Chad McComas is pastor of the Corvallis Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oregon.

Ours is an age of packaging. The medium is as significant as the message. The wrapper is as important as the gift.

What kind of image does your church portray? Positive, optimistic, visionary, alive, ongoing, caring, and inviting?Or pessimistic, dying, deserted, indifferent, sick? The image of your church may be as crucial to its success as the message you preach, and so here are some tips to ensure an image of health, life, and vitality in your church.

1. Begin with the sign. Within seconds of sighting a church, people form opinions of what they think its worship and fellowship must be like. Is your church sign indicative of an alive and orderly church, or an indifferent and worn-out one? The name of your church should stand out clearly in large, bold letters. A few words of welcome are always appropriate, such as "A place of worship for all people" or "Come and worship with us." Time of worship and other church appointments may be listed too. Maintain the signboard in good re pair at all times.

2. Keep the exterior of the church beautiful. "Beauty," some one has said, "is in the eye of the be holder." Visitors will see the exterior of your church first before they get to know the interior, so keep the grounds and the outside of your place of worship attractive and inviting. Paint the church before it becomes absolutely necessary. Care for the lawn regularly. Keep the weeds pulled and the hedges trimmed. Plant seasonal flowers, and let the beauty of nature's colors attract members and visitors alike to come in and worship the God who created such beauty.

3. Make that first greeting the warmest possible. The difference between a warm and a cold church, a friendly and an indifferent one, is often that first human contact--a smile, a handshake, an inquiry. It is important that this contact make the most positive impression possible. A happy, radiant, and friendly greeter transmits an important message: a message of love and care. If the greeter looks unhappy, spends time gossiping with friends while visitors go unnoticed, or just conveys a formal welcome, the church is not going to be exactly overflowing with worshipers. The best way to see visitors re turn to your church is to make them feel at home and part of the family when they visit you the first time.

4. Transmit a positive image in and through your printed media. Is your church bulletin attractive in looks and content? I have often walked into a nice church and been handed a bulletin that was duplicated on a piece of plain white paper. My first reaction? "This church isn't making it financially." I am not advocating the use of generic bulletins, the ones that have nice four-color pictures on them, but we need to make sure that what we do is attractive, legible, and imaginative. A customized bulletin for the church, with contemporary design and type style, sets a good image, and its cost need not be any more than generic stock, especially if you plan for a whole year.

The content of the bulletin is an excel lent tool in image-building for your church. Make the bulletin creative, avoiding repetitive phrases, ideas, and remarks. Vary your welcoming note. Include warm and caring messages. Use quotes from the Spirit of Prophecy. Try a poem. A scriptural promise can convey just the needed message.

Check out your stationery. Is it con temporary? Or are you using the same style used years ago?

Another communication medium I find helpful in image-building for the local church is the newsletter. Is your newsletter well produced? Does it have a distinctive masthead? Is it printed, duplicated, or photocopied? Is there plenty of white space in the news letter to make it easy to read? Do you use graphics to make it attractive? Since you probably mail your newsletter to nonmembers, make sure you project your church as alive, active, and caring.

Many churches are now developing brochures that outline the various activities and ministries they offer to the community. If prepared and produced well, these brochures can carry a message of a living, loving, and serving church, not just in a formal way, but in its serious involvement with the spiritual and personal struggles that mark life all around us.

These are just a few of the externals that can help or hinder in building a good image for your church. Involve the entire church and give yourself a good image. You will be surprised how much it helps in the worship, fellowship, and outreach activities of the church.


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus
Chad McComas is pastor of the Corvallis Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oregon.

April 1991

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

Recently Noted

A few books of note.

Do we worship a seventeenth-century God?

Modern translations and the King James Version.

Does our past embarrass us?

Is our theological history an embarrassment to present faith and proclamation? How do we bridge the chasm between faith and history of faith?

Christ our righteousness

Ellen G. White comments on righteousness-and particularly justification-by faith.

Polygamy: an enduring problem

Church leaders have taken two basic approaches to dealing with polygamy.

Victor over the demons

In our preaching we must show not only the gospel's implications for the hereafter, but also its meaning for the world in which our hearers live now.

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up
Advertisement - SermonView - Medium Rect (300x250)

Recent issues

See All
Advertisement - SermonView - WideSkyscraper (160x600)