Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor
© 2023, Dr. Tamilio
Things looked a little different when you came into the church today. I do not mean that we are now worshipping in the sanctuary as opposed to the chapel. I do not even mean that it is Rally Sunday — the day that we kick off the new Church School, Adult Education, and program year for our congregation. I’m talking about the signage and the team that put all this together, particularly Maureen (“Mo”) and Allie.
The long-talked-about Ambassador Committee is underway. This team is going to be intentional about welcoming visitors and working towards letting the citizens of Canton know about who we are and what goes on in this building. This is all about the evangelism endeavors that we have been talking about for a long time now. The time of talk is done. The time of action is here. It isn’t just a new program year for the Congregational Church of Canton. It is a new day as well. It is time for our next chapter.
The scholarship on evangelism and church growth all agree the first step to drawing people into your church — the first step in making visitors regular attendees and making regular attendees members — is to roll out the red carpet. Making them feel welcome is the key. When people do not feel welcome into a church, they do not come back. It doesn’t matter how good the preacher is or isn’t.
Think about yourself for a moment. (I’ve used this example before.) If you go to a party and nobody talks to you — no one shows that they are genuinely happy that you are there, and no one shows an interest in you at all — you do not feel welcome. It doesn’t matter what else is going on at the party. Maybe there is entertainment at the gathering, and it is first-rate! Maybe the food is out of this world. It doesn’t matter. If you do not feel welcome, you will want to leave and never return. Period.
I belong to the International T.S. Eliot Society. I went to their annual meetings for several years. I stopped. Why? They are a group of the most unfriendly, pretentious, stuffy people I have ever met. Not all of them, mind you, but most of them, particularly the leadership. If you are not part of the clique, and only a handful of people are, then you are not part of the “in” crowd and they do not have the time or attention for you. It’s really bad. That is common among academics. You puff yourself up by excluding others, or at least making them feel as if they do not hold a candle to you. You are blessed just to be in their presence. (By the way, when I wrote this, I thought to myself, “Some of the Eliot Society people may read this because I post my sermons.” And then I thought, “Good! I hope they do!”)
Everyone wants to feel welcome. No one wants to be treated like an outsider, as if they don’t belong. The minute people walk into our church, I want them to feel the love of God. When you walked into today you saw a large, stand-up, retractable banner that says, “Feel the Love.” That is not just the love of God that we are talking about, although that is primarily it. We are also talking about the love they will feel from you — our members.
You will also notice the graphics associated with that banner: the colors and the fonts. These match the logo for our church that we developed several years ago. Anyone who studies marketing will tell you that one of the keys to success is branding. When you see the “golden arches” you think of McDonald’s. When you see the black swoosh stripe you think of Nike. When you see the mermaid wearing a crown (in black and green colors) you think of Starbucks. This is not a mistake. This is intentional. Such branding creates an automatic response in people who look at advertisements. They immediately think Big Mac, sneakers, and, at this time of year, pumpkin spiced latte. McDonald’s, Nike, and Starbucks all know this. As does Microsoft, Amazon, FedEx, Coca-Cola, Amazon, Twitter, and any other company whose logo you know.
Everything our church produces from here on in — be it newspaper ads, signage, and even flyers announcing the latest Bible Study — all of this will be produced using the same fonts, colors, and designs. Some may balk at this and say, “Does it really matter?” Yes, it does. Or they may say, “It’s not true: a handmade sign or a different graphic all together will do just as well.” No, it won’t. Trust me.
Also, when visitors come to our church for the first time, we will not only get their information (name, address, email), but we will follow up with each one of them in a tactical way. A member of the Ambassador Committee will reach out to them the week after their visit, as will I. When you come here for the first time, you will receive a gift. Here it is. Not only does it include a brochure about the church, and some mints that say “Taste, and see that the Lord is good” (a quote from Psalm 34:8), but it also includes this tumbler, perfect for hot or cold drinks. Notice, that all of this material includes the same graphics. (By the way, you can buy a tumbler for $10. All of the money will go to our evangelism efforts.”
You are part of this as well. Let me mention just two things that you can do. First, you too can spread the love of God by helping others feel the love. Whether you are on the Ambassador Committee or not, you can welcome guests with a handshake and a warm smile. You can also extend a friendly invite to come to our Bible Study or our Alternate Worship Service that starts next month.
Second, you can invite others to come to our church. As I recently mentioned, evangelism begins with you. The number one reason why people come to a church for the first time is because someone invited them. Go online and do a search. The number one reason why people enter a new church for the first time is that someone invited them. Think about it: how many parties have you been to in your lifetime? How many of them were you invited to as opposed to just walking up to the house, opening the door, and walking in to celebrate the birthday, anniversary, or wedding of someone you don’t know? Zero.
It is a new day for our church. We — all of us — are taking our calling seriously. Jesus told the disciples to make disciples of all nations. That is what disciples do. They share the love so that others can feel the love. Mark Dever says the same thing in his book Discipling. “Disciples make other disciples.” You and I — all of us — are called to go and do likewise. As Luis Palau wrote, “Evangelism is not an option for the Christian life.” John Stott claims that “To evangelize does not mean to win converts…but simply to announce the Good News, irrespective of the results.” And to go for a trifecta of quotes, D. Elton Trueblood claims that “Evangelism is not a professional job of a few trained [people], but is instead the unrelenting responsibility of every person who belongs to the company of Jesus.” So may we all be unrelenting in declaring the Good News. Amen.