2. Refusing to Settle for Mediocre
It’s one thing to invite your friends. It’s quite another to have a great experience to invite them into.
Many churches settle for mediocrity. Don’t.
Battle mediocrity instead. Too many churches allow what’s good to stand in the way of what could be great.
To some extent, that means a service with decent music (decent to outsiders, not insiders), authentic, compelling preaching, a solid next-gen ministry and a good guest services approach (making your guests feel welcome).
An awkward reality of stuck and declining churches is that they choose inclusion over excellence. We let a not-very-gifted singer sing because no one has the courage to tell him he can’t. We let non-leaders lead because they’ve been there the longest, and they’re bossy, and we’re all afraid. (I wrote more about this dynamic that here.)
I’m not judging. I’ve led in that context before, and that’s one of the first things a leader has to change.
God designed some people to sing. Get them singing.
He gave others the gift of rhythm. Get them drumming.
He gave some the gift of leadership or communication. Get them leading and communicating.
It’s a mistake to dismiss that as entertainment. It’s called gifting. And the body of Christ works best on gifting.
The price you pay is a service nobody really likes, except the insiders, kind of like a school play parents endure because they know their kid is in it.
If your worship service is something only insiders love, don’t be surprised when outsiders walk away and you don’t see any church growth.
3. An Open Door Online AND a Great In-House Experience
The online world is continuing to become more and more real. Your regular attendees and everyone you want to reach moves seamlessly between the digital and real worlds these days.
