Chuck Lawless offers a checklist for churches:

I’ve written posts for this site and my own that describe some of the negatives our church consulting teams and “spies” have found in churches. The goal of this post is to show some of the positives we’ve seen in different churches. The topics vary, but perhaps something will help you in your church.

1. Greeters at every door. It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally every one of our team members is greeted when each of us intentionally enters a different door. Those churches are ready for guests.

2. Strong security in the preschool/children’s areas. Sometimes our team members gain entrance to these area much too easily, but we’ve been in churches that physically halted our team from going beyond the boundaries. I’m pleased to report to the church that their security system worked in those cases.

3. Name tags for everyone. Several folks disagreed with my suggestion about this topic in previous posts, but our team appreciates it when everyone can quickly learn names. Name tags simply make it easier for folks to have conversations with people they don’t know.

4. Assurances about visitor’s cards. Again, I’ve written about why I likely would not complete a visitor’s card at your church. On the other hand, some churches have made it very clear up front – by saying, “We won’t bombard you with visits, phone calls, and emails, and we won’t embarrass you” – that they won’t put us on the spot. I’m willing to complete a card for those churches.

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Bob Kauflin explains how he planned a service after a sudden death in his congregation:

Last Thursday at 10:06 AM, Brian Chesemore, a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, texted me and the other pastors. He informed us that one of our members, 42 year old Wade Stephenson, had been in a “very bad car accident” and was on his way to the hospital. An hour later Brian simply texted: “He’s with the Lord.”

I wept uncontrollably. Wade was a gentle, grateful, generous, godly man, a musician and leader who was loved and respected by everyone who knew him. He left behind his dear wife Rebecca, three young daughters, and a soon to be born son.

The tragic news spread quickly throughout our three year old church plant and rocked our world. But in the midst of profound grief, the gifts of the Spirit were on full display. By nighttime a Facebook page, Loving the Stephensons, enabled church members and friends to sign up to minister to Becca and her family in numerous practical ways, including financial gifts. The response was overwhelming.

A Change of Plans

We had already planned Sunday, but as CJ Mahaney has often told me, “The Holy Spirit helps us plan, but our plans are not the Holy Spirit.” So at the hospital on Thursday morning, we started over. We would point people to the gospel from God’s Word as always, but Wade’s death brought a fresh immediacy to the truths we proclaim every Sunday. People would be grieving. How could we comfort them with the hope of the gospel without sounding shallow or callous? How could we keep Sunday from becoming a memorial service, and yet still weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15)?

We ended up planning the meeting by email, and were nailing down final decisions Sunday morning. Being in pastoral ministry for decades teaches you there are no formulas to care for people’s souls. I thought it might be helpful, though, to share what we ended up with, and the thought process behind it.

The Sovereign God Who Sees and Knows

We started the meeting with a call to worship from Ps. 31:7: I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul. I said something like, “Sometimes we come into a Sunday gathering with little or no desire to sing God’s praises or be with God’s people. We’re in a time of affliction. Our souls are distressed. And yet God calls us to rejoice in him because he sees our affliction. He knows the distress of our souls. And he assures that in Jesus Christ, his steadfast love is unchanging and unending. Let’s praise the God whose faithfulness never fails us.”

The first song was Great is Thy Faithfulness. We wanted to start with a familiar and reflective song that reminded us who God is and what he’s done for us in Christ.

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Brad Bridges helps churches think about visitors before they arrive at your doors:

Most people think of church hospitality occurring on Sunday mornings. But what if I told you church hospitality could extend even further using these seven guest experience tips to show church hospitality outside of Sunday morning? Yes, it does sound a little different…and I get that. But hear me out.

Some churches place overly joyful and smiley greeters at the door and point people enthusiastically towards open parking spaces. Some appoint a hospitality crew to roam the auditorium and interact with guests. And I see why they do those things, but this article addresses something different.

Our actions outside of Sunday show our commitment to serve church guests with love. Sometimes they show our love even more than Sunday mornings do. (I’d argue this often times proves true for many churches.)

To what degree do you intentionally love people who haven’t even stepped a foot in your church? This question rarely gets addressed.

But first, let’s be clear. Our goal isn’t to create the most “attractional” model possible for church growth. And it isn’t to trick or market people into your church.

The focus is, however, on serving those far from God or far from the church. Do they matter to your church? If so, we have to think about them before they arrive at your doors. We have to address the obstacles they face to hear your sermons, sing your songs, and generally join your church when it meets on Sundays (or any other time). Take a look at these tips below and see what you think.

1) Clean Up The Parking Lot

People drive by your church building every day. They already have an opinion of your church. What do you think it is? What do they see when they pass your building merely look at the exterior?

I recently did a Sunday Secret Shopper visit for a church in Wisconsin. A few hours after their service, I drove back by the church building. The parking lot had weeds growing in it, someone had left some trash laying around, and the place was deserted. It wasn’t a place you would want to visit.

I looked for information about service times — not there. I looked for guest parking — not there. I did find multiple items in the parking lot that made the church “feel” unwelcoming. Not a good option when wanting to welcome guests.

2) Take Care of Your Building’s Exterior

When is the last time you painted your building? Are there spots where the paint has faded? Any safety concerns on the external structure of your building? What about the doors? I hope they get locked routinely by someone.

The exterior of the building sends a message about whether we care about our guests or not. One easy way to figure this out as a guest is to look for signs pointing you where to go with kids, where to go for the worship service, and where to go for information.

One word of caution: you can have a polished exterior and be a dying church. Quality facilities don’t guarantee spiritual vitality. They can dissuade a guest from visiting or returning. I’m not saying that they should, but it isn’t the responsibility of the guest to be holy. It is the responsibility of the church to remove obstacles from those who may decide not to consider church and/or God.

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