Empathize.
It’s not that hard to do if you realize you probably have an attitude about other organizations similar to their attitude toward your church.
Take going to the gym for example.
I have a gym membership. Truthfully, I haven’t been two months. But I spin on my bike trainer at home, do push ups and hike. I watch what I eat and I do other exercise. To me, my goal is fitness and health. It’s not going to the gym. The gym is a means to an end, and it’s not the only means for me.
Am I going to make the cover of next month’s Muscle Magazine? Nope. But that’s not my goal.
Many people think the same way about church. Especially if you’re reaching unchurched people. If a formerly unchurched person shows up 12 times a year, that’s far more than they’ve ever been in church! They might think they’re doing great, and maybe they are compared to how they used to feel spiritually.
So rather than judging them for it, tell them they’re doing great. And invite them into a deeper conversation about faith and life.
I realize the gym analogy breaks down because I don’t think the Christian faith is an individual pursuit like fitness can be (more on that in Part 4 of this blog series). And clearly, I would be in better shape if I went to the gym three times a week and had a personal trainer.
But if you stand there with a scowl on your face every Sunday, angry about empty seats, why would anyone want to sit in one?
2. Separate the mission from the method.
Somewhere along the way, a lot of us end up confusing the mission and the method.
Your mission is to lead people into a relationship with Jesus, not to get people to show up for an hour in a box every Sunday.
Please hear me … I value our time together on Sundays as a church. And I think it’s presently one of our very best vehicles through which to advance the mission of the church (more on that in Part 4 of the series).
But our mission is not to fill seats on a Sunday. It’s to lead people to Jesus.
You should be obsessed with your mission, not with filling seats.
Truthfully, some of us are more in love with the method than the mission. If that’s you, repent. I have. I am.
That shift will create a whole new mindset in your team.
As Will Mancini said, that will help you run offense, not just defense, on the issue of declining church attendance.
You’ll start to think of fresh ways to help people on their journey toward Jesus.
And—don’t miss this—if you really help people move into an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ, they might show up more regularly in your church on Sunday. Ironic, isn’t it?
3. Use technology to help people every day.
Church leaders today have an advantage that we simply didn’t have a decade ago.
Social media and even email are great ways to help people deepen their journey with Christ, not just sell your latest program.
What if you started viewing your social media channels and email list as an opportunity to come alongside people and help them grow in their faith?
You have to be careful how you approach this, because if you’re just trying to drive attendance, people will notice.
But if you encourage them, inspire them, challenge them and help them, they’ll welcome your presence.
I wrote a post on how to write email people actually want to read here, and Casey Graham and I touched on using email and technology as a way to reach out to your church in this podcast. I also outlined nine great ways to use social media in this post, along with three common mistakes many leaders make.
If you run your social media and email content through a helpful filter, people will be thrilled to hear from you. And it will deepen the bond you have with infrequent attenders. They’ll come to see you as a friend, not just one more person trying to sell them something.
Be the favorite person in their inbox, and their favorite thing to see on their newsfeed.
Never underestimate what being helpful does for everyone involved.
