Apr
5
Written by:
Different Voice
4/5/2010 7:00 AM
On Easter Sunday of last year, I began a quest to worship in every church in my town. My plan was to visit 52 churches in 52 weeks. I didn't know exactly how many churches there were (in fact, I still keep learning about new ones!) but based on phone book lists and Google searches I estimated there were roughly that many. In reality, I missed church a few weeks, and I still have somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 to go, so my current count is in the high 40s.
There are a lot of things one notices as a visitor—how people do or do not greet guests and make them feel welcome, of course, is tops on the list. But when people ask me what I've discovered in my visits, one thing stands out above all else: many churches are too forgettable.
The reasons for this are many. Of the churches I visited, some (well, most, actually) had services that were dull beyond belief. Others had lackluster preaching. Many failed to do a good job of telling me about the life of their congregation through the announcements or in their bulletins, leaving me with the impression that nothing much was happening there. But whatever the issue was, I think the problem stems from a sense of "autopilot planning" and a lack of attention to making a service memorable.
I did not visit the Sunday school classes in the congregations I visited (that's another story and perhaps endeavor entirely!) but I certainly wondered if things were any better there. Curriculum writers usually try their best to make their lessons fun, meaningful, inventive, and memorable, but they know that ultimately it's the teacher who will bring that lesson to life. And many teachers, unfortunately, have forgotten that their main job is to create learning experiences that are memorable.
Being memorable is not …
- having children learn and recite memory verses.
- sharing a lot of really great information.
- making sure to include more than one learning style within the class session.
- creating a cool take-home craft.
- a class where everyone pays attention and there's lots of good behavior displayed.
These aren't bad things, of course, but they shouldn't be confused for what it means to put a focus on being memorable. Instead, I think a memorable learning experience is one that…
- has a sense of surprise or wonder.
- allows people to make deeper, meaningful connections with one another.
- leaves the learner wanting more.
- encourages participants to share and build on existing knowledge.
- helps the participants to experience, not just talk about, God
The next time you plan a session or hold a teacher training session, be sure to focus on the MQ—Memorability Quotient. Your visitors and your regular attendees deserve nothing less.
~ by Tim Gossett
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