In the life of every church, there are numbers. Some numbers are more significant than others. Some numbers are known by everyone. Other numbers are known by only a few. Some numbers seem to be a secret. Some people are threatened by numbers--usually those who are not about the kingdom.
The institutional church is interested in certain numbers. Sometimes it seems there is more interest in the numbers than in the people behind the numbers. You know the numbers the institution pushes--Profession of Faith, Apportionments Paid, and attendance. It is normal and good for the institution to keep the local congregations accountable.
Jesus was a number person. Did you know that? His parables are filled with numbers. The shepherd leaves the ninety nine to find the one. Ten are healed and then what happens? There are five loaves and how many fish? How many are fed? Numbers in Jesus' teachings help us focus on what God is doing. Take the numbers out of the gospel and see how much sense is made!
So what number do you need to know? Next time you are in an Evangelism meeting or Church Council meeting, ask for this number. Or better yet, YOU provide this number for others to see. FIRST TIME GUESTS IN WORSHIP.
I think this is the THE most important number in the life of a vital congregation. Very few people ever ask for or know this number. It is in my humble opinion the number that every preacher and every congregation should use as a focus on evaluating vital ministry. Why?
This number shows the church if you are even on the radar of the community. A church that experiences a low number of first time guest in worship is a church that has disappeared and become irrelevant. The church's leadership is obviously not about teaching or reaching the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. The church is throwing a party and no one is coming!
What can a church do to increase this number?
1. Create and practice a culture of intercessory prayer for the unchurched or dechurched in your midst.
One leader in a church said, "I really do not know anyone who is not active in a church." This statement shows how irrelevant one can become in the world. It demonstrates a spiritual blindness. It reminds me of the church that was closing after years of ministry. The leader of the church said, "We just have no young children or young adults in our midst." As we were leaving the building, I looked across the street and saw over 100 children playing in the school across the street. The church was blind to that which was obvious.
Create a card that members carry with them everyday. The title on the card should read, "My Top Five...." Have members pray each day a prayer that invites them to see who in their world--work, family, or play--has never connected or disconnected from the body of Christ. Write that name on the card and teach them to pray naming that person. Pray that God will open the window of opportunity to share, invite, and nurture these persons in the body of Christ. You and your church will be amazed what will happen when the culture of praying for the lost permeates your worship, meetings, and daily life.
2. Throw a party and see how many you can get to come!
Now I can hear the naysayers already. The church is not about a party. Read the gospels and see how many times Jesus is about partying! Jesus emphasizes celebrations. In fact, it seems sometimes he is the life of the party. A party will show the community the character of celebration in the life of your congregation. A person not active in the life of a church should come away from your party saying, "Man, those folks are fun to be around! I think I would like to spend more time with them. I wonder what Sunday mornings are like?"
Somehow the church in some places has become a place where there is no joy. It is not a place to have good friends and good fellowship. It shows in how we do Sunday morning worship. People are not smiling. Children are not laughing. Grumpy old (yes mostly old) people have taken the controls. First time guests, if they come, can't wait to leave so they can never come back! The outside sign should read, "Grumpy UMC!"
Contrast this with the little boy's remark as he was leaving a church filled with joy. It was his first Sunday at this particular church. He turned to his mom and dad as they were leaving and said, "Let's do this again!!!"
Good worship is like a party. First time guests can't wait to get back or come again!!!
3. Teach leadership how to tell the story of Jesus in their life.
In our world, we will tell each other where the best sales are. We will tell each other the best places to eat. We share secular information in a heartbeat. However, the art of telling what God is doing in our life today has been lost! Laity need a place to rehearse or prepare their talk about God's blessings in life. Laity need help identifying where God continues to work in their world.
I call this an elevator speech. It is a three to four minute (no longer!) talk about what God is doing in his/her life. It is a prepared speech that has been rehearsed. You can rehearse it to the mirror, the cows, the dogs, but it is rehearsed. We practice things that are important!
The speech always ends with an invitation to worship. For a year or so, begin EVERY meeting at the church with this question: How is God at work in your life? It is an interesting experiment.
The result of these conversations is two fold. First, leadership is practicing for the moment when God will open the windows of opportunity to share and invite. It creates a readiness that does not come naturally for many. The second result is that laity are sharing with others what God is doing in their life. At one meeting where this happened a mom shared her joy about a lost son beginning to make his way back. She turned to the person next to her to find tears rolling down his cheeks. The man who had shared many meeting with her said, "I so needed to hear your words as my daughter has lost her way. I was wondering if all hope was gone!"
How many Christian meetings have you been to in which no one shared what God is doing in the world? The opening prayer was rudimentary. The business probably was crisis oriented or problem centered. Jesus never even got a foot in the door!
Many of you know that I retired July 1st after 40 years. The saddest part of my retirement is the realization that my generation of pastors in the United Methodist Church led a church in decline. Worship, Membership, and Sunday School attendance declined in those years. When our first time guests numbers dwindled to all but nothing. We did nothing. The church did not change. "If they don't like what we are doing they can leave!" And they did. The church became irrelevant.
Maybe this would be a different story if we had watched the number of first time guests. Maybe we can take note of this now.
Do you know the number in your church?
Pray for me as I pray for you.
In the Master's Name,
Dr. M. Jack O'Dell
RETIRED
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