How to Create Energy in a Small Church
It is hard to compete with youth sports, on-the-water weekends, the movies, Instagram moments, and other enjoyable distractions.
It is hard to create infectious energy that spills over into social media and conversation. Small churches don’t have the stages, lights and energy of a “professional” sounding worship team. People expect Hilsong worship in a small church — probably not going to happen (Worship in the small church is for another blog post).
So, how do you create energy and enthusiasm that fights against apathy? My suggestion, stop doing church the same way every Sunday. It may be time to think about church differently.
“Stop doing church the same way every Sunday.”
Three ways to create energy in the church:
1. Switch it up!
Admittedly for traditional mainline denominations and folks happy in their comfort, switching things up could truly stir things up. If that is you, carefully consider what you might do and even give your congregation a heads up as to what and why.
If the above is not an issue, spring it on the church on Sunday. This may mean more work and pre-planning, but I promise it will make some buzz.
IDEAS:
On-stage interview with a local hero or personality. Use a phone to film it and send it out over social media.
Do a live poll and spontaneously preach to the outcome, or use it to capture a point about worry or health concerns, or money, or marriage, or whatever topical message you have. Polleverywhere.com is free — keep in mind these are driven with technology via smart phones and your presentation software. Always do a test run before you go live.
Incorporate art into your message. If you or someone in your church is an artist, plan to draw/paint a point or part of your sermon — always take advantage of live streaming and social media to get the buzz out. People are always engaged when watching live art.
Superhero Sunday - bring a superhero to visit your kids Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman???
Person-on-the-street interviews. Using the key questions or subject of your up and coming message series, hit the street with someone who has a nice phone and ask every-day people two or three questions. This will not only peek interest in your message, it will provide content for your message. Once your interviews are edited, include them in your sermon.
Social Media wall — If you don’t have a young person assigned to manage your social media you should do it right away. They will probably be pretty excited to do so. What is a social media wall? Ever watched post-game interviews where the sports start stands in front of a backdrop of logos? A social media wall is similar. Your wall doesn’t have to be an expensive print display — get creative but make sure your church name and logo are somewhere easily seen. A chalkboard wall is pretty cheep to create.
Visitors can get a quick pic, families can show their support of the church. Promote your vision statement or purpose statement in chalk.
2. Brainstorm with some friends
Let’s be honest, it is easy to get stuck in a rut. Every Sunday is the same. Same schedule, same number of songs in the set, same order, same greeting time, same way to close the service, etc. Invite your friends to an evening of coffee and conversation about ways to break out of the routine — and by that I mean the rut. Include some friends you see as creative. Don’t be afraid to put all ideas on the table. Below are a few ideas to knock around, but don’t limit yourself — think outside the building and tradition for tradition sake.
IDEAS:
Create a new prop for your sermon series
How can you change up your welcome area? Think like a visitor, or even pay a “secret shopper.” It is easy to let our environment slide toward a not-so-fresh look because we see it every day. Fresh paint, new old chairs etc. can mentally kick people out of the routine. The subconscious thought is, “hmmm something is changing and fresh here.”
Does the women’s bathroom need to be freshened up?
Invite a photographer to capture a Sunday morning and share it on social media and the next Sunday - capture those moments of excitement in the eyes of your kids in Sunday school. If you plan on sharing photos vis social media or the website, make sure they are approved by those in them.
Have three people tag-team a message your not a part of — scary I know.
Have someone from your congregation come up and tell a personal story that relates to the message.
An important lesson I learned — finally, was to NOT do the work. Get others involved in the creative side of your Sunday mornings. Be ok with letting go. As a pastor of a small church, I felt the necessity of doing most of the work. The moment I began to include as many people as I could was the moment energy began to build. People want to feel they are part of what God is up to. If we are honest with ourselves, much of what happens in a small church is about what the pastor does.
LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE: Think through a Sunday morning and ask yourself what percentage of the Sunday service is on you? 80%, 70%, 50%???
“The moment I began to include as many people as I could was the moment energy began to build.”
3. Summer Sundays
The idea behind Summer Sundays is to take the first Sunday of each summer month and move your service to a different location. The service is followed by an all-church activity. This is one way small churches are awesome! While it takes work, it is easier for a small church to switch venues.
Church in the park followed by a picnic
Church at the movies followed by a fun family movie
Church at the local pool or water park followed by an afternoon of swimming and fun
Church at the lake followed by a baptism, potluck, and/or fishing
Let your local media know about what your church is up to. Create press releases that highlight your live art message, your Super Hero Sunday, or your Sunday at the movies. Create a relationship with your local newspaper and TV news folks. You might be surprised by some coverage that helps ignite energy.
Switching it up, brainstorming, and Summer Sundays might ruffle some feathers, but energy is created when people are exited to come to church because they are not sure what interesting and different thing might happen. Boring and routine only feed apathy and lackluster energy. Challenge yourself and your comfort level — who knows, you might even catch a case of excitement and energy too.