BARRIERS TO CHURCH #5: Uncleanliness

Let it Glow!

For eight years, not only did I serve as youth pastor in my church, but I also worked as the building custodian. And this wasn't some building that was only used twice a week! Space was rented out on an ongoing basis to a preschool, an ESL course, and an after-school learning centre on top of special events and regular church activities. Needless to say, it kept me pretty busy, and I saw a lot of things that you just can't ever un-see. One of the strangest things I ever found in a washroom was a relish fast-food packet. Was someone actually eating a hotdog...in there?

Believe it or not, I actually really enjoyed that aspect of my job. It certainly wasn't glamorous, but I understood that first impressions were (and are) important. As a parent, this became something I valued all the more, since I became aware of how much time kids spend rolling around on the floor and putting things in their mouths.

It might seem weird to suggest that the cleanliness of your church building might actually become a barrier to someone plugging into your church community, but it's true-- ESPECIALLY for young families. I've seen nurseries with disgusting floors covered with all manner of stains. I've seen toddlers playing with toys that were in an incredible state of disrepair. I've seen a baby suck on the nose of a stuffed animal that looked like it should have been incinerated years ago. Pastors and church leaders, the state of your nursery and kids ministry room says a lot about how much you care about children. If the paint is peeling off the walls, if the room smells musty, if the floor is dirty, if the washrooms are filthy, if lights are flickering, these are all warning signs...and parents will notice. 

Of course, even if you don't have kids, you can probably appreciate meeting in a space that's clean and comfortable. Are some of the washrooms consistently out of order? Are the walls covered in a 20-year-old coat of paint? Are the glass doors and mirrors smeared with smudge marks and fingerprints? The next time you enter your building, look at things from the perspective of a first-time guest. See things through the eyes of a parent. Is it a safe and clean environment? You would be amazed at how something as simple as a fresh coat of paint can change the ambiance of your meeting place!

If you're like me, there are days when you would be horrified to have a friend or family member decide to drop by for a surprise visit. We've all experienced those frantic moments of hiding dirty dishes inside the oven, praying that nobody accidentally opens the bedroom door to stumble across what can best be described as a "crime scene". Why do we do that? Why is it so important to us? While, in truth, we might be trying to create an illusion of perfection in order to impress our guests, at the very least, we don't want to give our guest a bad impression of us or our homes. We don't want our guest to leave and tell horror stories of their experience. "Did you hear about the time I went to visit a friend and found a moldy grilled-cheese sandwich hidden under a couch cushion?"

Obviously, that's an over-embellishment, but you get the idea. First impressions are important. Ensure that your building is clean and well maintained, giving special attention to the nursery and kids ministry space. Don't let something as simple as failing to replace broken toys become a barrier to someone becoming a part of your church community.

BARRIERS TO CHURCH #4: Poor Communication

4. Be Our Guest: The importance of communication

In my last post, I wrote about one of the best church experiences I've had in recent memory. (It was unfortunate that the church couldn't live up to their own standard of excellence when we returned several months later). One of the things that made our initial experience such a positive one was that they recognized that communication was key.

One of the biggest barriers in preventing prospective first-time guests from attending a church service is fear of the unknown. People who've grown up being a part of a church, including most pastors, often have no idea that the concept of attending a church for the first time sparks a great deal of fear and apprehension.

To wrap your mind around this, let's assume that you're someone who has gone to an evangelical church for much of your life. You know the routines. You know what to expect. The order of service is almost always the same. Now, imagine that you've accepted an invitation for you and your family to join your neighbors on a Sunday at a Roman Catholic Church. You've seen depictions of their services on TV sitcoms before, but it'll be the first time you've ever attended one of them. What should you expect? Is there something running before or during the service for your kids? Can you trust that those working with your children have been properly trained or screened?  What will they "make" you do? Will there be weird chanting in Latin? Will you stick out like a sore thumb in the midst of their liturgy? Will it be a 'Mr. Bean' experience?

How can you, as a pastor or church leader, remove all anxiety or worry from the mind of a prospective guest? How can you ensure that someone's first experience at church will be a great experience? Better communication. While the following list isn't a comprehensive one, hopefully you'll discover a few tips here that will remove a lot of the perceived "spookiness" out of someone's experience as your guest.

1. Guest Services

There are a few times where my family has decided to visit a church "blind", meaning that we didn't know anybody who attended the church and weren't sure what to expect. On one occasion, we entered a church only to have the majority of the people in the lobby ignore us entirely, opting to catch up with their friends instead. It made it even more awkward that I was the guest speaker! Thankfully, we've also had some great experiences where churches had a 'guest services' team in place whose role was to be a friendly, welcoming face, armed with information to alleviate any anxiety or uncertainty a guest might have.

Pastor and blogger, Rich Birch, once wrote that someone in guest services should be like a great party host, introducing guests to others, ensuring that lots of conversations are happening, and making sure that NOBODY is standing in a corner being ignored or forgotten. In terms of what information someone in guest services should have, they should let guests know about free coffee, where the washrooms are located, when the service is scheduled to begin and to assure them that they can sit wherever they would like. If a visiting family has arrived, aside from the above information, the welcome team should describe how awesome their kids ministry is (hopefully without lying), offer to give the family a quick tour of the kid's room, explain when the kids would be dismissed from the service, assure parents that all of those working with children have been screened and trained (again, hopefully without lying) and explain the process for parents to check-in/check-out their children. You get it. The more information, the better-- ESPECIALLY when you're dealing with parents!

2. A Relevant Website

Before anyone sets foot in your church for the first time, rest assured that they've already visited your website. Does that scare you? Ensuring that your website is designed to appeal and offer information to potential first-time guests is paramount. Some tips:

•  Make it look pretty! There are a number of free or relatively inexpensive options for you to build a professional looking website. I would recommend a free content creator like http://www.weebly.com or one that's around the same price as what it would cost you to advertise in the newspaper (http://www.squarespace.com). If you're not very tech savvy, recruit someone in the church to head up the design. Note: Designing a website by committee is a bad idea.
• There's no such thing as too much information! Do your best to explain, in detail, what guests should expect. A lot of churches offer a breakdown of a typical "order of service", dress code (hopefully a lack thereof), worship style, and even an explanation of common individual expressions of worship a guest might see during a service (lifting hands, dancing, flag waving).
• Remember, it's an advertisement for your community! Don't design your website with your congregation in mind. Regular church attenders might be interested in following your church on social media or subscribing to your messages on iTunes, but will seldom (if ever) visit your website. Make sure the language isn't flighty or complicated. Think about how you would explain one of your programs to someone who has no church context. What would you want your church to look like 5-10 years from now? If you envision it as being multicultural, make sure a variety of ethnic groups are represented in photographs and advertising! If you envision it to be full of students or young families, especially if you're a member of the 50+ club, recruit somebody in their 20's-30's to help with design and wording.

3. Clear direction and explanation from the pastor

Even with a great website and a stellar team in guest services, the pastor (or whoever might be making any announcement) should reiterate any pertinent information. For example, when it's time to take up the offering, explain your expectations for guests (hopefully there aren't any). If you're about to lead the congregation in the Lord's Supper, explain the process and significance of it! If your church leans a little on the Pentecostal side and you experience a gift of the Holy Spirit, explain why it happens and how it's biblical! Let's face it, you can't completely sanitize God, but you also don't want to have a guest so freaked out over something they saw or experienced that it leaves a bad taste in their mouth and they decide to never return.

Incidentally, if you're someone who is a regular church attender, some of the explanation a pastor may offer throughout the service might seem a little redundant or come off sounding scripted. Please remember, that information isn't meant for you! While it's something you might hear every week, it's said for the benefit of any potential first-time guests. Cut the pastor some slack!