SportClips and Context
I have had trouble finding a place where I can get a good hair cut. Until now...
I got my most recent haircut at SportClips and I will be going back.
There were several things that the church could learn SportClips:
Know your target audience
For SportClips this is men who need to get a haircut. They know who they want as customers and are able to design the entire experience around that audience.
For the church this might mean doing everything that you around a particular audience - most likely those who are living in the area of your church.
At Resurrection the target audience is built around our purpose statement - building a Christian community where non religious and nominally religious people are becoming deeply committed Christians.
Make it comfortable for them
For a haircut at SportClips you do not need an appointment, there is a widescreen TV in the waiting area with ESPN on. At each cutting station there is a small TV that also is showing ESPN. This comes from knowing the target audience and creating an experience that will be comfortable and enjoyable.
While I believe that the church should not be all about creating a comfortable experience for people, I do believe that someone who walks into the church for the first time should feel comfortable and welcomed. It should look and feel similar to the other public spaces in the neighborhood.
At Resurrection we try to make the experience for a first time non Christian guest as smooth as possible - greeters at the door, ushers to help find a seat, and no expectations about knowing exactly what to do in the worship service.
They will come back.
This was my experience at SportClips. I have tried other places where I got my haircut, but it was not an environment in which I was completely comfortable nor did I feel like it was really a place for me.
At church, guests should have a sense that this is a place to which they would be comfortable coming back and a feeling that there is something greater that is going on with this community and the people that are there.
My hope is that this happens in the worship services at Resurrection - relevant, passionate and life changing is the tag line that we have on the mugs that are given to first time guests.