Las Vegas Learnings (Part 2)

Here is another post in my series on what I learned while on vacation in Vegas.

Learning #2: Make it difficult for people to leave
This is a corollary to Part 1 because the casinos work very hard to get you in the door, so they don’t want you walking right back out the door without spending some time (and money). As I noted in Part 1, there are people movers to get gamblers into the doors at most of the newer casinos, but there are no "people movers" to get people out of the casinos. This is definitely a strategic thing – they don’t want to make it easy for people to leave – it has to be a conscious, effort-filled decision. The simple fact is that if a gambler wants to leave a casino, they must stop what they are doing, walk to the cashier, walk to find the door (not always clearly marked), walk out the door, and then walk all the way to the street. It is a physically intensive (and sometimes exhaustive) process.

How often do churches complain about people leaving thru the proverbial “back door” without so much as one person noticing they are gone? Perhaps we have made it too easy for those who are loosely related to the church to walk out anonymously. Perhaps we have not yet figured out how to connect those people more deeply within the body of Christ so that if they go missing – someone notices! Perhaps we have misplaced the "people movers" in our churches. Sometimes we plant mechanisms that take out the physicality of leaving – in other words, we do it for them instead of forcing them to make the conscious decision to leave – they simply drift away unnoticed.

I am convinced that we can close the back door in our churches! I am convinced that unless we, as church leaders, give intentional thought and effort to methods of assimilation and connection, we will continue to watch the revolving door swing ‘round and ‘round. Encourage your church members to talk to people they don’t know on Sunday mornings before, during, and after worship services. Model that behavior yourself. Keep reminding your congregation that they are the best advertisement for the church – and that people are watching…closely!

Grace&Peace
Read the other post in this series: Part 1