Is your church strong on preaching the Bible? Then why are you waiting until half an hour or more into the service before the preaching starts? Maybe you should begin with preaching. Then have worship in response to the Word.
Find and Feature Your Unique Voice
Here are two real-life examples. From a megachurch and a Small Church.
1. Hillsong church in Australia used to be called Sydney Christian Life Centre. But they became known for their phenomenal music, so they decided to put their worship music front-and-center, including changing the name of the church to fit that.
2. The church I pastor is Cornerstone Christian Fellowship. One of the things we do really well is reach out to neighborhood youth. So if you drive by the church door, you’ll see skateboard ramps in the front parking lot. They’re not hidden in the back, they’re featured out front.
No, you don’t have to change the name of your church. In fact, I don’t recommend that your church does any of the ideas I just mentioned. That would be mere imitation.
Use these ideas as inspiration and start asking yourself these questions:
- What does our church do well?
- What can our church do really well?
- What do we want to be known for?
- Have we been burying the lead, making people look through layers of fluff to find what we do well?
- How can we remove the extra layers and feature what we do well?
This is not about gimmicks. This is about mission.
What has God called you to do? Why does your church exist? And how can you let people know about it?
So what do you think? What can your church do to stop burying the lead?
