{"id":32421,"date":"2022-09-10T16:08:54","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-4-biggest-blind-spots-of-churches\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:08:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:08:54","slug":"the-4-biggest-blind-spots-of-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-4-biggest-blind-spots-of-churches\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4 Biggest Blind Spots of Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"
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90 jiang photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

Mystery Guests Share What Keeps Them From Coming Back<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Aaron Wilson<\/em><\/p>\n

As churches drift into ministry routines, it can be easy to overlook blind spots\u2014aspects of the church service or culture that keep guests from returning.<\/p>\n

For this reason, the company Faith Perceptions sends mystery guests to churches to help them see their service through the eyes of a visitor and understand what can be improved so guests will be more likely to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe send real people from the church\u2019s mission field\u2014people who aren\u2019t regularly attending church anywhere\u2014to visit and share feedback on their experience,\u201d says Melanie Smollen, founder and president of Faith Perceptions, whose company has now deployed mystery guests to more than 10,000 worship services across the nation.<\/p>\n

With over a decade of experience reporting feedback from church mystery visits, Smollen shared four of the biggest blind spots churches face while striving to make an impression on guests.<\/p>\n

Blind Spot #1: Friendliness Is Enough<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Churches who think they\u2019re the friendliest church in town are often surprised to discover otherwise from mystery guests\u2019 feedback, Smollen says.<\/p>\n

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Such churches may have an extremely close-knit bond between long-standing members, but that friendliness doesn\u2019t always translate into reaching out to guests.<\/p>\n

And even when guests do experience friendliness, that alone isn\u2019t enough to drive them back the next week, Faith Perception reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear guests say, \u2018The church was really friendly, but that wasn\u2019t enough of a reason for me to want to come back,\u2019\u201d Smollen says. \u201cThere are a lot of friendly, dying churches out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smollen says a church\u2019s friendliness is important, but that guests are also looking for things like a good worship experience, faith formation opportunities, a healthy kids ministry, and opportunities to engage in activities that do good for the world.<\/p>\n

If your church offers these things, make a point to communicate it from the stage, via church signage, and on the church\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who regularly attend may be aware the church offers Sunday School, kid\u2019s ministry, or a Bible study throughout the week,\u201d Smollen says. \u201cBut a real blind spot for churches is to assume guests know about these things when it may not be listed on the church website or anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Takeaway: Don\u2019t derive false security from overused superlatives like \u201cwe\u2019re the friendliest church in town.\u201d Use all the tools at your disposal\u2014physical <\/em>and digital<\/em>\u2014to communicate a holistic vision of what your church offers to guests. <\/em><\/p>\n

Blind Spot #2: We Follow Up, Right?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cFirst impressions are really important,\u201d Smollen says. \u201cBut what I see churches fail to do is focus on what happens after the service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smollen calls this \u201cfarewell ministry\u201d\u2014what happens after the church service and during follow-up. Faith Perceptions did a yearlong study on what happened after guests voluntarily left their contact information with churches.<\/p>\n

The results proved sobering.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of the guests we surveyed who left their contact information, only 24 percent received follow-up,\u201d she says. In other words, these churches squandered 3 out of every 4 of the visitor leads they worked so hard to collect.<\/p>\n

The simple solution for churches to overcome this blind spot related to follow-up is to follow Nike\u2019s advice: just do it!<\/em> Follow up with your follow-up ministry to make sure visitor opportunities aren\u2019t falling through the cracks.<\/p>\n

Smollen also encourages churches to avoid passing around sign-in books during service. Guests have reported this makes them feel uncomfortable since it\u2019s presented as mandatory and makes their personal information available to everyone who touches the book after them.<\/p>\n

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See also  5 Fatal Flaws in Ministry<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Instead, Smollen recommends churches use voluntary connect cards guests can fill out and drop off in the offering plate or welcome table. Consider offering an incentive such as the church giving $5 to a charity for every connect card turned in. Allow guests to select a charity from a list presented on the card.<\/p>\n

Not only are you helping them to connect with you, but this also lets them make an impact in the community.<\/p>\n

Takeaway: Collect visitors\u2019 contact information in a non-threatening manner. Then, let your \u201cyes be yes\u201d by actually following up with guests.<\/em><\/p>\n

Blind Spot #3: Age Diversity Doesn\u2019t Matter<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cOne thing that surprises a lot of people we work with is to learn that if the church lacks age diversity, people aren\u2019t likely to return,\u201d Smollen says.<\/p>\n

Although the local church should be made up of people from all walks of life, guest feedback reveals visitors want to be part of a church that has a representation of people their same age.<\/p>\n

This can be intimidating for churches that skew heavily in one age demographic, as it\u2019s not something that\u2019s easy to remedy overnight. However, Smollen says age diversity is attainable for churches that are willing to put intentional effort into outreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of churches we work with think they\u2019re doing outreach, but what they\u2019re actually doing is more related to giving,\u201d Smollen says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call this transactional outreach\u2014meaning churches are opening their wallets and donating a lot, but they\u2019re not connecting with the people they\u2019re trying to reach,\u201d she says, pointing out Jesus had meals with many He was evangelizing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we have a canned food drive or drop backpacks off at a school, but never really meet or engage the people we\u2019re trying to help, then all we\u2019re doing is conducting a transaction,\u201d she says. \u201cIt takes a lot of courage to change the DNA of a church and to do something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Takeaway: Do an outreach audit for your church to see if efforts to reach varied demographics in your community are merely transactional or if they also have <\/em>a relational component<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Blind Spot #4: People Know Us in the Community<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As part of the church mystery guest experience, Faith Perceptions sends visitors to local stops located within the mission field of the church\u2014locations like gas stations\u2014to ask directions to the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften, a church will think they\u2019re well-known in their city, only to discover that\u2019s not the case,\u201d Smollen says.<\/p>\n

Churches can increase their footprint in the community by having helpful signage, leveraging their church building during the week to bless the community, working with local schools, and participating in community events.<\/p>\n

Takeaway: Even if you\u2019re an established church, don\u2019t assume people know about you. Strategize ways to be proactively visible within the community.<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n

Faith Perceptions\u2019 mystery guest program measures 14 categories that are important in a guest\u2019s experience. Learn more at FaithPerceptions.com.<\/p>\n

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Aaron Wilson<\/h2>\n

@AaronBWilson26<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Aaron is associate editor of LifewayResearch.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n