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If I were new to your community, how many churches would I pass from my house to your church? One, two—ten? What would make me stop at your church instead of the one down the street?

Our culture has changed, and with it our ties to traditional churches have loosened. First impressions count more than ever to people who might be looking for a church. While you can't easily change the exterior of your building, you could transform the impression it makes on passersby by adding a bit more "curb appeal."

The term curb appeal, which comes out of real estate, describes the impact a piece of property has on a potential buyer who looks at it from the street. "Curb appeal comes from the head and the heart," says Leon Aalberts, a real estate agent who serves as associate pastor of Oswego Presbyterian Church in Illinois. "When people buy houses, their head says that it has to have a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms and be in a certain price range. Their heart says what it looks like when they drive up and see the picket fence or the geraniums on the front porch."

The same is true for a church. A church can appeal to the intellect by its location or denomination, but its appearance is what will appeal to the heart. The condition of the building, the landscaping, and the signs (or lack thereof) can make the difference between a church that welcomes visitors or gets ignored. Curb appeal is not about tricks; it's about removing barriers that discourage people from coming inside your church where they can experience your true ministry.

Short of rebuilding your church façade, you can do a lot to improve it by simply spiffing it up. "Curb appeal for a church means the same thing it does for anyone else: a clean, pleasant appearance consistent with what people expect to see at their residences and at their work," says David Engleman, chairman of the building committee at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Marietta, Georgia.

His committee made a concentrated effort to increase Mt. Zion's curb appeal. Over the years, the church had added new buildings in masonry of different sizes and colors. Because a consistent look is more pleasing to the eye, the committee decided to top all of the buildings with the same roofing material. The front of the church was altered a bit—the sanctuary was extended by five feet and a brick faade was installed on the chapel entrance—resulting in similar shapes and forms among buildings. The church was also painted to disguise masonry differences. And its parking lots were resurfaced.

Beyond a fresh coat of paint and a well maintained building, small touches like a floral or grapevine wreath hanging on the main door and shiny doorknobs at all entrances can generate good feelings about your church before visitors even set foot in the sanctuary.

A weed-infested, scraggly lawn and untrimmed trees won't help your church's curb appeal, no matter how much effort you put into the building.

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