As
we come out of the Covid-19 shut down many churches are concerned about a
decline in attendance. The habit of
church attendance is easy to slip out of and with many members getting
accustomed to online services some may opt to not return to in-person
services. How can a church regain its
attendees? What could it do to induce
non-members to try a church after such a lengthy shut down?
Below
are five steps that you can follow that will bring in huge crowds for your
Sunday event. Something this big is not
going to just be a service; it is an event.
This is a little out of the box, but in times like these conventional,
traditional thinking will kill your church attendance. Don’t think of this as being out of the box.
(Thinking that is described as “in” or “out” of the box is frankly “in the box
thinking”) Think of this as being
further down the tube.
This
five-step process will require courage and fortitude, creativity and
panache. Imagine the most cutting edge,
edgy, on the brink, verge, ministry you can think of and then go a couple steps
beyond. In fact, if things at church
were a little stale before the shutdown this might be a great time to rename
and rebrand your congregation. See the
end of this article for a list of names for your congregation that have not
been used yet for churches
#1
Be committed to the process. There will
be some upfront costs, but you should recoup that expense, so stick to the
plan. The greatest danger to the plan is failing to be fully committed. Halfhearted efforts will come off looking
lame and nothing is worse for a church than looking lame. It is imperative that you pursue this with a
passion that is unequalled by anything else in your life.
#2
Have the venue and legal permits in place.
If your building will not hold the number of attendees you will need to
rent other space. This may require
traffic and parking directions and other infrastructure. Food will be a part so be aware of food and
drink services and permits. This part of
the effort maybe the least fun part of the process, but once it is done you can
move on to the much more energetic and exciting part of the plan. A little hard work up front pays off big
later.
#3
Hire the right band and performers. You
will need to select the band based on your target audience-metal, country,
hip-hop, or classic rock. Get the best
performers possible. That may mean that
your worship leader may not even be a Christian, but if the songwriter was a
Christian and the worship leader sings the words it is all the same. Some churches have in the past used comedians
to draw crowds. If you choose to use comedians
they will need to be a big name with the ability to draw a crowd on their name
alone. When it comes to bands they need
a following or groupies to make sure you have a base of attendees. Be very careful of other performers like
clowns, magicians or dancers, they must be able to draw on their own.
#4
Advertise like crazy. Broadcasting is
the word. Narrow casting (person to
person) will not reach the biggest crowds possible. While the performers are an expense,
advertising is an investment. You may
want to hire a professional publicist to insure that you do not miss any
avenue. During the ad campaign play down
the name Christ, Christian, or church.
These words may be triggers for some people.
#5
Put on the greatest event your community has ever seen. You may have to try to out-Disney Disney World,
but it is either go big or go home. Use
the progression of the past to be your guide to discover the next big
thing. Pay careful attention to the
evolution of church promotions in the past.
Once upon a time, we had pie suppers and later “The world’s longest
banana Spilt” (currently the record is 4.995 miles). Then there were the Super
Bowl parties with the first half of football then halftime devotion and then
another half of football along with lots of great snacks. If your church had one of these and the
snacks were lame you could lose people to another church with better food. Some churches even brought in ex-football
starters to speak at half time. More
recently we have had huge, candy give away at Halloween, or Trunk or Treat to get
people to come to church for free candy, which is almost like free grace. Don’t fail to learn from our Catholic friends
who sometimes have Clown Mass, and the Barney Blessing. (Just google it) To show how much we care about your family,
how about canceling worship if Sunday falls on Christmas day? It is sort of passé now, but the cutting edge
used to be to worship the Lord as we remember the resurrection by means of a
helicopter, Easter egg, air raid. (Just google it) If your target audience is a little more
redneck, never fear! You could host Christian Professional Wrestling. (Just
google it)
But
why do these weak half measures? Go big
or go home. You can target men of all
ages or at least those 21 years old and older, with free beer and free wings
all served by Hooter girls. That, with a
great concert and a good venue, will draw the crowds. And by doing it all for
free you can teach about grace, “You are a sinner and getting forgiven is like
being given free beer.” Don’t forget to
say “Jesus” or pray or do something vaguely religious so you can call this
church.
Church Names and tag lines
Scope:
Focus on Jesus
Dial:
cranking life up to the max
Dawn:
the new beginning you need
Crest:
riding high in life
Joy:
The life you want
Camay:
Christ and me always yearning
S.O.S.:
Save our soul
Tide:
Washing over me with life
Colgate:
Better than your college life
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