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What’s Up:
Your church doesn’t scare visitors away with its perceived “rules” … it scares them off with confusion. Your visitor’s confusion is hurting your opportunities.
So What:
It turns out that the unchurched aren’t allergic to church. They’re just lost, literally and figuratively. If your building, service, or language confuses them, they may not show up in the first place, and they definitely won’t come back.
The Point Is:
Your Front Door Isn’t Obvious
If guests can’t find your entrance from the street or parking lot, they’ll assume they don’t belong. Hidden doors create invisible barriers.
Confusing Worship = Cold Goodbye
Multiple hymnals, unclear song leaders, a lack of screen technology, and insider-only lyrics and language leave your guests feeling clueless … not welcome.
The Building’s a Maze
Poor interior signage turns your building into an escape room. Guests didn’t show up to get lost. They came to find something … and Someone.
Church Lingo Is a Foreign Language
“Raise my Ebenezer”? “Traveling mercies”? “Narthex”? If your message needs a glossary, it’s not good news, it’s gibberish.
And … ?
Let me hit you with the data. A Church Answers study found that 60% of unchurched folks think church is confusing … and so do 60% of your regulars. Let that sink in: your own people think your church is confusing for outsiders. You’re not just confusing your community, your core is convinced you’re confusing their coworkers and friends (no wonder they’re not inviting anyone!).
Why? Because your church feels like an insider club. Guests don’t know where to park, how to enter, which door to use, where to go, where the restroom is, or what to expect once they find the sanctuary. And when the songs have three different numbers in three different books, when there’s no familiar screen technology, and when you pray for a hedge of protection around someone’s travel mercies, they’re not moved … they’re mystified. You may love tradition, but your guests live in the here and now. And if you confuse them, you lose them.
Action!
Get the First-Time to Faithful visitor follow-up system. Fix the confusion. Build the connection. https://go.effectivechurch.com/first-time-2-faithful
