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    Would You Hire a “Mystery Worshiper”?

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    Mr. Harrison belongs to a new breed of church consultants aiming to equip pastors with modern marketing practices. Pastors say mystery worshippers like Mr. Harrison offer insight into how newcomers judge churches—a critical measure at a time when mainline denominations continue to shed members and nearly half of American adults switch religious affiliations. In an increasingly diverse and fluid religious landscape, churches competing for souls are turning to corporate marketing strategies such as focus groups, customer-satisfaction surveys and product giveaways.

    At least half a dozen consulting companies have introduced secret-church-shopper services in recent years. The A Group, a Brentwood, Tenn., marketing firm for churches and faith-based groups, now conducts mystery-worshipper surveys at 15 to 20 churches a year, up from a handful five years ago. Church marketing company Real Church Solutions in Corona, Calif., introduced mystery-worshipper services five years ago. “First-time guests, they don’t come with mercy, they come with judgment,” says the company’s president, Chris Sonksen. “They’re looking for a reason to leave.”

    You can read more here...

    So… would you hire Thomas Harrison to do a stealth visit to your church?  What do you think he’d report?

    Get current updates from MMI and me here:  http://www.twitter.com/toddrhoades


    According to the Wall Street Journal, "Department stores hire mystery shoppers. Restaurant chains bring in undercover diners to rate their food and service. Churches enlist Thomas Harrison, a former pastor from Tulsa, Okla., and a professional mystery worshipper.

    Mr. Harrison -- a meticulous inspector who often uses the phrase "I was horrified" to register his disapproval of dust bunnies and rude congregants -- poses as a first-time churchgoer and covertly evaluates everything from the cleanliness of the bathrooms to the strength of the sermon. This summer, Mr. Harrison scoured a megachurch in Cedar Hill, Texas, and jotted down a laundry list of imperfections: a water stain on the ceiling, a "stuffy odor" in the children's area, a stray plastic bucket under the bathroom sink and a sullen greeter who failed to say good morning before the worship service. "I am a stickler for light bulbs and bathrooms," he says..."

    Comments

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    1. Dave on Thu, October 16, 2008

      The goals that can be accomplished by hiring a mystery worshipper are diametrically opposed to the goals proposed by Larry Osborne in “The Sticky Church” which was posted yesterday at MMI. See Jan’s comment about how a great visitor experience does not always (seldom?) translate into Biblical community that facilitates Spiritual Formation. I believe that the pathways to discipleship begin BEFORE the first visit and a positive church visit is essential to continuing on the path. But TOO MUCH concern with “a bucket under a lavatory” causes energy to be diverted from life-changing spiritual formation.

    2. Peter Hamm on Thu, October 16, 2008

      Why not have both? A church that a mystery shopper would enjoy and one that engages people in biblical community?


      More information about how people see you is always good. Facts are always your friends.

    3. Leonard on Thu, October 16, 2008

      I love it.  I ask people to visit us for just this purpose.  It helps us know if we are speaking the language of our culture, practicing hospitality, engaging people…  I ask people to assess the clarity of our services.  I visited a church once that stood, sat, knelt, stood, knelt. responded, and I was lost.  I did not know the secret handshake.  I never went back or took people there.  It does no good to be biblical of no one knows what you are saying. 


      I give cd’s of my sermons to friends as well asking them to find the main point, help me with clarity and discern if I handled the word correctly.  Was the message applicable and if you were brand new to faith would you understand concepts.  Does the message help you build over time a foundation for understanding the bible? 


      Far too many pastors and churches would rather judge people as distant than build a bridge to help them come near.

    4. Thomas Harrison on Thu, October 16, 2008

      Thanks for sharing your insights! May God use all of us to advance the kingdom. Blessings!

    5. Hal Mayer on Thu, October 16, 2008

      I love the secret shopper idea.  When I have pastor friends in town- I ask for straight up feedback. I have received things from signage to my jeans (thanks Nelson Searcy).  But, the best feedback I get is from someone far from God!  I love getting lunch with people who are not yet convinced!).  I want to know what they thought- if it made sense, etc.  I want to knock down every barrier to people repenting of their sins and making a radical commitment to Jesus).  I don’t do everything they say-  but,  I want to make sure they understand what I say… If you are in Tampa- please visit I would love your feedback.. Bring someone far from God because I am really interested in theirs!  Again, my concern is not did I help them take happy hops for Jesus… it’s did I make sense and did they get what we are about.

    6. Tim Heerebout on Thu, October 16, 2008

      “churches competing for souls are…”. WHAT??!! Competing for souls? Are we joking here? This just misses the point so grossly that I’m at a loss for words. Churches ought not to be competing for souls but concerned about fulfilling their God given mission in their city, doing what God has called them to do uniquely, and letting God worry about the salvation of people’s souls. I’m not saying we should practice poorp hospitality in the name of holiness but we ought not to be seeing this as a contest to see who ends up with the most marbles.

    7. Peter Hamm on Thu, October 16, 2008

      I am, as part of the “capital C Church” part of God’s initiative on earth competing for souls, Tim. I’m competing with the powers of Hell. Guess who’s gonna win…

    8. Brian L. on Thu, October 16, 2008

      We’ve considered this from time to time.  Offthemap.org (I think that’s the right web address) even has a form they can fill out.  They suggest paying a non-churchgoing person $25 to come to a service.  The visitor does not tell anybody when he’s coming, so there is no way to get things ready for a specific Sunday.


      I think it’s a great idea.  We need to see how we come across to others.  If we are putting up barriers to people’s understanding and getting past misconceptions of the Church, we need to know and we need to act.

    9. Sam on Thu, October 16, 2008

      The Gospel is foolishness to unbelievers. It takes the regeneration of the heart by the Holy Spirit in order for lost people to truly “hear” the Gospel and come to salvation. This is more Arminian nonsense where man thinks he can “convince” the unbeliever or emotionally manipulate teh lost person into a profession of faith that in alot of cases turns out as a false conversion. More of the same in the tradition of Charles Finney.


      Gimmicks. The bible is sufficient. The Gospel is powerful. Preach the Gospel.


      Peter, you have no say so in whether a person is saved or not so you are competing against no one. All your job is to tell someone the gospel. Even then, people who you tell the Gospel to can still go to Hell. You havent won or lost anything. God is soveriegn and His elect will see heaven whether you win or lose in your soul winning gimmicktry

    10. Peter Hamm on Thu, October 16, 2008

      Sam,


      I don’t know why I’m responding to you actually, since you appear to want to do your best to live at odds with every man, and you have proven yourself to be, imho, rather rude and insensitive.


      Is the church not the body of Christ on Earth, the agent he has chosen to communicate His great news? Why should I not want to do the best job I can with the gifts God has given me for His purpose? Should I rather just “wing it”? Even the early church re-evaluated the message they were sending on occasion… like in Acts 6, when they changed the very job description of the Twelve, or in Acts 15, where they actually changed the teaching they were conducting with the Gentile believers?

    11. Wendi Hammond on Thu, October 16, 2008

      One of the consulting services I offer to churches locally is mystery visiting.  My visitors are given only the church name.  They have to find their way through the website or a call to the church, both of which they evaluate.  On their visit they fill out a card and request follow-up of some kind and also evaluate the timeliness and effectiveness of the follow-up.  As suggested in the article, my visitors assess everything from ease of parking, the cleanliness of the facility, their perspective of children’s programming (when a visitor with a child attends) and the worship service - - - and many other aspects of “church.”  Most churches contract for five visits, after which they get a comprehensive report and recommendations for improvement. 


      The reason churches should do this has nothing to do, as you suggest Sam, with trying to convince or emotionally manipulate a person into a relationship with Jesus.  We do it because we are all, by nature, prone to miss (and sometimes not even care about) the perceptions of those we are called to serve and reach.  It should matter more to us how others feel and what their needs are than our own feelings and perceived needs (Phil 2:3-4).  Most of the “problems” that mystery visitors discover are easily fixed because the problems are generally not rooted in some kind of dysfunction, but rather rooted in our lack of knowledge.  Mystery visitors help us check ourselves against what we say are our core values.  This side of heaven, we’ll always need these kind of checks because the magnetic pull of inward focus (my needs, my kids needs, my worship preferences, etc) is difficult to resist.


      And Sam, although this isn’t a site designed for theological debate, I know that some who post here come from more “Arminian” persuasions.  I’m sure they don’t appreciate you referring to their doctrines and practices as “arminian nonsense” and “emotional manipulation” (any more than you’d appreciate similar disrespect).  Jacobus Arminius and John Calvin are both sitting at Jesus’ feet, and followers of both their theological belief systems will be as well.  Our job remains the same whether the person God wants us to share with is elect or has complete free will. 


      I am a devout Cal-minian myself.


      Wendi

    12. Jan on Thu, October 16, 2008

      I think I found my new career. 


      I would love to be a mystery worshipper. LOL


      I do visit a lot of churches as a concert singer and worship leader and I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly.  But I’m sure I’m not treated like your average visitor.


      At one church I witnessed to elderly ladies argue over sitting at the end of the pew, because I had inadvertently sat in one of their usual spots.


      I thought it was hysterical!  That they would bicker continually through the service because a guest sat in their traditional seat.  They even pulled out the age card “Well Ethel, I’m 84 and you’re only 83, so I should get to sit on the end.”


      Another time I had the same experience at a quite well known church in Southern California as the mystery worshipper above, when a church member apologized for the pastor and then proceeded to tell me all his faults.  That was an ugh moment.


      I think churches could learn a lot from the impressions of a secret guest.  I’m just not sure that $1500 at trip PLUS expenses is worth the cost.

    13. Maurilio Amorim on Sun, October 19, 2008

      Todd,


      I’m the President of The A Group and I have been doing secret shopper visits for decades. Theology aside, there are several reasons to do a communication audit (our name for the secret shopper visit). But at the heart of all these reasons is the answer to the question “are we doing our best for God?”


      The churches that hire us are learning organizations that feel they can improve in serving, reaching and touching people. Most often these churches have a passion to reach more people for the kingdom and are looking for help anywhere they can find.  


      People who disagree with our strategy have argued that the Holy Spirit is the one that convinces people of their need for a Savior and not a clean restroom or good music. I couldn’t agree more. But tell that to the young couple I saw a couple of weeks ago as they turned their car around and drove off the church’s property because there was nowhere for them to park.


      One action point that came from our audit was adjusting service times, so that young couple, and others like them, would not have to miss an encounter with the Word of God because of a simple parking space.


      Maurilio Amorim

    14. che of teak furniture on Sun, October 19, 2008

      I think sometimes the church is like politics too. and it is becoming more commercial than what it is supposed to be. It is sad but it is the truth.

    15. jason on Mon, October 20, 2008

      I’m all for churches being clean and for welcoming environments, but this smells like consumerism or at least feeding the consumerism monster.


      Perhaps being a compelling people outside the walls of a church would be a better use of time and money.


      For the record, no one wants stinky bathrooms, stinky sermons, or stinky greeters.  You don’t need to hire someone to smell it for you.  Invite an unchurched friend and then ask them what stunk.

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