Podcast Episode #083

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We cover the biggest post we've ever had at ThomRainer.com. It was on how churches drive away guests, and more than 750,000 of you have viewed the post. In this podcast, we dive deeper into the reasons these items drive away guests and further evaluate the stand and greet time.

Also mentioned in the post is a new resource that releases Monday, December 8, on the keys to retaining guests more effectively. You can sign up to find out more about that here.

Some highlights from this week’s episode include:

* I'm consistently amazed at the lack of signage in churches. It's like they expect people who've never been to their facility will know exactly where to go.

* It's worse to have a bad church website than to not have one.

* Church facility issues may seem petty to some, but in the end, they can turn people away from hearing the gospel.

* There is a sense that the stand and greet time is a contrived exercise.

* Every pastor tells me they are the friendliest church in town.

* Church members should be thinking about others, especially guests.

Top Ten Ways Churches Drive Away First-time Guests

* Having a stand up and greet one another time in the worship service.

* Unfriendly church members.

* Unsafe and unclean children’s area.

* No place to get information.

* Bad church website.

* Poor signage.

* Insider church language.

* Boring or bad service.

* Members telling guests that they were in their seat or pew.

* Dirty facilities.

Seven Reasons People Dislike the Stand and Greet Time

* Many guests are introverts.

* Some guests perceive that the members are not sincere during the time of greeting.

* Many guests don’t like the lack of hygiene that takes place during this time.

* Many times the members only greet other members.

* Both members and guests at some churches perceive the entire exercise is awkward.

* In some churches, the people in the congregation are told to say something silly to one another.

* Not only do some guests dread the stand and greet time, so do some members.

Episode Sponsor

This podcast was brought to you by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary's Doctor of Ministry program. If you want more out of your ministry, want to study with a world-class faculty and need to stay where you currently serve, the DMin at Southeastern is the answer for you. Visit SEBTS.EDU/DMIN for more information.

Feedback

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