I guess it depends on the question. If the question is, how can we expose more people to Christianity? Then, yes. If the question is, how can we get more people to attend our church? Then, I would say evangelism isn’t the answer. At least, not the complete answer.

In fact, for some churches, telling your congregation to invite their friends to church may actually be a mistake.

That is, if you want them to come back.

Because you only get one chance at making a great first impression.

My wife sometimes drives me crazy because she wants the house to be spotless if we’re having someone come visit. And I like the idea of a clean house, but I live with a 4 year old and a 7 year old. So, we don’t invite many guests over.

As a pastor, you don’t have that option. You have guests showing up every week, especially if you’re asking your congregation to invite people.

So, your house needs to be in order. If it’s not, you may want to shift your focus away from evangelism and towards home renovation. Not forever, just for a season.

Some renovations give you more bang for your buck, right? So, let me give you a few places to start that I believe give you the most return on your investment.

1. Friendliness

Is your church friendly? Do people other than the staff or board go out of their way to speak to new people? Do you have greeters? Do you have a parking ministry? When someone visits your church, do they walk away feeling like you were glad they were there? When we’re talking about connecting people to a church, I don’t think there’s a more important factor than this one.

2. Really Good Kid’s Ministry

In most areas of the church, people will let things slide as long as they are at least average. This is not one of those areas. You have to offer a really good kid’s ministry. People don’t care about your excuses. They don’t care if you have enough volunteers or money to fund it. They just won’t come to your church. Do whatever it takes to make this ministry great. There is lots of very good curriculum available to you, some for free, and some at a cost. Make it happen. If your church is friendly and offers a great kid’s ministry, you will grow.

3. Not Terrible Worship Music

Your church has to have a very good kid’s ministry, and it has to be friendly. Your worship music on the other hand, just needs to be not terrible. If it’s average or better, good for you, you’re ahead of the curve. Pastors usually aren’t great judges of this, so you may want to ask around. It may be worse than your realize. If it is, let me say this, an iPod and words on the screen is better than a terrible band and terrible singer. Our student ministry at one time had 150-200 students attending, and we never had a live band.

4. Not Terrible Preaching

I know for all of us preachers this one hurts a little, but it’s true. Have you ever listened to a pastor of a large church and thought he’s not that good of a speaker? I know I have many times. Here’s the truth, if your church does everything else right, you don’t have to be a great preacher. But you can’t be terrible. If you’re doing the above three things right, and still not seeing growth, it may be time to look in the mirror.

Once you get your house in order by doing the four things listed above, then you can start encouraging your congregation to invite. If you do it before then, you run the risk of people showing up and never coming back.

This has the potential to be a controversial post, so if you disagree make sure to let me know by leaving a comment below. Also I’d love it if you would take the time to subscribe to the blog so I can send you tips on church growth, leadership, and more direct to your inbox each week.