Today was “Transition Sunday.” It is the brainchild of the United Methodist Church, North Georgia Conference, Office of Connectional Ministries. Try fitting that on a business card. This year, I am transitioning from being pastor of one UMC to being the pastor of another UMC in North Georgia. We UMC pastors are appointed yearly by our Bishop. Theoretically we could move every year, but practically most stay at least 3 to 5 years and sometimes longer.
As best I understand it, the idea of “Transition Sunday” is so that the moving pastor can have a one or two Sunday break moving from one place to the next. The benefit to the church is that they don’t experience emotional whiplash going from one Sunday of saying goodbye to saying hello just seven days later and all the potlucks and/or receptions that come with each occasion.
While my church didn’t seem wild about the idea of me having my final Sunday a week early, I mentioned that it would be a nice gift to me and the plans were set. I spent my free Sunday attending 9:45am worship at one of the other churches in my new community and also checking out the 11am “parking lot attendance” at a few other churches in town as well as my new church.
The day was one of the most impactful learning experiences in my eight years of ministry. We arrived at the 9:45am worship service about 15 minutes early and tried to figure out where to enter. Since it was a contemporary service, I figured maybe the service would be near the most modern-looking entrance. Of course, a regular visitor wouldn‘t think this way, which turned out not to matter since I was wrong. As I entered with my 11-year old son, a woman was setting up some snacks in the hall. I asked where the contemporary service was and she started to give me directions. I was excited when she decided to take me down the hall. Then she blew it. She only got me down one hallway before pointing me the rest of the way. Guess those cheese puffs couldn’t wait. Of course, it wasn’t as easy to find as she made it sound. You see, we had entered the building on the complete opposite end of where we needed to go. As we wandered, we passed the front of the Sanctuary where the early service was still going on. Fortunately I am a Pastor and I knew that wasn’t where we wanted to go. If I had been a less-churched visitor, the volunteer’s mistake of sending me on my own could have resulted in me walking into the very front altar area while the early traditional service was going on!
We finally found our worship service, although only because I knew what we were looking for. I spent 5 minutes at the information table looking at and taking every brochure they had. No one was there to greet me or assist me. No one noticed that I was very interested in what the church had to offer. We entered the service and sat down. People were talking with each other and seemed happy. In the five minutes before the service started, in a very small room with only about 40 happy people at the time, not one person greeted this man and his son. In the “greeting” time during the service, no one seated around us recognized us as new and only one lady asked our names.
I loved the atmosphere, the décor, the music and the sermon. This is a winning formula for those that are already there. They’ve got to find some way to be more visitor-friendly. We left during the singing of the last song so they didn’t have a chance to impress us after the service. Of course if I was a regular prospect, my mind was probably already made up. I left wondering if the lack of greeters and attention is by design, some seeker-sensitive thing?
We found our way back to the car by exiting out the first exterior door we found and walking around the building and we were off to our next church for the 11am service. We were running late and we pulled up to a crowded parking lot outside a very traditional Baptist church. I was somewhat surprised because the website looked all modern and contemporary. I once again had no idea where to enter. I figured the front Sanctuary doors were probably the place, but a small sign that read “Welcome Center entrance” pointed me a different direction. I never found another sign that continued those directions. As we drove through the crowded parking lot, we decided not to attend. I was surprised how intimidating the traditional Sanctuary was with its closed, solid doors. Being late, I just wasn’t brave enough to park and enter. Did I mention that I AM A PASTOR!!!! If I am intimidated to enter, how must real, live un-churched folks feel?
The whole experience at these two churches has left me a little shell-shocked. As a Pastor that desires to reach de-churched and un-churched people far from God, what am I to do with this experience?
Here are a few thoughts:
(1)The importance of relational evangelism. There are not many un-churched, de-churched people brave enough to drive up to a church to visit on a Sunday. We feel comfortable in our churches and think it is no big deal for a visitor. I am more committed now to finding more off-campus ways to engage people and build relationships before bringing them onto campus.
(2)If they are brave enough to show up at our church, we have to do all in our power to make it an easier experience.
(3)When you invite someone, pick them up or meet them in the parking lot! As we used to say at Roswell UMC, “don’t give them a compass and a map and say good luck.”
(4)Greeters are needed inside the building and even more so outside in the parking lot.
(5)I have long told my greeters that I never want to see them point. Walk them there personally and connect them with another person. To do this and still keep stations covered means that you have to have several greeters in every location.
(6)Nice looking, correct and informative signage is a must everywhere.
(7)Real, live people in the pews need to be friendly...without being overbearing and nosey. It is an art, the art of hospitality. So many churches have gone to a seeker-sensitive policy that leaves people alone when they visit because in the past folks in the pews have attacked visitors with all sorts of personal questions. As I have said to my congregation, “first time visitors are just dating us, they aren’t ready to marry us just yet.”
I would highly recommend a similar experience for all pastors and lay people as well. Send your lay people out to another church once in a while to see how being a visitor feels. I had forgotten.
