There have been a few interesting posts recently in the blog world about churches hiring secret shoppers to check them out and provide a report from the perspective of a first-time guest. I find this to be interesting, obviously taking from the retail store practice of the same name.

I almost mistook myself for a secret shopper until I thought about it more thoroughly. When I do weekend consulting, only a portion of my time is spent doing a visitor overview (exactly one service). In my report I look from both the viewpoint of the visitor and from the eye of a staff member. But what really makes the difference is that I don’t just tell the church what I thought of them, I provide solutions and recommendations to the issues based on years of consulting with hundreds of churches.

Here’s a brief portion of one of the visitor overview sections of a report I wrote recently for a church client:

PRE-SERVICE
Greeters were friendly but not enough of them were available to help guide me to where I wanted to go. Adding signage outside of the church is a strong recommendation. For example, telling parents with small children where to park would be a tremendous addition.

Only one parking lot greeter was visible. One is good, several would be better for a helpful first impression.

Consider adding single parent parking up close to the side of the building with the Children’s wing entrances.

I liked the coffee cafe, but since it was upstairs and not immediately off of the sanctuary foyer, it would not be easy to find for first-time visitors who often appreciate a place to relax if they arrive early and don’t know anyone yet at the church. Perhaps have extra coffee greeters handing out free samples in the foyer and pointing the way to the cafe would drive more traffic to this excellent area.

Check in for children was handled at one check-in station in the Children’s area. The check-in line was long, the hallway therefor crowded and the process slow. Considering most first time visitors are reticent to leave their small children away from their sight anyway on their first visit, utilizing a digital check-in system is a top priority for the sense of security and organization to parents. Plus, a comprehensive solution for check in software is often tied into the church database for easy access for staff and leadership for follow up. I cover this in more detail below in the ChMS portion of the report.

Signage throughout the facility needs to be larger, clearer and more frequent. The maze of hallways between the auditorium and Children’s, Youth and Education areas was confusing, especially on a campus with three levels.

More volunteers (floaters) were needed to help people find their way.

Walking into the auditorium (3rd service) I was met by a greeter at the door who handed me a bulletin. Without ushers to guild people to seats and without ropes blocking off the back, unused, 1/3 of the auditorium, people sat scattered and as far away as possible from each other, leaving me (first time guest) with a sense that the church members were unfriendly.

SERVICE
I can’t remember who did the welcome, nor did I know what role he had at the church. You need a graphic to introduce him. Anytime a person comes on stage to talk to the crowd, reinforce who this is and what they do with a graphic.

Please type lyrics like they are sung! Wow, it was hard to follow some songs because the “breaks” didn’t fit the way they were typed on the screen. Also, the lyrics were often behind in keeping up with the band, making it difficult for those unfamiliar with the song to try and sing along.

Build more lighting “looks” with different gels, gobos and washes. It was boring to set a look and leave it. Get creative!

Adding that blue wash (bottom to top) on the background between services has helped greatly with creating a shallower depth of field for the video cameras, giving the subjects on screen a way to pop off of the background. From the perspective of a casual observer, the singers and pastor looked more lifelike instead of flat against the background.

Before service, be sure to check all graphics on sanctuary screens - some lyric graphics were too dark making them hard to read. Building them on a computer off site is often a part of the process, but check to see how they look in the sanctuary before going live.

Consider different fade rates for lighting changes/scene changes. Create moods for the audience to experience the service fully. There’s more to light than on/off. Help set the tone based on the tempo of the song or the intensity of the message.

The mix of vocalists-to-band was flat. One mix didn’t stand out over the other. The vocalists should be on top of the mix, above the volume of the band to allow everyone to stay on pitch as they sing along. An added bonus: When the vocal mix is above the band, it will encourage people to sing out more since they won’t feel like everyone around them is listening to them do a solo in the audience!

Again, that’s just a sampling, but I’ve found that most pastors are pleasantly surprised to find that kind of information in a report from the church technical consultant.

If a church isn’t evaluating how they’re doing, what they’re doing and, most importantly, why they’re doing something, then they will grow blinders to areas that could be changed or improved. I won’t say you have to hire a secret shopper (though that’s a perfectly acceptable practice), but your church should go at least one step beyond the “visitor information card". Remember, if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Learn about your church from a third-party perspective.

How is your church evaluating your weekend experiences?

My friend Skip Moen, who I’ve mentioned before countless times on my blog, writes a daily devotional that’s simply the best I’ve found. In today’s devo, he talks about “Text Message Religion". His entire list of archives, including this topic, can be found online at www.atgodstable.com.

Today’s topic was so timely for me and, I think, for all of us. As you surely know by now, I’m a big fan of Twitter. I try not to fill the 140 character limit with what Twitter is often used for (narcissism), but instead try to leverage the technology as a sharing point and a way to start and engage in dialogue with people. Still, Skip’s post about Text Message Religion both brought a smile to my face and created an “ah-ha” moment for me that I wanted to share with you.

Here’s a snippet of today’s word from Skip:

“Communication has been stripped of its richness. Today, if you can’t say it in 140 characters in a text message, then you don’t get heard. Today we have five second sound bites, one minute solutions and fast-food everything. There is no time to savor the wine.

If our world is slowly being stripped of its tone, expression, mood and non-verbal engagement as it progresses toward distilled text-message pseudo-relationships, how can we imagine that this doesn’t affect our interaction with God? While we are being choked to death with trivia, the value of our communication is being reduced to characters on a cell phone keypad.

Have you ever considered what would have happened if God reduced His communication to us into 140-character electronic burps? Aren’t you thankful that God spends His time (the most valuable time in the universe) taking us by the hand and whispering in our ears?”

To me, Skip is pointing out that while we can leverage technology effectively (I know I want to), we must not forget that our relationship must extend beyond the 140 character limit. And, even more importantly, we must not let our everyday conversations with our Father be reduced to short snippets and quick prayers exclusively. The Father longs for a relationship with each of us. That should stop us in our tracks when we realize the weight of that truth.

Here’s what I had impressed on my heart:

• Leverage technology, but don’t let technology hijack your communication with others.
• Stay in touch, but remember to reach out and touch, too.
• Don’t let the on-demand, fast and instant format impede in a loving relationship.

What say you?

“It’s time to tighten things up.”

“Show me a new budget with only the needs, not the wants.”

“How can we save money on technology this year?”

If I were to poll, I wonder how many of you working in churches have been hearing questions and statements like the ones above? Based on emails I’ve received and countless blog posts I’ve read, the common theme is a reduction in expenses across most church ministries. Yet I’m also hearing and seeing church leaders requiring budget reductions without the required reduction in expectations to match the new, lower budgets.

“It’s the economy, stupid” are now famous words by James Carville, the former campaign manager for the Clinton administration. So much of the American psyche is built upon such phrases as consumer confidence and market fluctuations. We’re conditioned to think along the bull or bear market concepts and act accordingly.

While I’m all for being responsible and conservative as a general rule of thumb, I also can’t stop reading story after story and truth after truth in God’s Word how He is Jehovah-jireh, or “God the provider”.

Possibly my favorite lesson in God’s total provision was in taking care of the entire nation of Israel as they wandered the desert.

According to the Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army, it is reported that Moses would have to have had 1,500 tons of food each day (which is 3,000,000 lbs!). To bring that much food each day would require two freight trains: each a mile long - which is a lot of donkeys back in that day. So God provided Manna in the morning and Quail to fly in and then simply die in the afternoon, ready to be cooked!

Also keep in mind that they were out in the desert, and sand doesn’t make very good cooking material, so they would have needed firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take about 4,000 tons of wood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long, just for one day. And just think - they did this for 40 years (146,000 days).

They would also need water. If they only had enough to drink it would take 11,000,000 gallons of water each day. Add some more freight trains with tank cars spanning a few miles, every day. God had Moses strike a rock with his staff to make water burst forth - in a desert!

One more thing: each time they camped at the end of the day, a campground two-thirds the size of the state of Rhode Island was required. That’s a total of about 750 square miles, and they somehow all were able to have daily access to food and water.

(paraphrased from Lane Palmer)

And in all of this, there He was: Jehovah-jireh.

The first lesson is this: We rely on God. Alone. Period.

Our second lesson is this: Plan and look at ways to be wise with the monies God has entrusted your ministry with, but also plan on God showing up and meeting your needs. Set a budget and stick to it as much as you are able within your spending and planning. But don’t take God out of the equation.

The final lesson is this: Do not worry. To do so goes against the personal directive of Jesus.

Matthew 6:27-34 says

27″And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

28″And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,

29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

30″But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

31″Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’

32″For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33″But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34″So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I’m praying that each of you seeks God for his provision and his favor over your ministry.

My friend Mark S. Newton has a spot-on blog post released today that is so perfect, it needs no further intro from me. This is great stuff!

Click here to read it and then print it out and put it on the desk of your church leadership.

This has been mentioned before, but there’s a BIG push by a lot of companies to open up the “White Spaces” that will interfere with many wireless mics and IEM’s (in ear monitors) used by churches today. On November 4th (yep, election day), the FCC is meeting to vote on this issue that, I believe, will be critical for churches.

One of the most church-friendly manufacturers, Shure (who doesn’t own an SM-58?!), is “leading the charge” to fight this from going into effect. Doug Gould is a personal friend of mine who works for Shure and he’s doing a heckuva job pushing to keep this from happening without further study by the FCC. Shure is only one of many manufacturers fighting this, but I think they’ve also been the most vocal and proactive. Therefore, I’m putting a link below that gives a far better description than I can provide and links to a ton of very helpful resources for your church to get involved in letting your congressional and senatorial representatives know that your church is very concerned about this move of the FCC.

So, without further ado, here’s the link:

http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/PressRoom/WhiteSpaces/index.htm