My children worshipped in a megachurch setting for almost 10 years. My daughter is only 11 so that is most of her life. My children are accustomed to large parking lots, elevated pulpits, flashing lights, large choirs, loud music and charismatic preaching. Since my father-in-ministry’s retirement, we’ve explored worshipping in smaller settings. Our church today is quickly growing and is just as charismatic as our home church because the pastor is a son of the ministry, but we rent space in a senior center and are a quarter of the size of our mega home church. It’s been a great fit for us. So when a smaller, more traditional church invited me to preach this past weekend, my daughter wasn’t too thrilled to miss service at our church. The small, historic church repelled her, but after the members warmly welcomed us and as the service progressed, my daughter started smiling, clapping, and singing along with the spirited choir. After the service, she expressed how she didn’t expect to like the service, but greatly enjoyed the fellowship and worship. Of course, she enjoyed her mother’s preaching. I told her the experience was a great lesson. It’s not the building, pulpit, pews, or décor that make the worship, it’s the Holy Spirit’s activity amongst the people.
Oftentimes, when we think about drawing people to our ministries or churches, we focus on aesthetics and logistics. However, we forget to think about what’s going to ultimately draw people to our ministries – the Holy Spirit. I’m not saying that aesthetics and logistics are not important. We need to think through how to get people safely in and out of a space. We need to think about accessibility and sensory-friendly spaces. We need to think about bathrooms. However, as Bishop Easterling often says, we have to keep the main thing, the main thing, and people are searching for God. People need to hear a word from God. They are seeking a divine encounter. The draw for our ministries should always be God and the Spirit’s work in us and amongst us.
I love John the Baptist because he didn’t have a church building. He didn’t wear fancy clothes. He didn’t have hymnals or pews, but people came out in droves to the wilderness to receive a word from God through his ministry. People came to repent and be baptized because they recognized God at work in him. The location didn’t matter. John’s appearance didn’t matter. The climate didn’t matter. They had to get to John so they could have a divine encounter. This was the draw. I believe it’s important for us to think about why people would want to walk through our doors, especially since many people do not want to return to buildings or in-person worship since Covid-19. What will people receive if they make the journey to your church? Will they have an encounter with God? Will they hear from God? Also, what will keep them coming back? I believe the answers to these questions start with prayer and our relationship with God.
What are your thoughts? Have you ever considered why people are really drawn to your ministry? What keeps people coming back?