A quick perusal of church newsletters and bulletins over the holidays left us wondering why so many announcements look like this menu board.
If you arrive hungry or thirsty, good luck finding your way quickly to the items that meet your need. (By the way, “pancake on a stick”??)
The understandable temptation to be all things to all people leads congregations to serve up a crowded menu these days, intended to please every taste that might bring someone through the church door … and keep them coming back for more.
Board discussions that succumb to this temptation usually start with sentences like:
If we don‘t bring in more young families, we won’t survive.
We need to let the community know where we stand with what is happening in the world today.
The church down the road has a big youth group – why don’t we?
We’re just going to have to add another worship service to give people the music they seem to want.
If we build it, they will come….
In contrast, here is a food establishment that seems to understand both what it is in business for and how to cut
through the noise of competing appeals.
There are many items on your congregational menu that your church board members might consider to be your core ministry today. But underneath all these menu items, what is the deep need you are seeking to serve? And what do you know about the people you are trying to reach?
In 2026, chances are that spiritually hungry individuals who are considering a church are not seeking, first of all, a crowded menu of social clubs … concert series … six different ways to express social concern … ten things more to sign their kids up for … even a pancake on a stick. These options may be by-products of your ministry, but they are rarely the main draw.
If your board had to choose one word with an arrow to your door to tell the world what you are offering, what would it be?
What is your gut response, so to speak, when you look at a crowded menu board like the one up top?
What are some of your favorite menus in memory? Why do you remember them?
Reviewing your last five church newsletters, what stands out to you?
If your board had to choose one word with an arrow to your door to tell the world what you are offering, what would it be?
No Comments