1. The church takes time during each worship service to pray for the community.
Prayer is powerful; and the church members become more focused about their communities.
2. A volunteer or staff person is accountable for the outreach ministry of the church.
If no one has leadership responsibility, it does not get done.
3. A regular report is provided to church members about outreach and ministry efforts in the community.
What gets reported gets done. Have you noticed most churches provide financial reports to the church members? That says the money is important.
We need at least equal emphasis on the importance of outreach ministries.
4. Churches have regular “mystery” guests come to the worship services.
One church leader told me that his church asks someone in the community to be a mystery guest every quarter. Those guests are always first-time guests, and they share their experiences with leaders later that day or week.
The church members thus get to see the worship services through the eyes of a community member.
5. The church gives obsessive attention to their websites.
A church website is the new front door for churches. It’s almost always the first place prospective guests go.
These websites should be designed in a very guest-friendly way.
