Secrets of a church shopper
I think that many people will find the Rev. Thomas Harrison’s role as Secret Church Shopper pretty fascinating.
It might cause church members to wonder how he would rate their own church should he happen to slide into the pews one Sunday.
On Tuesday, Harrison showed me one of his reports from a church shopping expedition at a metro area ministry.
The report was more than 50 pages long, bound and very thorough.
Harrison rates churches on nine categories. Some of those include appearance, cleanliness, hospitality, signage, information and educational services, church offiices, worship space and experience. He said each category has subcategories, such as parking lot, restrooms, etc.
The Secret Church Shopper rates churches according to a signal light system: Green light, all is well. Yellow light, a concern has been raised and something should be done to address it. Red light, there’s a problem that must be addressed immediately.
Sounds pretty simple, but of course it’s not.
Harrison’s report actually begins before he ever drives into the church’s parking lot. The Rev. Greg Wheat, senior pastor of Christian Life Assembly in Lexington, said Harrison’s report to his church included a demographic report of the area surrounding the church and information about how well the church was known or remained a mystery within the local community.
Harrison said he pays attention to details that many church members may not even think about because they’ve been attending their church for so long. For instance, he calls the church after business hours to find out if the ministry’s voice mail system is easy to navigate. He also goes online to find out about the church’s Web site.
Harrison’s unique service certainly gives congregations something to think about.
Any visitor could be a church shopper come Sunday morning. Just an unofficial one.
What they encounter may mean the difference between another new member or someone hitting the exit doors with plans never to return.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment