The second fastest way to make a church leader roll their eyes is to ask, “How do you minister to homeschool kids?” The fastest way to make a church leader roll their eyes is to ask, “Do you have any church hoppers?”
Let me give you 5 reasons why church hopping stinks!
1. It’s turning church programming into a commodity. Church hoppers bring their families to church like they would a trip to McDonald’s. Pastors can spot these folks coming a mile away. They are checking everything out, looking for the best kids program, the best worship band, etc. There is a difference between an earnest shopper and a professional hopper… ask them how long they’ve been looking!
2. It’s turning preaching into a commodity. No pastor wants you to come to their church because you think they are a good preacher. There’s a little devil on the shoulder that says, “You want them, they love you.” But people who are coming to hear a good sermon are only there for the show. Make them buy tickets!
3. It’s turning your community into a commodity. I’m always amazed to find people driving 20-30 minutes to a church. It’s as if they were in complete denial that a good church would turn them loose in their own town? (Even if the churches are lame in their opinion.) If God put you in that community, go to a church in that community, make it unlame.
4. It’s turning the people of the church into a commodity. It’s funny when you talk to a church hopper about “their old church.” They are quick to point out what they don’t like there and they do like here. I’ve noticed these folks are happy bystanders. Ask them to join a small group and see what happens. It’s a trip.
5. It’s treating churches like a commodity. A little repetitive, eh? It can’t be said more clearly. The problem with hopping from church to church is that it tends to value “church” by the elements that make it up instead of jumping in with two feet. No staff member wants to be judged by numbers, no church deserves to be judged by the programs they offer. And it’s ultimately a sign of shallow spiritual growth when you fail to commit to a local church for the long haul. Yep, it’s messy. Why? Because it’s full of people just like you!
What advice do I recommend to church leaders when they encounter church hoppers? Call them out. (Privately) Invite them to shop but not hop. Speak truth into their life. Don’t placatte them and their silly requests. “We’d stay if you had a cry room with a video feed.” “We’d stay if you had a better college ministry.” My advice is for church leaders to be comfortable enough with who they are and their churches vision to kindly invite hoppers to keep on hopping!
Catering to the saved is a distraction from reaching the lost.
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