INTRO.- ILL.- There is a movie called, “How to lose a guy in 10 days.” It’s a cute, funny, romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. He tries to win her and she tries to lose him. And it turns out, of course, that they fall in love. I love it when people fall in love!
How to lose a guy in 10 days. Sometimes I think churches are in the business of losing people rather than winning them. And often, it doesn’t take 10 days. Sometimes only 10 minutes! How do we lose people or not win them?
ILL.- I read an article entitled, “Ways to know your church is unfriendly.” Being unfriendly is definitely one way to lose people or cause a church not to grow. Here are some ways:
- When the sign out front says – For members only
- When the parking lot has a sign that says – unauthorized vehicles will be towed at owners expense.
- When the church lobby has a sign that says – no loitering
- When you say, “Praise the Lord” or “Amen” and the guy behind you says: “we don’t do that here.”
- When the preacher’s message is entitled “The Theological Significance of the eschatological dimensions of the sanctified life in the pre-millennial view of predestination.”
- When they pass the offering plate – twice.
- When, at fellowship, coffee is $1.50 and donuts are $1.00 – limit one.
- When the church’s motto is – We’re getting smaller but purer.
All churches do things that cause them to lose some people. It may be internal fighting, poor preaching, poor leadership, not-interested leaders, not-interested members, poor music, etc. Or it may be no interest in youth, music, worship, growth or no interest in anything!
ILL.- The parable of the NO-GOOD DOG FOOD Company. The NO-GOOD DOG FOOD company was doing, well, NO-GOOD. Sales were down, profits were down, income was down, people were down.
NO-GOOD called in some consultants to come in and analyze the situation. Sure enough, they confirmed the unpleasant truth. NO-GOOD was doing no good. The consultants did some careful analysis and made some suggestions. It didn’t help. NO-GOOD was still doing NO-GOOD.
Marketing experts were called in. Every facet of marketing was considered. Packaging. Distribution. Ads. They even considered changing the name of the NO-GOOD company. A major national marketing campaign was launched that featured an opening of Super Bowl ads. These were followed up with other TV ads, billboards, ads in magazines and national newspapers. It didn’t help. NO-GOOD was still doing NO-GOOD.
Since the problem had to do with sales, NO-GOOD decided to hire some sales trainers. The top sales trainers from across the nation were hired and paid big bucks to train the sales force in advance sales strategies. These sales-trainers didn’t solve the problem, but they did identify it.
It was at one of these sales meetings that a junior salesman raised an issue that ended up solving the problems at NO-GOOD. It was not received well at first. Junior John raised his hand and said, "I know why sales are down."
"You?" said the sales trainer. "You know why sales are down?" "Yes. I know why sales are down." "We have had the top consultants in the country working on this and they couldn’t figure it out and you, Junior John, know why sales are down." "Yes, I know why sales are down."
"Well, tell us, Junior John. Why are sales down? Enlighten us!" "Dogs don’t like it." "What?" "Dogs don’t like it." "Excuse me? What do you mean dogs don’t like it?" "Dogs don’t like it."
"Our dog food is nutritionally sound. We have the approval of the American Dog Food Society. “We have received dozens of awards. We have been written up in the most prestigious dog food journals in the country." "Dogs don’t like it."
"You know nothing. You are a junior sales rep. You have barely started your training. You know nothing. Someone escort this young man out of here. He knows nothing."
"I know this. Dogs don’t like your dog food. And I am happy to leave. But, before I do, would you like me to prove, once and for all that dogs don’t like your dog food?"
"How do you propose to do that?" "May I come to the stage?" "Proceed." With this, Junior John came to the stage. He poured three fresh bowls of NO-GOOD DOG FOOD. He had arranged for this demonstration ahead of time and had arranged for ten hungry dogs to come on stage. All ten dogs entered the stage, sniffed the bowls of freshly poured NO-GOOD DOG FOOD and walked off. Everyone was stunned.
Then, Junior John did the unthinkable. He pulled out a bag of NO-GOOD’s competitor’s dog food, NOT-BAD DOG FOOD. He poured three fresh bowls of NOT-BAD DOG FOOD and whistled. The dogs came back out, sniffed the dog food, then began to devour the NOT-BAD DOG FOOD. After a bit, the dogs walked off.
Junior John held up the dog food bowls. They were completely empty. It was clear that all of the dogs preferred NOT-BAD DOG FOOD to the NO-GOOD brand.
The moral to the story is simple. If you have a hard time selling it, it may not be a marketing problem, or a sales problem, it may be a product problem.
Brothers and sisters, could it possibly be that people don’t like us, that is, the church and that’s why they don’t buy what we are selling?
ILL.- House Church Networks by Larry Kreider lists some startling statistics:
- During the last ten years, church attendance has fallen by 9.5%, whereas the population has swelled 11%.
- The United States ranks third behind China and India in terms of unchurched people.
- Of the generation born between 1977 and 1994, only 4% are Christians. By comparison, 65% of those born before 1946 are Christian.
- Not one county in the United States has a higher percentage of churched people than they did 10 years ago.
Brothers and sisters, we are not getting the job done! The church is not growing because we are not winning people to Christ! We are not fulfilling the Great Commission of making disciples and baptizing them!
Of course, it’s not just us. It’s not just Jonesboro Christian Church. It’s basically all churches across the United States. Sure, some churches are growing, but how are they growing?
I still believe that basically all our churches are doing (Christian, Baptist, etc) is shifting the Christian population around.
PROP.- In this message I want us to consider some things we can do to reach people for Christ and help make the church grow. 1- Think growth 2- Advertising pays 3- Let’s eat 4- Come casual 5- Small multiplies 6 - Get motivated
1. THINK GROWTH
Prov. 23:7 KJV “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”
ILL.- Some churches do dumb things. They sometimes exhibit poor mentality. Many years ago Floyd Strater preached at the Knott Avenue Christian Church in Anaheim, CA. Floyd said that in every board meeting for 6 months they haggled over the purchase of a new lawnmower for the church.
Should it be a rear-bagger or a side-bagger, self-propelled or push, four-inch wheels or three-inch, Briggs and Stratton engine or a Tecumseh.
He said that they spent 360 man-hours over a $200 purchase. He said that if every board member had taken a pair tweezers they could have manicured the lawn during that period of time!
Poor mentality produces poor actions. And I’ve seen some churches do some mighty poor things. What we think about is what we will do and what we will become!
ILL.- In my teenage days I used to read Hot Rod magazine and all I thought about was fast cars and hot rods. In my 30’s I started reading BASSMASTER magazine and thought about fishing all the time. I also did plenty of fishing. After I started jogging for my health I started reading RUNNER’S WORLD and got interested in running and racing. The results: I raced many different distances: 5K, 10K, 15K, half marathon and the marathon.
ILL.- Last Tuesday I woke at 2:30 in the morning. I started THINKING about this message and couldn’t go back to sleep. I got up, shaved and showered and went to the church and started writing. Now you are getting the results of my thinking.
What we think about is what we will do and what we will become! Consequently, we need to start thinking about church and church growth.
How will this happen? Well, what are you reading? If you don’t read Christian material (the Bible, good Christian books, etc.) then you won’t think about the church and want it to grow.
Get to reading the right stuff! You don’t have to read only the Bible and Christian literature, but if you don’t read these you will never get interested in seeing the church grow!
2. ADVERTISING PAYS
Acts 8:4 “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” That’s advertising and advertising always pays.
ILL.- A psychotherapist, starting from scratch, was having such success in his business that he could now afford to have a proper shop banner advertising his wares. So he told a kid to paint the signboard for him and put it above his shop entrance.
But, instead of his business building up, it began to slacken. He had especially noticed the ladies shying away from his shop after reading the signboard. So he decided to check it out himself. Then he began to understand why!
The boy found a small wooden board so he had to split the word in 3 places. The sign read: Psycho- the- rapist. That’s advertising, but it’s bad advertising.
ILL.- According to Dun and Bradstreet, 95% of all business failures are from the ranks of non-advertisers. It’s like the feller says, “When business is good, you ought to advertise; when it’s bad, you’ve got to.”
Advertising pays. How can we advertise? With our church sign out front of the building, but of course, it’s limited to the people who drive by the building. TV ads, which we tried. Radio, which is costly. Direct mailing, which is also costly. Yellow page ad and newspaper ads.
And we could make up our own church signs like all these political signs we’ve seen in people’s yards and we could put them in our yards in order to advertise the church. BUT WE DON’T HAVE THAT MANY YARDS TO DISPLAY THEM!
ILL.- A type of pen, once imported from Japan and called “Pentel,” flooded the market in the United States. Though it had only been available for one year, sales of Pentel pens climbed to 1.8 million and continued to grow. And all this without heavy promotion! The explanation? “Word-of-mouth advertising.”
People contributed to the advertising of that pen simply by using the pen and introducing it to others.
Word of mouth advertising is the best! When people are sold on something they generally sell it to others by talking it up! What about the church? Aren’t you sold on Christ, Christianity and the church? You may not be as excited about the church as you could be, but there should be something about the church that you can talk about to your friends and neighbors. WHAT IS THAT SOMETHING? The music, the fellowship, the friendliness, the messages, the people, etc.? Please pick out some things that you LIKE about the church and start your own advertising campaign!
3. LET’S EAT
Acts 2:46-47 “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
The early church gathered to eat and we gather to eat. The result was that the church grew. I say, “Let’s eat!”
ILL.- A guy took his girlfriend to the movies. During the previews, she asked him if he would go and buy her some M & Ms. When he returned with her candy, she opened the bag, picked out all the brown ones and threw them away. "What did you do that for?" he asked her. "I’m allergic to chocolate!" she replied.
Brothers and sisters, all I know for sure is that our people and most people are not allergic to food, chocolate or otherwise! EVERYBODY LIKES FOOD AND A GOOD MEAL! And churches generally offer the best meals around. I’ve never seen a church meal I didn’t like!
I say, “Let’s eat!” Let’s eat more often. I have a suggestion. Since we all have to eat every Sunday why don’t we have a fellowship meal after church every Sunday? We have to eat anyway. Some cook anyway. And if we cook we also have to do the dishes and Paul McKnight loves doing dishes!
My idea may sound crazy, but it may not be so crazy. Of course, it won’t fly unless the board approves it and the cooks cook it! And I make a mean tuna casserole! (out of the box)
4. COME CASUAL
I Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’”
ILL.- Before I bought this 2001 Toyota Avalon that I am now driving I tried out a Silver Lincoln LS. I thought the car was beautiful and it drove nice and had a V-8 engine. But I decided not to buy it for at least one reason. I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD LOOK RIGHT FOR ME AS A PREACHER TO DRIVE A LINCOLN. I thought it might give the wrong impression of being superior to other people.
I know of some preachers who like to look the best and drive the best, but personally, I think it can give the wrong impression to the church and to the lost world around them.
What are we trying to do anyway? Win people to Christ or impress them with who we are and what we have?
This is where the idea of casual dress may come in. HAVE YOU NOTICED? The world dresses casually. Sometimes too casually, but casual dress may be something of a drawing card to get some people to come to church.
I am like most of you. I was raised in the era when you got your clothes ready on Saturday night for church and they were not your blue jeans and jogging shoes. THOSE CLOTHES AND SHOES WERE YOUR SUNDAY BEST. This is where some change may be needed for the sake of getting more people to come to church.
I think we all know that according to Scripture the Lord looks at the heart of man, not at his clothes. Even though there are circles where clothing makes the man (and the woman) we know that our style of clothing does not impress the Lord or make a person a better Christian.
I don’t believe in being a sloppy, messy dresser, but I also know that it’s the heart that counts when it comes to the Lord. I have known of some families that didn’t have nice Sunday-go-to-meetin clothes to wear to church. And consequently, they felt uncomfortable going to certain churches. This is the whole idea of casual dress for church. We’re not trying to be sloppy, slouchy or offensive to God. We just want to make our church more inviting for people to come.
Rick Warren is the Sr. Minister/Pastor of the large Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. It is my understanding that he dresses in casual dress every Sunday such Khakis, sport shirt and loafers, BUT HE IS NO LOAFER WHEN IT COMES TO PREACHING OR IN DOING BUSINESS FOR GOD.
5. SMALL MULTIPLIES
Acts 2:46-47 “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
ILL.- Colin Powell used to tell a story on the speech circuit. A reporter from an American television network was interviewing a young African-American soldier in a tank platoon on the eve of battle in Operation Desert Storm. "How do you think the battle will go?" the newsman asked. "Are you afraid?"
"We’ll do okay. We’re well trained. And I’m not afraid," answered the GI. Then he gestured in the direction of his buddies in uniform who were standing nearby. "I’m not afraid because I’m with my family."
"Tell him again," the soldiers shouted. "He didn’t hear you." So the young man repeated, "This is my family, and we’ll take care of each other."
Brothers and sisters, this is one idea of the small group ministry whether it’s a Sunday School group or a home Bible study group.
ILL.- One small group member in one church said, "My small group is like my family. They are there with comfort and support whenever I need them – including 4 a.m. at the hospital."
ILL.- Another small group member in a church said, “Our Small Group is so special that I know if any one of us called and said, ’I need your help,’ we would hang up the phone and go there without asking why.”
ILL.- A preacher by the name of Josh Hunt wrote, “I do not know anything that works better than giving Friday nights to Jesus. Giving Friday nights to Jesus will reach more people in less time than any method I know. Here is how it works.
“We used to have our friends over on Friday nights to play cards. We would have dessert, tell jokes, and play games together. One day I suggested to Sharon that we invite a couple who had visited the church to join us on Friday night. We did, and we had a good time in the process. During the entire evening, we never said anything about church or Sunday school or the Bible or anything remotely religious. But, do you know what? They joined the church in a few weeks. Now, he is teaching a class himself.
“A few weeks later, we invited another couple over. We played cards, we laughed, we ate dessert, we had a good time. Guess what? After a few weeks, they joined the church and became very active in the group now.
Hunt wrote, “It is said that 33% of the unchurched are open to attending church. The most likely thing to attract them is the invitation of a friend. When they do come, we need to have a strategy to get them to stick. We need to become a Velcro church rather than a Teflon church.
“Rick Warren says, ‘For your church to grow you must be nice to people when they show up.’ This ministry is based on sound church growth thinking: people are not interested in a friendly church; they are looking for friends.
Josh Hunt said, “Let me answer a couple of obvious questions. No, it does not have to be on Friday night. You do not have to play cards. You might take people out to lunch. You might go bowling or play golf. You might go out after church with them. But, do something fun with them. Do whatever you do with your friends. But include some outsiders in your life. These outsiders may be newcomers to the faith, or believers who are moving to town.”
Small groups, Sunday School or whatever, help to develop friendships and this in turn, will win people to Christ.
6. GET MOTIVATED
Romans 12:11 “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” We need some motivation. Some fire.
Some people just “do church” because they’ve always gone to church, but they don’t take it seriously. Are you really interested in seeing the church grow? Let’s face it. Some people don’t want the church to grow. They like the church the way it is. Nice little church, no hassle, no new faces with which to get acquainted, no work, don’t have to do much, etc.
What are you thinking? Do you leaders (elders, deacons and teachers) really want the church to grow? If not, it probably won’t. And what about you members? If you don’t want it to grow then it probably won’t grow.
If the church is to grow, however, someone has to have some “push” to them, some desire, and some ideas.
ILL.- A Baptist preacher had the habit of going down to the train station every single day to watch the Sunset Limited go by. There was no chore he wouldn’t interrupt to carry out this daily ritual. Members of his church thought he was a bit nuts and they asked him give up this daily habit. He said, “No, I won’t give it up.” He said, “I preach your sermons, teach Sunday School, teach Bible studies, perform your weddings and funerals, run your charities, chair committees for you, etc. I won’t give up seeing that Southern Pacific train every. I love it! IT’S THE ONLY THING AROUND HERE THAT I DON’T HAVE TO PUSH!”
We need to get motivated. I want to do my part to motivate you, but some of it has to come from your personal relationship to the Lord.
ILL.- Back in 1994, Bob Dylan was doing a rock concert in Toronto, Canada. In the middle of the show, he looked out at the audience. And he said, " Everyone in life has a hero. It might be an athlete. It might be a philosopher. It might be a singer. I’m going to take the next few minutes and sing about my hero." And he proceeded to give a stirring rendition of "In the Garden."
Who’s your hero? If you are sold on Jesus like you should be, you will get motivated about living the Christian life and selling the church to others!
CONCLUSION----------------------------
ILL.- A couple of years ago, Tim Forneris, a 22 year-old groundskeeper gave Mark McGwire, a million dollar baseball, saying “I think I have something that belongs to you.” McGwire in turn gave it to the Hall of Fame to display beside Ruth’s and Marris’ record-breaking balls. Why? He said it didn’t belong to him, it belonged to the world.
Both Forneris and McGwire displayed the kind of attitude Christians should have about their salvation. We do not hoard our treasure, we share it with the world.
Let’s make that our commitment. And when we do, the church will grow!
