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Your Church, Nov/Dec 2000
What Not to Put on a Church Sign
by Jim Walters
"This Sunday is Everybody Tithe Sunday" on a church sign isn't exactly inviting. Neither is "Vote for Sunday School on November 4," if it's already December. And "Jesus Loves the Little Childen" isn't a credit to your accuracy.
Church members may forgive such indiscretions on their sign, but people who drive by the church aren't likely to forget. You want to attract their attention, not annoy them.
Improve your sign ministry by avoiding such problems as:
Same old, same old. Unchurched people already suspect that church is boring, so don't confirm their notions with a sign that says the same thing week after week. Try putting messages on both sides of your sign, and change them every Wednesday and Sunday.
Don't put only announcements for up coming events on the sign, however. Pro motions for church activities are like advertisements on TV without the program. About half of your messages should be fun, catchy expressions that win attention for the other half, which can be promotional. Try such sayings as:
- Every Sandwich Proves that Man Cannot Live by Bread Alone.
- A Closed Mouth Gathers No Foot.
- >Faith Moves Mountains; Doubt Creates Them.
- People Who Walk by Faith Always Expect a Breakthrough.
- When He Was on the Cross, You Were on His Mind.
Several years ago, when I started using humor on our church sign in Dallas, people in the congregation began asking where I was getting the ideas for the sayings. Some brought me suggestions.
The payoff for my efforts came one morning when I talked to a visitor who told me the reason he was at our church. "I kept seeing interesting things on your sign, and I wanted to see what the people here were like," he said.
No longer relevant. There's no excuse for leaving up a sign that announces an event that has already taken place. Outdated messages indicate there's not much going on at your church. To avoid obsolescence, assign a series of sign bytes for future dates. Also, enlist a crew to change the messages on the signs.
Obvious errors. If a word on a sign is misspelled or some letters have blown off, your message loses its punch. It could also be a signal to passersby that you're not very good at details or just too busy to bother with cleaning up mistakes.
Hard to understand. If you're so clever about what you put on a sign that people can't figure out what you mean, they may suspect that your church's sermons won't make sense either. First impressions are hard to change.
Faded glory. Faded letters against a yellowing signboard make your church look outdated and cheap. Even the best quality letters fade after thousands of hours in direct sunlight. You can replace the whole set for $100.
Pleas for help. A sign is not the place to solicit help to meet your budget or growth goals. You are talking to potential guests, so put the plate away. Even the well-worn message "Come Help Us Grow" implies that you are more interested in receiving help than giving it.
Negative and rebuking. Preaching must sometimes reprove and rebuke, but your sign is not the pulpit. A church sign should have an upbeat sense of warmth and wit that welcomes rather than wards off people. Some more upbeat examples:
- Early Church 8:15 a.m. It's a Matter of Mind Over Mattress.
- Do Come In—Trespassers Will Be Forgiven.
- The Person Who Kneels to God Can Stand up to Anything.
- When You Smile You Spoil the Day for Some Grouch.
No message at all. Having no sign is worse than an obsolete one, because it suggests you're not interested in passersby. If you aren't convinced that people pay attention to church signs, try putting "See Other Side" on both sides of your sign. Count the calls you get. Then work harder at putting the right kind of information on your sign.
Jim Walters is the executive pastor of Bear Valley Church in Denver, Colorado.
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