to do with our readiness to welcome visitors.

Finally,

What kind of follow-up do you have for visitors? When the visitor leaves your building they are not thinking about theology or doctrine. Rather, they are thinking about the people they met. They are deciding if your church might be the place their children could grow up in and if they could develop lasting relationships.

A personal letter (not computer generated) from the preacher is always appropriate. It should be brief, warm and encouraging. The point is to invite the visitor back.

An interesting trend in follow-up is to bring the visitor some baked goods (cookies, bread, etc.) during the week. This would require organization and workers. The purpose is not to get in their home and evangelize but to drop the gift off at the door and personally thank them for attending your church.

If you were a visitor at your church, would you want to come back?