Pastors

Thrifty Visibility

Church-growth specialist Carl George tells the story of going to a consulting appointment in metropolitan New York and calling the pastor for directions. "I'm not going to tell you," the minister said. "Just come to town and ask the first person you see how to find our church."

Skeptical but curious, George drove into the city and stopped at the first gas station. "I don't know anything about churches," the attendant responded. Then he paused. "Unless you mean the one that's always got something going on. I've seen their flyers, and here's how to get there . . ."

His story convinced me that any church can find an affordable way to enhance its community image. The key is not necessarily big bucks (even our church could afford flyers!) but continual positive visibility.

The results touch the heart of why we exist as a church: the more positive publicity we do, the easier our friendship evangelism becomes ("Sure, I've heard of your church") and, perhaps just as significantly, ...

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