Many churches today struggle with the burden of crowded pews, packed children’s classes, and filled parking lots. Unfortunately, pastors and local elders in these situations have few places where they can turn for help. Scores of books on how to increase church membership line the shelves of Christian bookstores everywhere. But no one, apparently, has authored a single book on how to avoid growing, how to keep unwanted people from the community out of a church that already has too many members.
Keeping people away from a church can prove difficult at times, especially when they seem determined to attend. However, if you adhere to the following guidelines, you can feel confident that your church has done every10 thing possible to keep them away, or at least prevent their return should they accidentally wander into your service. These ten rules really aren’t too difficult to put into practice; many churches do so with apparent ease. By putting forth only a minimum effort, yours can too.
Check the box for each rule that you feel your church is following. Be as objective and honest as possible; if you aren’t measuring up, leave the box blank and go to the next one. At the end, add the number of boxes you have checked and find where your church stands by using the handy scoring device.
1. MAKE YOUR CHURCH DIFFICULT FOR VISITORS TO FIND.
This is one of the best ways to discourage visitors. When you build a church, get the cheapest piece of land you can buy—preferably well out of town and on a seldom-used road. (Better yet, have some members donate a piece of property for the new church. That way your chances of having the right kind of property for discouraging visitors is almost guaranteed.)
Above all, don’t put up any direction signs that would help strangers or out-of-town visitors locate your building. Don’t provide brochures that reveal the location or time of your service. Be careful not to list your church in the yellow pages or online. These are some of the first places a person will look when trying to locate a church. Besides, think of the money you will save by not listing your church along with the others.
2. DON’T LET YOUR MEMBERS INVITE PEOPLE TO ATTEND YOUR CHURCH.
If you’re serious about keeping strangers away, you naturally don’t want to invite anyone to attend. One survey revealed that 40 percent of the people who started coming to church did so because someone invited them to attend. Many people simply won’t attend a new or different church without an invitation. They fear they won’t be welcome, or not want to sit by themselves among total strangers. A personal invitation only makes it easier for them to decide to visit.
3. GIVE ALL VISITORS A COLD SHOULDER.
If a stranger is persistent enough to attend your church in spite of the barriers you have erected, nothing will communicate a lack of welcome better than to ignore him or her. Giving visitors a cold shoulder is easy; you don’t have to say a word. If perchance the stranger looks your way, simply turn your head. They will quickly understand from your excellent body language that you don’t need them in your church. Few who have experienced such treatment will insist on returning.
4. BE ON YOUR GUARD FOR STRANGERS IN YOUR CHURCH.
When someone walks in the door for the first time, be sure they find no one posted there to greet them or give them a church bulletin. Let them discover for themselves where the cradle roll or youth department is located. Also, be sure to change classes around frequently. Better yet, don’t place the correct class name of age levels on the doors of the different classrooms. Maybe they will feel so embarrassed walking into the wrong class that they’ll never return.
5. DON’T ENCOURAGE YOUR MEMBERS TO INVITE VISITORS HOME.
If a visitor insists on returning a second or third time—in spite of all your precautions—make sure no one invites that individual home for dinner. Dinner invitations are as dangerous as giving a bowl of milk to a stray cat; the person might never stop coming to your church.
6. HAVE A LIMITED CHURCH PROGRAM.
A church with a lot of different programs related to people’s needs draws visitors like a winter feeder draws birds. Need-oriented programs can totally wreck your game plan for keeping people out of your church. Don’t conduct Vacation Bible Schools—not only do they encourage children to attend your church, but they often inspire the parents to show up, too! Don’t offer classes such as Family Enrichment, Pre-marital or Health Seminars. Too many people might be attracted to such topics.
7. MAKE YOUR CHURCH AS UNCOMFORTABLE FOR VISITORS AS POSSIBLE.
Anything goes in this category. Don’t print weekly church bulletins—all they do is help visitors understand your service and make them feel comfortable. Be sure your church has hard wooden pews. They keep people from enjoying the service.
In addition, make sure someone talks about church finances from the pulpit every week. Nothing will turn people away from a church faster than a secular service that focuses on money, fundraising, and charts. Even Jesus, visiting the temple, got pretty upset over the money-changers of His day, didn’t He?
Other tricks of the trade that will discourage most people include lack of heat in the winter, slippery sidewalks when it snows, and of course a hot, stuffy service in the summer.
8. NEVER CONDUCT ANY COMMUNITY-OUTREACH PROGRAMS.
Studies show that rapidly growing churches always employ a variety of outreach programs— letters from the pastor to newlyweds, letters to new residents of the community, cooking classes, sermon tapes for shut-ins, etc. Don’t publish a monthly pastoral letter. Nonmembers might get hold of it and become interested in the announced topics and upcoming programs. They might even assume that your church has a progressive program and want to attend. Many people avoid churches because they don’t realize how much the fellowship could benefit them personally; you don’t want anyone deciding your church has something to offer!
9. KEEP YOUR CHURCH OUT OF THE PAPER.
If you’re serious about keeping visitors away from your services, be sure to elect an ineffective, unconcerned individual to the office of public relations. Stories in the local papers about the activities of the church and its members will only create a lot of goodwill in the community and encourage the unchurched to attend. A lot of lonely people and those searching for help in their lives are just looking for a church to belong to.
10. ABOVE ALL, KEEP THE CHURCH BUILDING ITSELF IN A RUN-DOWN CONDITION.
Nothing will tell the visitor you don’t care about him or her better than forcing that individual to worship in an unkempt, shabby building. Little things say a lot: walls needing painting, water-stained ceilings, a piano out of tune, the absence of tissue paper in the restrooms, torn up songbooks.
Many other techniques to keep the visitor (and member) away can be used, of course. The guidelines outlined here should serve only to stimulate your thinking. Most likely you have already detected the single motivating principle behind all ten: If you want to keep visitors from attending your church, do nothing!
However, if for some reason you should want people from the community to visit your church, you’ll have to develop your own rules. But be forewarned—growing churches always encounter problems. It’s much easier just to keep people away!
Ralph Blodgett was the associate editor of These Times, which was published in Nashville, Tennessee, when he wrote this article. This article has been adapted to fit this magazine.
SCORE YOURSELF!
If the number of boxes you checked was:
(8-10) You have no cause to fear rampant growth and its attendant problems. In fact, you have no cause to fear growth of any kind.
(5-7) You’re probably safe, but don’t let your guard down. At the first sight of an unfamiliar face, put into practice the boxes you didn’t check.
(3-4) You’re vulnerable and definitely ought to review these ten guidelines with your church as soon as possible. A segment of your congregation doesn’t understand how important nongrowth can be.
(0-2) Quite likely you’re experiencing many of the difficulties of a growing church. Go back over the guidelines and determine to put into practice an active program of doing nothing. It’s never too late!
AUSTIN C. ARCHER, PH.D.
Austin Archer was born to Adventist parents on the island of Tobago in the West Indies. He was baptized at the age of nine, and since then, has served in every church in which he has fellowshipped, including churches in Trinidad, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and now in Washington State.
Elder Archer and his wife Beverly have been members of the Walla Walla University Church since 1991, when he joined the faculty as a professor of psychology and education. Their three daughters were all baptized there, and are actively involved in the church. Soon after coming to Walla Walla, Elder Archer and his wife were invited to serve as elders, and in 2004, Austin was appointed as the head elder. The elders are involved in soul-winning endeavors such as serving on the Church Board, assisting pastors in visiting members, and planning and leading out in weekly worship services. Elder Archer says, “I consider it a great privilege to be entrusted with the leadership of the church as its head elder. It is a particular joy to work cooperatively with the pastoral staff in nurturing the membership of this church, the largest in our conference. As head elder, my responsibilities include chairing monthly Board meetings, as well as joining with the pastoral staff in planning meetings where a significant amount of time is spent on Bible study and prayer for the members of our church.”
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