Home Worship & Creative Leaders Articles for Worship & Creative The Gospel According to … the Grocery Store?

The Gospel According to … the Grocery Store?

4. Multi-generational leadership. 

Grocery stores do a great job of employing and utilizing people from various generations, and utilizing their skill sets to enhance the organization.

From the pimple-faced 17-year-old bagging groceries and chasing carts in the parking lot, to the 70-year-old retiree smiling and greeting you at the door, customers get to see people from all generations in a typical grocery store. There’s the 20-year-old college kid stocking shelves, the 40-year-old father of three cutting meat, and the 55-year-old grandmother serving in the checkout line. Grocery stores find something for everyone to do.

In most churches, however, we stick the kids in a basement and the seniors on the front row. They don’t have a real function, and thus are not active and valued parts of the faith community. This must change if we are to be effective in reaching the whole community.

This leads to my next thought …

5. There’s something for everyone.

Not only do grocery stores employ people from different generations, they make sure that they have inventory for everyone.

Grocery stores have a wide variety of items on their shelves. In the dairy section alone there are at least 12 different kinds of milk. There’s something for the lactose intolerant, there’s whole milk, 2 percent milk, almond milk, soy milk, etc. In other words, there are options.

Many churches just offer one thing. If you’re lactose intolerant — tough. You’re either going to drink the milk we’ve got … or go somewhere else. Many people choose to go somewhere else. If churches want to keep their ‘customers’ they must be willing to provide options — different worship times, a variety of music, small groups or other discipleship programs, and activities beyond Sunday morning.

Because there’s something for everyone, grocery stores …

6. Don’t let you leave empty handed.

They expect you to go home with something, so they provide carts when you walk in the door. Very rarely do you see someone walk into a grocery store and walk out with absolutely nothing. The grocery store is not like the mall — people don’t go there to window shop.

Sadly, many of our churches have become more like malls instead of grocery stores. People come, walk around, try on a few a things, but leave just the way they came. A grocery store is intentional about making sure you leave with SOMETHING. They put things like gum and candy right by the door so even if you just came to browse, you’ll pick up some gum before you leave.

The goal of the church is to make sure that people don’t leave empty handed. They should get SOMETHING out of having spent an hour or two at your worship service. They key is to be intentional.

That leads to my next thought …

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tejadohanchell@churchleaders.com'
Dr. Tejado W. Hanchell (TWH_PhD) is a 21st century “leadership liaison” whose passion is to help connect people and organizations to their purpose. He is a coach, consultant, and counselor and is a leading strategist on leadership and succession planning for churches, non-profit organizations and corporations. Dr. Hanchell has over 15 years of leadership experience and brings a wealth of wisdom to help enhance lives and increase productivity. He currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Mount Calvary Holy Church of Winston-Salem, NC (“The Church Committed to do MORE”) – the “Mother Church” of the Mount Calvary Holy Church of America, Inc., where Dr. Hanchell also serves as General Secretary and International Director of Youth & Young Adult Ministry under the leadership of Archbishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.