In this blog series, I identified 9 tips to help keep people from leaving your church (i.e., shutting the back door). I believe all 9 are important. In this post, I’ll address tip number four:
TIP 4. Create a consistent, but not boring, experience.
In general, people resist change. We like knowing what to expect. We enjoy consistency. But only when it’s excellent, of course.
Restaurant chains work hard to create consistent offerings. Even individual restaurants understand that inconsistent experiences drive customers away. Retailers need consistency in their offerings. Consistency is important because consistency keeps people coming back. And in our churches, the same is true.
The problem is that too much consistency can be problematic. Consistent can become boring. So choosing where to be consistent versus WHERE to keep things fresh and unpredictable is important.
At Watermarke, we’ve tried to strike a healthy balance between being predictably unpredictable. That said, there are areas of our church and elements of our service where consistency is required. Here is a short list of where we try to be consistent and predictable:
1. Consistent service strategy.
Our services are between 60 – 65 minutes each week – without fail. There have been times where we approached 70 minutes, but we considered that unsuccessful, because we didn’t follow our plan. There is a strategy behind the time. We believe Sunday morning is the ideal time for church services in our context. Therefore, we want at least two services to occur on Sunday morning. With our size, parking lot flip time, children’s environments, etc., a one-hour service allows us to achieve our strategy. And we are consistent.
Keeping our service times and length consistent is also important because our families and volunteers need to know what to expect. They like to have a routine. An excellent experience is often based from a consistent environment.
The most important aspect of our service is our strategy first, execution second approach. We know what the “end in mind” is before we plan. Most inconsistent church services are that way not by design, but by lack of planning.
If you are having a mental argument with me about the church service and the Holy Spirit’s involvement … READ THIS, and you can argue more.
2. Consistent children’s safety and systems.
Consistent check-in/check-out systems and safety requirements are important, and parents more than appreciate a predictable environment when dropping of their children. Enough said.
3. Consistent parking and people flow.
Parking is difficult at our church. We lease three off-site parking lots and shuttle attendees to our church every week. You can probably imagine how important consistency is for our parking systems.
Same with our ministry environments and people flow. And when we change anything, we alert our attenders well in advance so they know what to expect in the change.
4. Consistent style and approach.
If you want to have a choir, have it every week. If you want to take an offering, do it every week. Make your style and approach consistent. Again, that doesn’t mean you can never deviate – just deviate on purpose, not by accident or by boredom.
For example, this Christmas, we will have a choir (which is not normal for us), but it is strategic and intentional, because our Christmas service will be unique and intentionally different (but it will still last 60 minutes).
5. Consistent faces and leadership.
I’ve learned having consistent leadership in our services and from our stage has created a predictable and comfortable experience for our attendees and guests. Sure, I can’t be on our stage every week, but more often than not, I need to be the face of our church service.
In our church (as a campus location with North Point Ministries), that means serving as the primary host and vision-caster. We have Andy Stanley as our primary preacher (any guesses why?). But even when I’m asked to preach (about 12-15 times a year), my approach and style is similar to Andy’s, which, you guessed it, helps create consistency and predictability.
I like to think of these areas as the canvas we paint within. Every artist has leeway and artistic freedoms, but all artists have a canvas with which to paint within. These consistent, predictable areas of our church represent our canvas, and our art happens within these boundaries.
Your boundaries might be different, but KNOWING your boundaries is what matters. Defining your boundaries doesn’t mean you can’t deviate. At times, we do, but only intentionally and strategically, never because we are bored with our consistency.
SIDE NOTE: Creating consistent experiences is also required if you hope your attendees will invite their friends. Churches grow best through personal invitations. When people know what to expect, they are more comfortable inviting others. So if growth through personal invitation is a goal for your church, then make sure the experience is predictable week to week.
Here’s what I want to know: What is your church’s canvas? What are your boundaries? Are they strategically designed or did they organically appear? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
