One of the perpetual questions for preachers and church leaders.  Why don’t visitors return?  Some churches may be persisting with “guest services” in some form or other that have not seen an outsider come in for years.  But other churches have some success at attracting guests or visitors.  If we get visitors, but never see them again, what is the reason?

Non-Preaching Reasons – This is a preaching site, so I have a tendency to think about the preaching part of church life, but there are many potential non-preaching reasons.  Are church members unfriendly?  Does the church put visitors in the spotlight and make them uncomfortable (“too friendly” approaches like, “would any visitors please stand up so we can welcome you with a round of applause, a huge bouquet of flowers and a fireworks display in your honor?”)  Does the whole experience feel uncomfortably alien to them?  (Remember that church culture is probably not their culture, so they don’t know when they’re supposed to stand, sit, look up a Bible reference, etc.)  Lack of personal connection (people ultimately come to church relationally, so if the relational connections are not made, return visits will probably not occur).  There are many more possible reasons, some of which are outside our control.  But for the sake of the gospel, take stock of everything from seating, welcomers, friendliness, to missing explanations of church service elements, to your own personal hygiene!  People matter, after all.

Preaching Reasons – Preaching is not everything, but it is a significant something.  Could visitors choose not to return because of their experience of your preaching?  Is your manner apparently false (lofty, outdated, affected, too “stained glass”)?  Is your preaching engaging or tedious?  Does it bear any relevance to their lives?  Can they follow what you’re talking about?  People are not used to sitting and listening to a speaker for an extended time (i.e. beyond five minutes!)  If your preaching is boring, irrelevant, strangely affected or unhelpfully aggressive, not to mention legalistic or apparently insincere (i.e. incessantly “nice” throughout) . . . well, they might not want to sit through it again!

Some elements of a visitor’s experience and motivation are beyond our control.  It is ultimately up to the Spirit to draw people to Jesus and the Gospel, as only He can truly convict and save.  But let’s not add any unnecessary barriers to the process.  Perhaps it’s time to take stock of everything from a visitor’s perspective.  This doesn’t mean transforming everything into an extreme seeker-sensitive church model.  Whatever your view on how church should be, surely we can agree it should be “visitor considerate.”