Comfort is key
Nobody wants to come back to an uncomfortable church. Some of the uncomfortable things to look out for in church
- Church is too cold.
Not everyone feels comfortable sitting in their coats for the odd hour and a half service. They don’t do it at home or in the office, why church? A freezing church is an experience no one wants to repeat! - Church is too crowded.
The only people who like crowded churches are preachers! Personal space is important to guests. If your church is 80% full, ITS FULL! All things being equal when churches become 80% full AND capacity is not increased by for example putting out extra chairs or increasing worship area space, numbers start DECLINING. Why? It’s that great intangible called personal space. Nobody likes being squashed between people they don’t know. This is why people unconsciously put items on the chair next to them to create some perSonal space. - The audio system too loud or of bad quality.
When music becomes too loud it becomes oppressive (there seems to be a correlation between guests who don’t come back and how closely the were sitting to the loudspeakers! I encourage you to make your own observations and lets compare notes. Plus unless its some sort of revival meeting in a big space there’s no need to preach too loudly from the pulpit – it simply makes guests uncomfortable, talked down at etc. And you impress nobody but yourself and ‘church people’ who are used to such things. If that’s your audience then fine, but if you’re concerned about the unchurched first time guest you might need a rethink on loudness.
Also remember, a noisy church alienates its surrounding community!
