What attracts people to a church?
A convenient location? Yes!
An attractive building? Yes!
God’s Word central to its preaching and teaching? Yes!
A good speaker? Yes!
But another very important factor in attracting visitors, newcomers, and prospective members to a church is friendliness in the pews. When a congregation is warm and dynamic and possesses the kind of enthusiasm that is genuinely contagious it will, like a magnet, draw visitors through its doors.
I have a neighbor here in Wilmington who does not attend church regularly. She recently said to me, “I have visited two churches here in the city and nobody even spoke to me.” Obviously, the friendliness of a church is very important to her, and she has not attended either church a second time. Naturally, I told her how friendly the church is of which I am a member, and I invited her to attend.
Churches generally will raise huge amounts of money to build a well-located, comfortable building, have well-trained staff members, and try to provide an abundance of educational, recreational, and social activities for every age group – and all of this is good. However, good old-fashioned friendliness is probably the first thing that appeals to people about a church. It is one of the things money cannot buy.
The friendliness of a church is the automatic result of dedicated people who love the Lord, love each other, and enjoy helping others to feel at home in their church. Visitors are likely to be impressed when they are greeted with a smile and a warm handshake. They are more likely to attend again and again.
Here are five simple suggestions which, if adopted and practiced by the members of your church, will make it a friendlier church:
- Take the initiative in speaking to others. Don’t wait for them to make the first move.
- If you see someone you do not know, introduce yourself before the prelude music begins. That way the next time you see that person – either on Sunday in church or somewhere out in the community, you can speak using his or her first name.
- Wear a pleasant expression on your face. If you feel grumpy and have a sour disposition, try not to let it show at church. Some people are so gloomy when they enter a room the lights almost turn off. Everybody knows that sourness spoils milk – it has the same effect on church attendance. A great church is built on smiles – not frowns. The word “smiles” is the longest word in the English language. Why is this true? It has a “mile” between its first and last letter.
- Adopt Will Rogers’ testimony as your motto, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” If there is any dislike in your heart for the person near you in church, ask God to help you like that person. He answers our prayers – especially if they are sincere and in accord with His will.
- Practice Proverbs 18:24: “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly” (KJV).
The Paper Pulpit 
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