Just because a church is growing doesn’t mean it’s filling up with unchurched people.
How do you know you’re really making inroads with the unchurched?
First, you can find out whether you are attracting transfer growth or truly unchurched people.
At Connexus, where I serve, we ask new people to fill out a card (I’ll send a copy of that card to everyone on the Blog Insider’s Email List later this week. You can subscribe for free in the right column of this page). By that we’ve learned that 60 percent of our first-time attenders self-identify as having no church background.
But you can also tell because of how unchurched people change the dynamic in your church. Your church will simply not be the same anymore.
Preparing to reach unchurched people is one thing (here are nine signs your church is ready to reach unchurched people). But when unchurched people actually start connecting with your church, things change deeply.
When you see these seven signs pop up in your church, you will know that you are really making inroads with the unchurched:
1. People Aren’t Singing Much During the Service
If you think about it, this shouldn’t surprise you. Christians are about the only people left in our culture who sing corporately on a weekly basis. Unchurched people may like your music, but they won’t necessarily sing it. Be OK with that. We’ve learned to be. Churched people visit our church all the time and remark on how few people sing (even though we have an exceptional band).
I’ve just decided I don’t care. The goal is not to get unchurched people to sing … it’s to lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus. We limit the music to a few songs. Christians get to sing. Unchurched people appreciate the band. And people’s lives get changed.
2. Long-Time Church People Are Unsettled
Not all long-time church people will be upset, but some will be. They’ll be concerned that people who don’t look like them, behave like them or share their moral value system are now sitting beside them on Sundays or in group with them mid-week.
This is a good sign. Some of those churched people will leave, but you will also have a group that have waited for this day all their lives. They have unchurched friends who are coming and they’ll be thrilled that the church is (finally) accomplishing its mission. Run with them.
3. Irregular Attendance Is Regular
This unsettles pastors. Normally, if a church person is away for a month, it’s a ‘sign’ of something. Not with unchurched people. In the same way that if you don’t make it to the gym in a week you don’t panic, unchurched people will come when they feel like it.
Remember: This is the most they’ve attended church ever. I wrote this post on how to get irregular attenders to attend more often, but just know this comes with the territory.
