If there's really not that much going on at your church, it's going to be extremely difficult to motivate anyone to get involved, even long-timers. I don't believe any church will see a steady stream of newcomers if it's invisible in the community. Believe me, this is not a "chicken or egg" scenario—there really does need to be a positive word-of-mouth buzz out there before you will ever see a consistent flow of new folks coming through your doors.

I've been at our church since I was a seminary intern ('78) and became the senior pastor of it in 1996. During my first few years as the senior pastor, we'd get a few visitors now and then, but nothing like the steady stream we've experienced in the last five years. Prior to that, we were so preoccupied with re-invigorating our church that we let countless newcomers slip in and then out of our midst. Looking back, I don't know that we could have or should have done it any differently. We had to crystallize our mission and vision first. ...