MondayMorningInsight - Leadership & Encouragement for Church Leaders

7 Ways We Keep Church Hoppers From Staying

Posted by: Todd
Posted on: Sun, April 13, 2008
Viewed 81
(23) comments so far

#1 Ask church hoppers to commit to tithing and serving in your 101-201-301 classes
That usually takes care of it right there. Because church hoppers are consumers by nature, anything that strikes them as sacrificial will surely turn them off. As a ministry friend of mine used to tell me, “At the first sign of trouble, raise the bar.”

#2 Tell your people to stop inviting their Christian friends to church
This past Sunday I may have been one of the few pastors out there that stood up and said, “Please DO NOT invite your Christians friends to our Easter services. We want other churches in the area to know we have their back. Also, we want to grow this church through conversion growth, not transfer growth. Let’s pack this place out with people who are keeping God up at night because they are living far from him.” I strategically do that 3-4 times a year.

#3 Preach short sermons
Howard Hendricks used to say, “Keep them longing, not loathing.” I buy into that philosophy. I try to speak anywhere between 21 and 26 minutes max. That drives church hoppers nuts because they want to “be fed.” I’m not interested in “feeding people” unless they are in the early stages of their spiritual journey. Church hoppers as well as Christians further along their spiritual journey need to be feeding themselves. Anything I provide on Sunday morning should be in addition to their own self-directed spiritual nourishment. One point, one scripture, 21-26 minutes, that’s enough.

#4 Don’t sing 9,345 worship songs
Church hoppers, 9 times out of 10, came from a church background where they were taught they needed 5-6 worship songs to really connect with God. That needs to be re-taught. Where did we get the idea that worship = singing anyway? That’s part of it, but only a small part of it. Every part of the service is worship. Every part of my life is worship. Limiting your worship songs except for occasions when you are led by God to expand the repertoire forces people to recognize this or leave.

Brian lists three more, but you’ll have to read those over at his blog...

QUESTION: How do YOU keep church hoppers from staying?

Pastor Brian Jones recently wrote on his blog: "I call church hoppers “connoisseurs of fine churches” because they’re continually on a quest to find the church that is spiritual enough for them, will endlessly engorge themselves on the “services” of the churches they attend, and always have a critical word to say afterwards whenever “church” doesn’t meet their standards. Here are seven things we try to do to keep church hoppers from wearing out their welcome..."

Comments

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Camey on Mon, April 14, 2008

The church hoppers will always be amongst us. Unless of course, we have guards and the doors and no one is allowed in unless they know the secret code/handshake. Even then….. there are those who will still have a way to find that out. http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif
steve on Mon, April 14, 2008

the church hopper is like a charismatic cruiser ... they never find a home for themselves, become a member of the body and become accountable and get involved ... like the article says ... “they’re looking for that spiritual thing” but they’re always critical ... the way i deal with these sorts of characters is to preach about character ... that get’s them riling!!!!

in all seriousness, these people need to hear the word of God in this area ... it’s a bad attitude born out of selfishness.
Leonard on Tue, April 15, 2008

I agree as well that each church needs to know what God has asked it to do so that the context of its services make sense. The ingredients of each service should support the vision and strategy of that service. When a church is intentional and strategic the hopper question really becomes answered before it is asked.

By knowing what we are doing and why we do it, we can actually care for all people the same. This allows hoppers who are hurting to find healing, it allows the finicky eaters to move on with grace. Kind of funny, we had one family show up and tell me, we love everything about this church, if the preaching is any good we are staying. They then told me all the things they bring to the church in terms of gifts and tithe. That was the last time I ever saw them. guess I should work on my preaching. Actually it reminded me of the power of staying true to what you have been asked and how God uses that to impact lives as well as preserve the body.

One caution: Get outside feedback. I often invite people to our church for assessment purposes. Was our mission and message clear? What did you discern our mission and message to be based upon what you experienced today. Did the elements of our service all point in the same direction in terms of message, style and quality? Was the atmosphere charged with the energy Grace and joy bring? Was what we did confusing for people. did you know when to stand, to sit, where things were…? To often pastors gauge their service only by a few complementers or complainers. This usually does not help you discern if you are hitting the mark. My 2 Cents
Camey on Tue, April 15, 2008

Definitely agree with your points Leonard.

We had some hoppers this past Sunday. I turned around to greet them and was told, “We’re back to stay. You’ll be seeing a lot more of us.” Okay…..

There are those who are hoppers because they’re hurting. We have to be careful not to lump them all together with the other hoppers. The real challenge at times can be noticing the difference. Seeing past the “Well, we just weren’t happy there.”

I think that more churches would well be served by having individuals come in and give assessments. And that with being open to the assessment’s findings - could better serve those they are reaching, wanting to reach and have already reached. But, as we know…. that takes being willing to take a hard look at ourselves as the church and as leaders in it. If a church is not willing to do that - imho, that is a church with real issues not wanting to be addressed or think they’ve reached the top.
Peter Hamm on Tue, April 15, 2008

I am VERY concerned about the “hoppers who are hurters”! In fact, I don’t actually count them as hoppers.

A “hopper” to me is a believer who won’t put down roots. hurters are sometimes lumped with them because of how they “look”. It’s a little more complicated for them, and we reach out to them a LOT!

It’s why we are very “jealous” of the thought of our church as “a place of grace” where “they let anybody in”…
deaubry on Tue, April 15, 2008

i have talked to a few church hoppers and the main theme of them all is {i want to do somthing for god] and they cant seem to find a place to do it, i have told them that they will have to stay long enough to see what they are all about, you can not let someone preach in your church not knowing how they believe, or sing either,i also told them that they would have to set under the authority of the ministers, that they would have to be proved befour they could minister in any church. a lot of them have a lot of zeal, but they do not have the knowledge to carry out the zeal, or the wisdom to do so. if a settled christian could thke them under their wings and help them, have them involved some way in the church, but not ministery of the word, maybe a project of some kind, then they may feel wanted enough to stay, but they do need to feel needed, they are looking for someone to need them. i have learned this lesson of [someone need me } since i have retired, when your children are all gone you feel a lot less needed, and it takes a while to get a grip on it. so i believe these people need someone to need them….
Jan on Tue, April 15, 2008

And sometimes the hurting, hurt for a reason?

I’m thinking of one couple who haven’t stayed anywhere long, have a history of professional ministry and was always “burned” and ARE severely wounded individuals. But everywhere they’ve gone, they’ve left some kind of damage and hurt.

There’s always more than one side to every story. So, I’ve learned to be very very careful of individuals who have a history of moving on after a couple of years, no matter what they say or even don’t say.

Can we minister to these people? Yes.

Should we give them ministry leadership without serious reflection and prayer? Absolutely not.
David on Tue, April 07, 2009

The writer seems very confused and has issues with generalization & stereotypes. Try to run your articles past an editor before posting them. http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif