Bud Brown

Church Visitors: The Dark Side of Church Hospitality

Church visitors are a passion of mine. The passion began at a small church in New Mexico. In retrospect I have to confess that my church hospitality initiatives weren’t altruistic. They were selfish. When church visitors became church members it meant I was a good preacher. At least that’s what I thought! Church assimilation was

Church metrics: hammering bookcases together?

It is a beautiful Saturday, with Chamber of Commerce weather. There is a light breeze, scattered high clouds and the kind of sun that warms you slowly. On this day I have accumulated all of the materials and plans for a book case. I have nails, screws, sawhorses, hammer, screwdriver, wood glue and plans showing

Pastor Burnout – extinguish before igniting!

How you can prevent the next Pastor from burnout We’d like to offer a free tool that will be immensely useful to Transition Pastors and Interim Pastors. Use it to bless the next Pastor by eliminating the “too much bread, too little butter” list of requirements in the typical Pastor’s Job Description. If you’re in

20 Ways to Fend Off Church Visitors

Church Visitors: 10 Steps to Improve Visitor Retention

Church visitors are probably more important to the Lord than they are to the church they visit! The fact that they willingly endure the rigors of trying a new church shows God is working in them (I touched this briefly in a previous post) Church visitors are an opportunity and a challenge to static, declining and

Alan Cole’s post on church metrics intersects the whole business of shepherding church visitors. Lots of churches measure the number of visitors from week to week, but they fail to measure the more critical number: how many church visitors eventually call the church “my home”? I recall one church in metropolitan Phoenix that was so

Church Metrics: more than nickels and noses

A recent discussion thread on LinkedIn led me to reflect on typical church metrics. In my experience, churches focus on giving and attendance. Some will add a third metric related to their buildings. Whether the focus is on “nickels and noses” or the “ABCs” (Attendance, Buildings and Cash) people who comment on church metrics are

Church Visitors: Discover their motives

Church visitors arrive at your worship services looking for something or needing something. Identifying and satisfying those needs is critical to visitor retention. Church visitors who leave knowing your church meets them where they live will return for that crucial second visit. If that happens they are likely to stay for the long haul. The

Church Visitors: Reel ’em in and Hook ’em

Church hospitality remains a hot topic, especially for interim pastors leading troubled churches and permanent pastors of churches in troubled waters. They still ask, “What are best practices to welcome visitors?” Church visitors are a precious commodity so good tools for welcoming and enfolding guests into the believing community are prized. The demand for useful