Items that Hinder Church Growth: Failure to use Digital Technology.

One of the reasons many churches are loosing youth and young adults is the misunderstanding of the “decision makers” to adapt technology into the life of the church.  The announcement below was lifted out of an actual order of service in an urban church that I recently attended. 

As I looked around the congregation, I notice that this church had mostly middle to older adults in the service.  I am fifty-five years young and try to stay current with effective ministry trends.  If you see me in your service, I will be using my modern devices.  I am not trying to be disrespectful or discourteous to others.  I just want to reach people for Jesus!  There is a big difference between asking people to “silence their data devices,” and asking them “to refrain from the use of all electronic devices.”

 Even the phrase “electronic devices” refers more to vacuum tubes and integrated circuits, and clearly reflects an outdated understanding of today’s digital data technology.  Used properly in worship digital devices can excite the congregation, be a great outreach tool, and help a church grow.  I use my Blackberry in worship!  In fact, my Bible is on my phone.  Why would church leaders ever suggest that reading one’s Bible in service is being discourteous to others?  Digital Bibles are increasingly used by the masses today because it is free and printed Bibles are expensive.  Fewer and fewer people own printed Bibles.

A few weeks ago in another church, I watched as a man used his iPad during service.  I watched as he followed along with the Scripture readings, and then took notes as the pastor preached a dynamic sermon.  This was no more distracting to me than if he used a printed Bible and a pencil and paper to take his notes.  What pastor would not desire for his listeners to take sermon notes?  Some people even use their phones to make digital recordings of the messages so they can listen to it again, or share it with a family member who is unable to attend.  This bulletin announcement clearly shows leadership that is out of touch with the people to whom they are to minister, and it is a clear turnoff to youth and young adults.  Failure to use technology in the church is certain to lead to participatory decline and eventually the death of the church.

Sometimes I use my phone to snap a picture (no flash) and send in out to social media outlets with a note like “this music is fantastic” or “the pastor is firing on all cylinders today” followed with something like “ I sure wish you were here to enjoy this service.”  Smart effective pastors encourage this in their churches.  It builds excitement, boosts attendances, and is one of the best methods of modern outreach.  Why do church leaders want to stifle outreach and growth?  Can you imagine the number of people that could be reached if just ten percent of the people in attendance at your service did this every Sunday?

If your church is not using digital data technology in its worship and Bible study, I challenge you to sit down with a group of 15 – 25 year old's and ask this question, “How can we use digital data technology in our services?  Let them brainstorm, share openly, and observe their excitement.  Then ask them this question, “Will you help our church do some of these things you just suggested?  Again, observe their excitement!  Don’t you really want to find a way to use these wonderful ideas and excitement to grow your ministry?

Items that Hinder Church Growth: Lack of Properly Trained Greeters and Ushers

I sat with a pastor in his office as he shared some of difficulties he faced in growing the traditional church.  He told me that some of their guest had shared with him that the church was just not friendly.  As we talked, I asked him if all the church members were unfriendly. He acknowledged that they had eight to twelve people who were friendly and outgoing.  I challenged him to appoint each of them as greeters to seek out guest and welcome them with a smile, handshake or hug, and thank them for coming to worship.  He had never considered appointing happy and friendly people to seek out new faces.  I call these people greeters.

The word "greet" implies to meet, receive, welcome, cherish, embrace, salute, address, or acknowledge a person in a specified way.  Very early in church history members of the church practiced greeting one another.  In fact, the Greek verb "aspazomai" occurs about sixty times in the New Testament and echoes concern for the well-being of the other person. 

The practice of greeting arriving guests can be found in Mark 9:15, and upon the parting of company in Acts 21:1. Every church should train competent greeters to welcome people as they arrive and to thank them as they depart for every service and event.  The team of greeters should have a Head Greeter to organize the greeters and to make sure that the needed number of greeters will be present for each service, properly located in key areas of the parking lot and at all entrances.  Men, women, and youth can all participate in this “customer friendly” ministry. 

Greeters should be the first to smile and to speak.  Greeters should call members by name, notice guests, and give special attention to the guests.  Remember, a smile says a lot.  Your words of welcome will not be effective if you look unhappy to see them.  The greeter should be one of the first people to smile and express a customary welcome.

Remember to be very polite, open doors, and give directions to the place there are trying to find – worship center, nursery, etc.  Greeters need to offer other assistance to the people as they arrive. This may be opening a car door, helping an elderly person out of a vehicle, or perhaps carrying the diaper bag for the parent of a young child who is struggling.  When it is raining, be prepared to meet people as they arrive with a large umbrella.

Greeters need to be constantly aware of the parking needs and the needs of the attendees while outside the building.  If people seem to need help finding a parking spot, the Greeter should direct the person to an area where parking is available.  If a person has a flat tire or trouble starting the vehicle, offer the appropriate assistance.

Greeters are the first impression of your church.  If you are friendly and knowledgeable, neat and well groomed, and polite and well mannered, you make a good impression. 

Here are a couple of things a Greeter should not do.  Greeters should avoid antisocial behavioral norms.  For example, in most areas, Greeters should not smoke.  Some people have strong feelings about smoking, and you may turn them away from our church - treat all church grounds and facilities as a smoke free area.  Greeters should not be walking around drinking a beverage.  If you are holding something in your hand, or have something in your mouth, you cannot do the things needed to represent Christ and our church in an impressionable way.

Like the Greeter, the Usher is a very important individual.  Ushers represents Christ at all times, impressing attendees with sincere and genuine hospitality.  The Usher's primary task centers on the worship services.  Ushers must always smile and speak a friendly word to others anywhere in the building.  The Usher is to the worship service what Greeter is to the arriving attendees.

The Head Usher should organize the team and make sure that the correct number of ushers are present for each service, properly stationed just inside of all entrances, and that both male and female ushers are used for each service. 

The Usher is to hold worshippers who arrive late until an appropriate time for them to enter the Worship Center, such as during a song, to prevent multiple interruptions of the service.  Ushers should be cheerful and polite when welcoming, seating, and instructing guest. 

Occasionally the unexpected will happen.  When it does happen, the Usher must remain calm and act in a polite and thoughtful manner.  A good usher will think ahead concerning what to do if a certain situation arises.  A good Usher will plan for and know how to handle falls, fainting, and sudden sickness.  He will know how to call for an ambulance, fire department, or police. The question is not if these things will happen, but when these things will happen.

It is the Usher's responsibility to see that worship progresses smoothly and that the worship leaders are not interrupted.  If someone faints, it is not the pastor's job to handle the situation.  It is the Usher’s job and they should know how to handle the situation.  The pastor and worship leaders are to lead the congregation in worship, few things are more important than the worship of God.  There are very few, if any, reason an Usher should ever interrupt the leaders of worship or the flow of the service.

One emergency, which few churches are prepared to handle, is fire.  Ushers should know how to evacuate the building.  Have a plan in place in case a fire should erupt. It seems that when I travel, the hotel I am staying in always have a fire alarm either during the night or early morning. During a stay at a resort in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the fire alarm was triggered.  The resort was well prepared and I was greatly impressed by their preparation and evacuation procedure.  I feel better about this particular resort and I have highly recommended it to other people.  It was nice to know that they were prepared and knew how to help their customers exit the fifteen story building safely.  Churches must be equally prepared.  We cannot assume that since we are at church only a few hours each week that we do not need to prepare.

The one item Ushers normally know about is the receiving of the tithes and offerings, and yet it is often done awkwardly.  The pastor should teach the Ushers how to receive the Offering and explain the time in the service where the offering will be received.  He should be sure to reflect any change in the normal routine.  The pastor and Ushers should develop the best procedure possible to receive the tithes and offerings in an orderly manner as quickly as possible.  Sometimes it helps to rehearse the procedure.  This should always be done with new Ushers.

At the close of service, the Ushers should open the doors at the appropriate time - usually at the close of the benediction.  The Ushers should locate themselves at each exit in order to share verbal appreciation to the worshippers for attending.  Let the worshippers know that you are happy that they came to worship God.  The usher is God's mouthpiece to say "thank you!"

The Greeter and the Usher represent three individuals.  First, you represent yourself, and you should desire to make a good impression upon others.  Secondly, you represent the church.  The church you serve expects you to represent them well, and if you do not, they are disappointed.  Third and most importantly, you represent Christ.  The greeter’s and the usher’s friendliness represents the smile and touch of Jesus and makes the worshipper feel the love of Christ.

The Greeter and the Usher both assist the pastor by allowing him and the other worship leaders to lead God's people in worship with the peace of mind that whatever unexpected thing occurs, there are well prepared capable Greeters and Ushers to handle the task.  These are extremely important jobs.  Do not take them lightly.

Items that Hinder Church Growth: Lack of Diversity of Staff

As an acorn grows into a mighty oak tree, there are signs of a growing movement of churches seeking to become multi-ethnic and multi-cultural.  The Nineteenth General Synod of the United Church of Christ adopted the resolution “Statement of Christian Conviction of the Proposed Pronouncement Calling the United Church of Christ to be a Multiracial and Multicultural Church.”  The North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church writes:

Multicultural Ministry is a vision of God’s diverse human family becoming a reality in The United Methodist Church. It is a vision of the church becoming a community of faith where all equally belong. It is a longing for a new spirituality; a new way of being, where all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity, or culture, can give and receive trust, forgiveness, love, support, empowerment, acceptance, and radical hospitality. It is more than simply making space for one another to exist, and it is more than tolerating differences [http://nccumc.org/multicultural/].

Yes, the acorns are sprouting and shooting forth their roots, but are churches and denominations willing to act to become more culturally diverse in their churches, or is this merely talk.

It remains disturbing to me that the visible church staff is nearly always the same race.  Consider this scenario as you sit in church this Sunday.  Four guests enter the worship center and take a seat near you - Robert White, Robert Black, Robert Latino, and Robert Asian.  Your pastor preaches a dynamic sermon and the Spirit of God is moving throughout the congregation.  The four guests seated near you all respond to the Gospel during the invitation.  Which Robert has a Minister or Counselor of the same ethnicity to receive, discuss, and pray with him concerning his spiritual needs or the commitment he wants to make?  Why has the church staff become the last stand for church separatist?

The lack of diversity among ministerial staff is one of the major hindrances to urban church growth.  With more than two hundred language groups in the United States, the majority of which live in the major cities, it is crucial that urban churches be intentional about diversifying ministerial staff.  Corporate and nonprofit boards seek a broad range of diversity, believing that it adds to their strength.  Why then do so many churches believe that their church staff must all be of the same ethnicity?

As president of New Life Theological Seminary, I often ask our students if a builder can build a house using only wood.  I remind the students that early American homes were called log cabins and were built entirely of wood.  They had log walls and wood shingles, and were held together with notches and wooden pegs.  They were neither attractive, efficient, nor comfortable.  Today, we use a range of building materials to build homes - concrete, brick, stone, steal, wood, fiberglass, tin, glass, various cloth fibers, et cetera.  We find that by using various building materials we have a much more comfortable and esthetically pleasing home.  We enjoy having glass windows and fiberglass shingles. We find that homes are more decorative with stone, carpet, and paint.  By incorporating the variety of building materials modern houses take on their owner’s personalities and become better places to live.

In the same way, you can establish an ensemble with all trumpets, but the sound will be very limited.  However, if you add Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses, Flutes, Piccolos, Oboes, English Horns, Clarinets Bass Clarinets, Bassoons, Contrabassoons, French Horns, Trumpets, Trombones, Bass Trombones, Tubas, Harps, Keyboard/Piano, and Timpani and other percussions instruments you have a effervescent orchestra.  God wants a full orchestra of worshippers, and yet our churches continue to be an ensemble of trumpets.

This past week Pastor Steve Wang, Pastor of the Charlotte Chinese Baptist Church, visited with me in my office at New Life Theological Seminary.  The church is starting an English speaking service.  As he explained to me their reasoning, he reflected that God had shown them that they could not fulfill the Great Commission if they only ministered to the Chinese people of our city.  The English speaking service is not just for English speaking Chinese; it is for all English-speaking people of Charlotte.  I am so exciting and hope to help them in this venture.  I do not know of another ethnic congregation in Charlotte with such a vision.  This church is attempting to go where very few have gone before, and their pastor is asking if I will agree to preach on multiple occasions to help them reach non-Chinese English speaking residents in their area of the city.  He has even asked if I will administer Communion; I am so amped!

This bi-lingual Chinese pastor could easily preach the English service, but he understands the need to have a minister who is not Chinese preach and visibly participate in service.  I pray that older well-established single cultured churches can learn from the Charlotte Chinese Baptist Church! 

The urban face of North America is changing as the peoples of the world rush to claim greater prosperity in the United States and Canada.  For urban churches in North American to survive, they must diversify their staffs and reach people of multiple ethnicities and cultures; this is also true of urban churches of all countries around the globe, although the challenges of doing so may differ slightly.  So how do you help move your church to diversify its ministerial staff?  First, let me be very clear, you do not terminate ministerial staff to bring about diversification.  This may take some time to accomplish, but remember that Church staff members leave for a number of reasons, and when one leaves, the church should be deliberate in seeking a person of a different race or culture than the majority of the membership.  Second, the church should seek a staff member that is representative of the next largest demographic within the church community.  Cities are alive and neighborhoods change and shift demographically.  Churches must change with the demographics of their area or cease to be effective in their community; ineffectiveness usually leads to the death of the church within a quarter century.  Third, the church should be prayerful in seeking all new staff persons.  Race or culture should never be the main priority.  If you need to hire a Latino, seek a Latino that will be the right fit.  We are each more than our ethnicity and to be a good fit in ministry we must have a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a deep love of people, and the education and training that properly equips us to perform the required job.  Fourth, when the church calls a new staff member, love and accept him and encourages others to accept him.  You will witness God’s mighty hand at work within your congregation, as God builds a mighty orchestra and multiple cultures learn from each other concerning the Sovereign creativity of God.  Fifth, praise God for the many new truths you learn through experiencing a greater diversity in your church as you worship God together.

Items that Hinder Church Growth: The Invitation

One of the greatest hindrances to urban church growth is the lack of proper invitations.  Most urban churches do not know who to help the worshippers respond to the message of God as delivered by the “preacher.”  Ministers should carefully consider five specific items related to inviting the listener to respond to the message of God.  I am a firm believer that every message, if it is from God, should provide the listener the opportunity to respond.  Every invitation to respond to the Gospel message should be thoughtful and executed properly.  This idea is not original with me, but is something I picked up at a conference some years ago.  I implemented it and saw conversions and rededications nearly double.  I believe these four simple items will help urban church growth.

First, when a pastor gets up to preach God's Word, he should read the Scripture which is the basis for the message he is going to preach on, offer a pre-invitation, and then pray a pre-introductory prayer. At this point, the man of God is ready to go into the introduction and message.  The message should work to a conclusion, prayer, and invitation.  Why should every sermon have a pre-invitation?  When the man of God shares the pre-invitation, the Holy Spirit begins immediately to work hearts in minds toward the proper decision.  When I give a pre-invitation, it starts something like this, “At the close of the message this morning, you will be asked to make one of two decisions.”  I then explain the decisions the listeners will be asked to make, whether it is for salvation, rededication, church membership, et cetera.  The listener knows the message is going to end with a call for a specific decision.  All through the message, the listener is thinking about the decision they are being asked to make, and all through the message, the Holy Spirit is at work. 

Second, when the message concludes, the one who delivered the message must extend an invitation to the listeners.  The one who delivers the word of God should be the extended of the invitation and the key recipient of those responding to the invitation.  Other pastors or staff may assist, but the one proclaiming the Word of God should be front and center to receive those responding to the message.  Urban ministries should have an array of cultural diversity visible during the invitation.  These can be ministers or lay counselors of another race who also come to stand at the front, and this is very important to build cultural diversity.  He should not be holding a hymnbook or singing the invitational hymn.  He should be prayerfully focused on the congregation, looking for those the Holy Spirit is working with so that he will know how best to encourage obedience.  I usually stand with arms outstretched, slightly lowered, with hands turned up.  This position is inviting and presents fewer barriers to the timid and hesitate listener who may be under conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Third, do not rush the invitation.  Most people will not respond until after the third verse of an invitation hymn.  Most people respond during the fourth verse.  I do not claim to know all of the reasons for this timeframe, but perhaps it is to build the courage to walk to the front to take a stand for Jesus.  When ministers end the invitation at the close of a second verse, they hinder people from making life-altering decisions.  Likewise, if no one comes after the fourth or fifth verse, end the invitation by letter the congregation know that you are available after the service to speak with anyone wanting to discuss a spiritual issue.

Fourth, invitations should be inviting, but integrity demands that we not use manipulation.  Musicology helps the minister understand the proper use of music during an invitation.  The worship leader must give careful attention to make sure the music is not too loud, distracting, or irreverent.  It is also a good idea to have trained counselors ready to assist with those who come forward.  When I first started really taking the invitation seriously, I found I often had more people responding that I could handle.  I had to learn to hand the off to trained lay counselors to spend the amount of time they needed.  You should know that if a line forms, it deters others from coming forward.  You might also ask your deacons or elders to come forward during the invitation to kneel and pray at the front.  Often the timid find it easier to start walking toward the front when they see other people moving.  Evangelistic services held in large stadiums use this method very effectively.  

Fifth, the minister must help the congregation understand that the invitation is the most important part of the whole service.  The invitation is where the worshippers make life-changing decisions.  It is where God does His work.  Up until this point, others have been doing the work.  Musicians have played the instruments.  Singers have led the worshippers in song.  The pastor has preached the Word of God.  Now, God does His work and we behold His glory!  When a person accepts Jesus as Lord, this is the work of God!  When a marriage is mended, this is God working!  Ministers must help the congregation understand that the invitation is a sacred moment when God is most visible in the service. This is not a time for members to start leaving.  I usually ask people not to leave unless it is an emergency, and tell them that if they leave the ushers will assist them with the medical emergency they are experiencing.  Thoughtless members often hinder God’s work by leaving during the invitation.

 

Recently I went to worship with another urban church.  The pastor did not give a pre-invitation.  The invitation was not well thought out nor focused; it seemed he aimed at nothing and hit it.  He stood at the front holding a hymnal and singing along for the two-verse invitation.  The invitation was not inviting.  In spite of the diversity in the congregation, there was not diversity of leadership at the front to receive those wanting to make decisions.  During the short two verses invitational hymn, I observed no fewer than twelve people exiting the worship center.  I found myself wondering if they were responding to the invitation by rejecting the message.  Despite the pastor’s education and training, this minister did everything wrong in extending the invitation.  I was not surprised that no one responded to the message. It was a worshipful service, but a thoughtless invitation.  Many urban churches flounder and decline, not because of inadequate music or inarticulate homilies, but from the inability to extend an invitation to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So what do you do if you discover that your church is not properly giving attendees the opportunity to respond to God’s message?  First, commit to serious prayer about the issue.  The offering of an invitation is the responsibility of the Pastor and you must be very careful not to be critical of your pastor.  The fact is that many pastors did not receive proper training in seminary concerning how to extend an invitation in the most effective manner.  Second, talk with your pastor about your concern in a nonthreatening manner.  Assure your pastor that you that your discussions are confidential and that you are not being critical of his method, but ask him if you can explore ways to improve the effectiveness of the invitation.  Third, share the items in this observation with your pastor as discussion points and ask him if he believes they are relevant for the church.  It may just be the spark for prayerful thoughtfulness on the part of your pastor in focusing on making the invitation most effective.  Fourth, if you receive a negative reaction from your pastor, back off and commit the issue to prayer.  Ultimately, the spiritual responsibility of leading the congregation falls on the pastor and God holds him accountable for his leadership of the local church.