Most of the barriers we experience in the local church stem from the spiritual barriers we’ve talked about previously. However, in a great many churches, there are some practical or physical barriers your senior leadership team should be aware of. These are in no particular order, but any and all of these can be problematic so be no the look out.

1) Marketing matters. The number one engine of church growth, besides the Holy Spirit, are the people in your church getting out into the community and willingly inviting others to your church. In business, we call them the satisfied customer. Question – how would you gauge the ask from the people in your church? Do you see a regular stream of visitors? If not, begin right there. Make sure to utilize less costly marketing venues like, Google Ad-words, Facebook Ads, direct mail marketing, and personal invitation cards.

2) Parking, parking, parking! This barrier has already been addressed in a previous post. People really don’t want to fuss too much with bad parking. Pastor, if you don’t have enough space, figure out a solution with your team fast.

3) You don’t get a second chance. Recently, Gallup/Barna put together a research profile of unchurched individuals and their expectations. In this article, the poll found that 17 minutes is usually what you receive to make a first impression. This means, the courtyard music, signage, greeters, ushers and worship team, have more of an impact than the preaching/teaching. Talk about pressure of importance for your First Impression’s Ministry! One unfriendly interaction with a guest from a grumpy team member can otherwise ruin a great first impression.

4) “I gotta go, I gotta go!” I have noticed two things over the years. Guests (we don’t call them visitors), ask primarily two questions when they arrive on your campus. The first one is: “Where are your bathrooms?” Most of the time it’s because they’re nervous and are expecting lightening to strike them down for stepping back into a church after 20 years of worldly living! So, make sure your bathrooms are clean, well lit, and void of aromas not pleasing to your nose.

5) If you feed them they will come. Most guests want to use the bathroom upon arrival and then hide behind a doughnut and a cup of coffee. This way they don’t have to interact with total strangers but instead can survey the surroundings. Pastor, I know you won the most outgoing award in your high school graduation; however, even the most extroverted guest simply wants to check you out, without being singled out. Provide a light refreshment table and hot or cold drinks and help your people feel comfortable. Finally, don’t make guests stand or raise their hands in services.

6) “Mommy, please don’t make me go in there!” The number one way to stop growth in your church is a lackluster children’s ministry. If kids do not want to attend your ministry, they will be sure to tell their parents. If you are in a more mature area, then Youth Ministry becomes just as important. Here is the litmus test; are new children running into the ministry area? Or do they pause and fight their parents? Make sure you invest top dollars and top leaders in your children’s ministry. To do otherwise will be a growth barrier. Email me if you want more information on how to have an exciting children’s ministry.

7) Sardine city. On the flip side of things, if your children’s or youth ministries areas are packed, you need to find bigger space or start a second service regardless of how many adults are attending. Parents do not want their students to be packed like sardines. It communicates their child is just one of the numbers. Parents want top dollar attention and care given to each one of their children. Remember, most families have more than one child, so the nursery is just as important as the preschool and elementary ministries.

It’s the opiate of the masses. What am I talking about? Music of course! Part of the problem in many churches is that the music style doesn’t match the target area. Secondly, music that’s being played needs to be more energetic. Don’t worry pastor you can have your 45-minute slow worship set on another night. Make sure to pick up the pace in your weekend service(s).

9) ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Ed Young Jr. says, “While visiting Las Vegas for a convention I was speaking at, I turned to my wife and said, “Las Vegas has nothing good to say, but they sure do know how to say it. Why is it in the church we have the best message in the world, but we don’t know how to say it?’” So true! If you’re putting people to sleep with your teaching/preaching that will be a growth barrier. Use illustrations, humor, music, objects, illustrated messages, guest interviews, testimonies, pictures, video, random interruptions, etc., to keep people’s attention and to illustrate your life changing point. Trust me – your people will love you for it.

10) No community projects. The truth is people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. As a church, when somebody in your community has a crisis are you blessing them publicly? Are you making a splash? Here are some things we’ve done as a church: had couples come up and talk about their addiction, only to surprise them by taking care of them at Teen Challenge and paying for their bills while the husband’s away. A recent family had their house burn down. We invited them up on stage to share their story only to surprise them with a large check for Christmas and hundreds of presents from our church. We take teams into neighborhoods and pick up trash and pull weeds in people’s yards. We help clothe the homeless by leaving our shoes at services. We send teams out into rescue missions, battered women’s shelters, etc. If your church isn’t making a splash then it’s losing the attractional quality Jesus modeled. The first thing Jesus asked was, “What do you want me to do for you?” What is it that your church can do when you mobilize the army of God? Find those needs and meet them.

I have about five or six more growth barriers that unfortunately will not make this post. Therefore, contact me at pastor.steven@exploreridgeline.com if you want to know more. Remember, our job as pastors is not to focus on church growth; that is God’s job. Our job is to remove the growth barriers and believe God for the growth! My prayer for you is that “God would enlarge your faith and vision so that the harvest of righteousness might increase under your leadership.” If no one else says it, let me be the first one – Pastor, I believe in you! You are doing a good work… now get back to tearing down barriers.

Read Growth Barriers, Part 1

Read Growth Barriers, Part 2