
6 Ways to Create a Guest-Friendly Worship Service
How can you position your church for increased attendance and growth? John Zehring, author of Get Your Church Ready to Grow, suggests six strategies that…
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How can you position your church for increased attendance and growth? John Zehring, author of Get Your Church Ready to Grow, suggests six strategies that…
Simple habits of congregational life, such as always sitting in the same pew or greeting the same people after worship, might seem normal and innocuous.…
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe says it’s important not only to attract visitors, but to create a space where they will want to stay.…
Churches need their most positive, smiling, warmest personalities on their front lines, says Greg Atkinson. Your parking lot team, greeters, ushers, and welcome desk volunteers…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr. says the traditional approach to visitor follow-up aimed at moving people quickly toward membership may not fit well in an era…
Tom Berlin describes strategies for encouraging your regular attenders to worship in overflow spaces outside the sanctuary when additional seating is needed on Easter so…
Researcher Kirk Hadaway has discovered that coffee hour in rapidly growing Episcopal churches is different than in the average congregation. It tends to be more…
Growing churches are churches that have learned that God intends for us to be a people for others. The church needs more than its pastor…
Do you remember those prank peanut cans? You would buy one at a novelty store, and then give it to one of your friends. When…
Many churches have a way of doing things that doesn’t allow for new people to connect. Without even knowing it, we exclude those we truly…
I have visited churches where I approach the front doors and am immediately met by my first greeter. The eager greeter hands me a bulletin…
Your building has way more signs than you think it does: The locked front door, the boxes piled up in corners that assault the newcomer’s…
1. Remembering names is important! We all know the value of calling a person by name. We all know how good it feels when someone…
Last summer I joined a large group of extended family and friends at the beach. There were, on and off, about twenty-five to thirty of…
One of the disciplines of a disciple of Jesus Christ is to establish relationships with people we do not know — the unconnected — therefore…
The first impression guests leave with determines whether they will be back. So what is it that goes into a good first impression? We interviewed…
Have you ever asked for directions? The practice was much more common in pre-GPS days. As a pastor in small towns and rural areas of…
From beginning to end, the Bible teaches us how to be hospitable. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we find stories of people acting as…
Healthy and growing churches pay close attention to the people they count as members, as well as those people who are not yet a part…
My husband and I moved to the city a few years ago and have been “between churches” ever since. We’ve been to visit quite a…
This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.