Five More Reasons Why People Will Stay at Your Church Plant

There are a lot of reasons people will stay at your church, some of them obscure and insignificant to no more than a single person. However, as we saw last week there are a handful of reasons that are much more important and will affect the decision-making process of a far larger group of people on a week to week basis. Knowing these reasons will make a tremendous difference in the life of any church, but especially a fledgling church plant, bent on building momentum and touching the lives of more people for the King.

We mentioned last week that the most important reason why people stay at your church plant is relationships. Hopefully we hammered home the importance of you preparing and implementing strategies to build the relationships necessary to “earn the right” to keep serving these newcomers for our Lord.

In addition, though, there are other reasons why people will stay at your church, though all of these trail the importance of relationships by a wide margin (whether or not they should trail relationships is another story for another day!).

Impact. What difference is your new church making in the life of others? Is there tangible evidence seen in the lives of people who are a part? What about their families? And how about the community as a whole? Can any beneficial impact be attributed to the work of God through your new church? Transformation is the goal, and you can be sure that if it’s happening in individuals, families and your community, people are going to take notice and want to be a part. In the final analysis, most people–especially young people, the ones most influenced through new churches, truly want to believe that their lives can make a difference. Churches that do that will keep many of the people they reach, because the evidence of God at work in their midst is obvious.

Vision. Some people will stay at your church because of the vision of the church (not simple the vision statement; there’s a big difference!). While this reason is closely akin to what was previously mentioned, the distinction here is that vision is what gives birth to impact. Some people will get caught up in the idea, the picture, the dream of a preferable future, and because they want to see that vision become reality they will stay and invest their lives in it. These people live for the future (while those in the previous category are focused on the present) and have been so captivated and enamored by the vision God has given that they will feel unsatisfied and incomplete if they are unable to see it to fruition.

Spiritual Growth. A third reason that some people will stay at your church plant is that their experience there is resulting in personal, obvious spiritual growth and development. They are seeing evidence in their own life that the people, the preaching, the worship, the ministry opportunities are helping them in their own issues of life and in overcoming the struggles they have faced. These personal victories are meaningful to them, as they as markers of progress. While the focus here is on self rather than beyond self as in the first two reasons above, it is significant to these people that they can see tangible evidence of God through the church shaping them to be and act more like Christ Himself.

Programs. Some people stay at your church plant because of the programming it affords them. They like the children’s ministry because it helps their children or they enjoy the women’s ministry because it is an opportunity for them to get together with others dealing with similar experiences in life. Some new churches add many programs, wanting to be a “full service church,” and thinking that it will enable them to keep more people; however, the opposite is often true. Too many programs will create lack of focus and distract from mission. As a result, people may stay but those who do will have a consumeristic mentality that will not be of benefit to the church in the long run. In fact, I would suggest efforts toward this objective will hinder it!

Location. Let’s face it, some people will stay at your church because of where’s it located, what it looks like (the building I mean), and all those other things that go into what they consider “right.” You don’t think this is true? Then try relocating to another site and see who does or does not “come with you.” Location affects people, because it creates an environment and contributes to a culture with which they are comfortable, something that they like. Some will come there because it’s close enough or because your location has better facilities for their children or there is enough off-street parking. There are many variations on this, but the bottom line is where you meet will affect their decision to remain a part of your new church.

There are no doubt other reasons, too. Perhaps some of you will write back and suggest your additional ideas about this too. But here’s the important thing for you to catch this week: the longer the church exists the more people will stay for the reasons lower on the list, not higher. And these very things that keep people at long-existing churches rather than new churches are exactly the same reasons why more established churches in North America are plateaued or declining rather than growing. If you want to keep growing, my advice is stay focused on relationships–and on the top of this list.