Perception.

Reality.

Perception is reality in advance. As Christian leaders we can learn to create the perceptions necessary to advance the reality that Jesus desires.

Something as simple as an attendance drive, emphasizing the bringing of a friend to church on a specific day, can rise or fall on perception. Our church has hosted attendance drives in the past, none of which reached their goals. The major drawback to announcing: "Our goal is 600 and everyone is going to bring a friend to help us reach that number," is that few people believe that everyone will in actuality bring a friend. Believing conversely many reach the conclusion, "Since everyone is not going to bring a friend then I can also not bring a friend and blend into the crowd." As leaders we needed to create an atmosphere that caused a different conclusion. We needed to create a different perception of our attendance drive so the congregation would produce a new reality.

Here's how we did it. Elmer Towns has produced a manual on how to host such a day called "Friend Day." After reading his suggestions we put these ideas to work:

Seven weeks prior to Friend Day: I introduced our elders to the potential benefits of Friend Day. This day may be the day we allow our friends to experience our worship before the Lord; introduce our friends to Jesus and His church; discover possible contacts for conversion; break our people out of the "do nothing" mold; and create a sense of excitement.

Six weeks prior to Friend Day: While preaching in soliloquy I mused aloud about the need to reach our friends. This among other avenues of communication, planted a seed.

Five weeks prior to Friend Day: Five weeks prior to Friend Day: Five of six elders stood before the congregation to announce our plans to reach our friends for Christ by hosting a day in which every member would bring a friend. To show the congregation the importance of inviting and bringing outsiders to our assemblies, each elder stated that he had already invited his friend and that friend had agreed to come on the given date. Each elder gave the name of his friend and committed to having that friend as a guest in the assembly. The sixth elder was out of town that Sunday and he gave me the name of his friend and told me to announce his full support for this effort. That afternoon the elders and I held a meeting with the deacons. We discussed the importance of Friend Day being perceived as an event in which everyone would participate. During this meeting we secured the deacons' commitments to personally set an example for the rest of the congregation to follow.

Four weeks prior to Friend Day: The staff ministers, including myself, stood before the congregation to promote Friend Day. We said that we had already secured the commitments of our friends. We announced who our friends were and promised to have them with us on the designated day. That afternoon the elders and I held a meeting with the Sunday school teachers from all children and adult classes, to secure their place on the team.

Three weeks prior to Friend Day: All twenty-six of our deacons stood before the congregation with the name of the friends that would be their guest on Friend Day. Two of them had been unable to find someone who would agree to come. These two made a public promise to have someone with them on Friend Day. By this time the congregation was beginning to believe that everyone was bringing a friend for the event. The perception was working in our favor.

Two weeks prior to Friend Day: All of the Bible school teachers stood before their classes to announce their participation in Friend Day. Each of them told his/her class how important it is to reach out. Each teacher told his/her students that they would have a guest with them in class on Friend Day and gave the class the name of their friend who had agreed to come. During the assembly announcement cement time all of the teachers who had secured friends were invited to stand. We also announce to the church that on the following Sunday each member would have a chance to tell us who they were bringing with them.

One week prior to Friend Day: The congregation was given the opportunity to respond through commitment cards designed just for this day. We had developed fourteen ways the congregation could help with Friend Day, one of which was to bring a friend. After the cards were signed and collected we asked everyone who had already secured the commitment of a friend to stand. While the congregation stood we asked God to grant a special blessing on Friend Day and the potential conversions that would follow.

On Friend Day: We hosted a special adult class taught by our youth minister, had a special sermon to our guests, held a potluck in the intermediate school cafeteria, had a vocal group sing, and had the highest worship attendance in the forty-nine year history of this church. Two hundred and eighty-three friends were with us on Friend Day, all because everyone believed that everyone would participate and they did not want to be left out. Our total attendance on Friend Day was 719 which was eighty percent more than our average attendance. No other church program or event sponsored by this congregation has generated eighty percent participation.

I am convinced that eighty percent of our congregation brought a friend to church because of two things. First, we changed the perception of the event. We did not aim at a given number for attendance that day. Instead we focused on personal involvement, stressing that everyone do everything within their power to bring a friend. The perception shifted from "the church is concerned with numbers" to "our members are concerned about their friends." Second, our leaders took the lead by setting an example. The initial announcement was made by the eldership. Each elder clearly communicated the importance of the goals of Friend Day by having secured a friend well in advance. The flock will follow only as far as the shepherds will lead. The ministers followed the elders lead. Next, the elders asked the deacons to follow them by taking seriously their perceived "leadership" position. The deacons agreed to serve the church in this way. The new mold was set. The elders asked the teachers. The teachers responded. The elders asked the church. The church responded.

The new perception became, "Everyone is inviting a friend to this event. If I don't, I will be the only one who doesn't try." People were no longer comfortable hiding in the crowd of non-participators because that crowd grew smaller and smaller as Friend Day approached. We used positive peer pressure and a changed perception to create the reality that Jesus desires. The new reality was a glory to God. Perception is reality in advance when promoting programs for church growth. When leaders of the local congregation take the lead, church growth will follow.