There’s a special Sunday at church where we are inviting friends.
Dave Jensen says we should remembering that visitors don’t ‘listen’ so much as ‘feel’, so putting thought into your pre and post church (welcoming, morning tea, vibe) will pay dividends - in addition to using warm welcoming language in service leading, kids spot and sermon. “If you’re visiting this morning, we’re so glad you’re here! We hope you enjoy your time with us this morning” - seems so obvious, yet often we can forget even a basic specific welcome to newcomers. Have your best people on welcome / car park/ and looking out for those after church chats.
I want to see this evangelistic gathering as a first step, or first date with God… and if that’s the case… everything shouldn’t work towards ‘decision moment today’ but rather everything should work towards ‘a second date’, a second opportunity to communicate Christ.
Which is why we advertise a course early in the meeting, we play a video promo for Introducing God, and we make big efforts to interview someone who as an adult has come into relationship with God, through the course.
Then the ‘purchase proposition’ or ‘application point of the meeting or sermon - is to do the course, rather than ‘commit now.’ We as a second less significant choice, say, ‘If you think ‘Yes, I’d like do do that course, but I’d like to make the step tonight to trust Jesus, well you can do that …’. So I don’t try to as the main thing persuade people to make a decision on the first date.
Work against an insider mindset. What I mean by this is that those who speak from the platform should not behave as if everyone knows them and agrees with them - but rather they should introduce themselves… and speak and explain things as if their own non Christian friend is present and listening.
This should happen anyway, in that if you behave as if there are outsiders there, that will communicate to your membership that it is safe to bring outsiders. So have everyone introduce themselves - bible readers, prayers, song leaders etc.
So for example, in the public praying, Pray as if there are unbelievers present and pray prayers that they can agree with. Pray the prayers of the whole community - floods, COVID, bushfires, droughts, good government, rather than the specific prayers of Christians. Don’t pray about the conversion therapy legislation in Victoria.
You also want to think about what happens with the financial collection and communion. We don’t do financial collections anyway so it doesn’t impact us - we do it all electronically - basically for this reason.
And we won’t do communion on days when we are expecting large numbers of guests.
In terms of response cards - we have worked really hard at switching our church to electronic cards. But, I have found that electronic feedback cards don’t work for guests. At our Gingerbread nights last year we asked for feedback cards and the first night we went with QR codes pointing to a web link and got a tiny response. The response on the subsequent nights from physical cards was much much higher. We find that we can train the Christians to use the electronic QR codes for submitting questions or registering for things, but not many of the first time guests.
This is the most important of all. ‘Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should.’ Paul in Colossians asks for prayer that he might proclaim it clearly, but also he teaches them to demand that the preacher proclaim it clearly. So I keep asking for (a) prayer and (b) to evaluate ‘Was it made clear that Jesus is saviour and Lord, with the application point, repentance and faith.’ ie you teach Jesus is saviour and the application Faith. And teach Jesus is Lord and the application Saviour.
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