Thom Rainer at Church Answers.com has been focusing on the "renew" theme for a long time and especially as we come out of the pandemic. Their conclusions and advice is based on research that they do and research/polling others are doing (such as Barna).
In their August 15, 2022 newsletter, they share
"The Top Ten Post-Pandemic Reasons Guests Do Not Return to Church"
Here is an excerpt. I've added my thoughts as they relate to SUNDAY SCHOOL are in BLUE.
In our conversations with people visiting churches, the reasons guests don’t return remain the same (as they did pre-pandemic).
1. “I will not return to a church that has a stand-and-greet time.” (sometimes called "passing the peace")
We heard from over 1,000 guests, and 90 percent of them gave us this response. If you are thinking about bringing back this activity to your worship service, think again. Anxiety in groups affects parents and kids as they try to discover the schedule and classroom locations. How can we reduce this?
2. “The people are unfriendly.”
Most church members think their church is friendly because the members are friendly to each other. Many guests felt like they were treated like unwanted outsiders. We need to look at how we are actually practicing "hospitality" and reducing stranger-anxiety from the parking lot to the front door of the church to the inside of the classroom.
3. “I could not leave my child in the children’s area. It was filthy and unsafe.”
This concern has grown since the pandemic. I've seen so many dirty Sunday Schools in my travels. Smells, lighting, colors. Remove the clutter and think about a new rug and paint job.
4. “I could not find any information on the church.”
Even though most of these guests visited the website, they were still looking for an information center or persons to give them more information. I routinely look for children's ministry and Sunday School info on church websites and routinely find outdated and too little info. Today's parents WANT TO KNOW what to expect before they go.
5. “The church website was terrible (or did not exist).”
This issue is more of a first-time guest issue than a second-time guest issue, especially in the post-pandemic world. For most guests, if you have an inadequate website, your church does not exist. See my comment for #4 above. No excuse for this.
6. “The signage was terrible.”
The primary complaints were about inadequate parking signage and directions to the entry of the church. Speaking of signage, at one church I used to attend, they had a "no guns allowed" sign greeting everyone, and no directions to the sanctuary or classrooms.
7. “I heard a lot of insider language in the worship service.”
Please avoid acronyms. This includes when you're talking about your children's programs. Visitors don't know what "Kids Kamp" or "Explorers" mean unless you tell them. Or who "Miss Suzie" is and how to get in touch with her if you don't include her phone and email.
8. “The service was boring, and I did not understand what was happening.”
Guests have choices. They will not choose a boring church. The first-time guest will not become the second-time guest. Same thing with Sunday School.
9. “Someone told me I was in their seat.”
Yes, it still happens. Kids do this to other kids in classrooms too. Make sure new kids are greeted and sat next to!
10. “The church facilities were messy and dirty.”
A lack of attention to the facilities communicates loudly that the church does not care. Walk into your nursery and look at the floor, take a big sniff, and check out the quality and cleanliness of the toys. (Do this in every classroom and hallway too.)
Though the rankings of the reasons may have changed slightly since the pandemic, the reasons have not. And any church should be able to find ways to overcome these challenges.
