Influence

 the shape of leadership

Guess Who's Coming Over?

Five ways to get your church ready for company

Steve Gladen on April 13, 2016

I don’t know how it is at your house, but when we are having company, we do a lot to get ready. The less they know us, the more we tend to get ready. How are you getting your church ready for company?

How you answer this question says a lot about how much you care. Here are some tips to help you evaluate your churchs preparedness for the company you might receive this weekend. Take a look at these tips, and ask yourself where you rate in each area, on a scale from 1 to 10.

1. Give them a reason to come. When people come to church, what theyre truly looking for is community. Community is a place where people can get acquainted, build connections and experience life together.

How does your church help people form these bonds? There are many ways to create a sense of community, including through small groups or Sunday School.

Regardless of what your church does, you need to rate yourself not only in how people find community, but what happens in the community. True community helps people become spiritually healthy.

Rate your church on how easily people can find a healthy spiritual community.

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2. Get out of your bubble! The only way your church will know and feel passion for assimilating people is for you to model what you want. If the people God sends to your church really matter, you will instill in your people the desire to do the basics as new people come to your church.

What should these basics include? It starts with being friendly. Before you go to your friends after church, go to someone you dont know and say hello. If you notice someone new in the parking lot, walk up and welcome them. Sit in a different place in church each week to force yourself to see and greet new people.

Go up to people who are like you — as well as some who are not like you — and get to know them. Chances are, you will find things in common. In even the simplest gestures, you can show that new people in the church matter.

Rate your efforts to reach out to new people.

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How are you getting your church ready for company? How you answer this question says a lot about how much you care.

3. Make sure they will want to come back. Scripture only records a couple of times when Jesus weeps. One is in John 11:35, when Lazarus dies. The other is in Luke 19:41 as Jesus approaches Jerusalem and considers the spiritual state of the people there.

Jesus cares deeply for people — and we should too. The fact that He is passionate about people, especially lost people, should motivate us to do what it takes to  connect people to Him.

What could be blocking you from making sure this is happening? Do you take time to be sure each new person finds a place of connection? Are you training someone in your church to see that these people receive follow-up attention?

If you knew a particular person might donate $100,000 to your church, would your follow-up be different? My guess is that person wouldnt fall through the cracks.

Rate your church on how well, and with what level of care, your church follows up on new people.

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4. Give clear next steps. At every event, a persons next steps toward participating in the life of the church should be apparent. People are looking for guidance. Unfortunately, churches often leave guests guessing about their next steps.

We should provide illumination for people rather than fogging their journeys. If you dont know the plan, visitors and new members certainly wont have a clue.

Make the path clear so they can easily take those next steps. Spell it out in your printed material, on the Web and in your vebal communication from the pulpit. If you think your directions are clear, have an unsaved friend read them, and ask whether they agree. Church communication often contains jargon that only church people understand. Rate your church on how easy it is for newcomers to follow a clear pathway toward getting connected.

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5. Recognize that they are your future. New churchgoers know other people who could become new churchgoers. Its not rocket science, but its amazing how often we miss this common fact. We want our church to grow, but we dont invest in the people who know other people who need Christ.

The longer most people are in church, the fewer unbelievers they encounter. This truth raises three important points. First, as believers, we need to make a conscious effort to meet unbelievers. Second, dont over-program the church; if people are in church all the time they wont have the time to meet unbelievers. Third, each new person in church has a network they can  influence for Christ.

If we want to reach our area for Jesus, lets network with the people God sends us. When we see one visitor, we should see 51 (one plus the 50 they know). That should provide motivation — and a glimpse into your churchs future! Rate your church on how well you see the future in each visitor.

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Now that you have rated your church on engaging people, review your scores. Consider getting to work on improving a low score. Or focus on a point you feel the Lord wants you to improve, even if it isnt the lowest scoring. Whatever the case, the driving force should be a desire to improve your efforts to reach people for Christ.

We are on this Earth to help people find Jesus and prepare them for eternity. Shouldn’t their experience in the church be the best experience they have on this Earth?
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