How You Get Them is How You Keep Them

A principle in ministry says, "How you get them is how you keep them." It's something that people undoubtedly say in business and politics and 24-hour news media, too. It's said because the statement holds a great deal of truth. The thing that draws people to visit a church will often be the thing that keeps them coming back to that church.

There are enough disastrous stories that pastors should be highly vigilant to what happens when the draw is wrong, yet the temptation for quick returns often proves too great. Examples from outside the church include the .99 cent Whopper and angsty Starbucks employees.

For years the Burger King Whopper was just under a buck. That's how they advertised it, and it never seemed to change. But then it had to. Burger King could no longer afford to lose money on their star performer. They couldn't drop the Whopper from the menu because they built their identity upon it. Eventually, even their most loyal customers freaked out when they ultimately had to raise the price. They were "got" by a .99 cent Whopper, and that's how they'd be "kept," so instead, they ventured out to places like In-and-Out and Five Guys, where they spent much more money for a burger but didn't seem to mind at all. The Whopper fiasco was about the feelings for what drew them and would keep them.

Starbucks has a long history of attracting baristas with edgy, progressive employee policies. In 1988, Starbucks allowed same-sex partners in on employee health benefits. That same year, they drew several part-time employees because many part-timers were eligible for health insurance at the coffee chain. In 2013 they extended their health insurance coverage to pay for sex-change surgeries and gender reassignment treatments. In 2015 they led the charge with personal pronoun and nickname expression name tags. Over the years, Starbucks has been on the leading edge of the "living wage" argument for college students and artists who mix drive-through concoctions for addicted accountants, marketing consultants, and especially soccer moms. But then competition grew; customers found alternatives. The most loyal Starbucks customers stay willing to dig deep into their pockets for the Starbucks brand, but $8 coffee is getting harder to swallow, and the prices must keep climbing to fund higher employee costs. So, it was no surprise when Starbucks backed off its progressive drive for baristas. Neither was it a surprise when the employees, accustomed to such spoiling, unionized to keep their demands coming. Starbucks got their baristas with these liberal employee policies. If they don't want heartache and strike after strike, how they got them is how they'll keep them. Case in point: the latest Starbucks unionized strike in the news pertains to Starbucks allowing individual store managers to decide the level of Pride month decorations to celebrate LGBTQIA+ agendas. It seems unlikely that even a single Starbucks location would prohibit LGBTQ decorations, but the employees are angry that the corporate office would suggest any limits whatsoever. Therefore, 3,500 employees went on strike, closing 150 New York Starbucks locations. How you get them is how you keep them.

It's easy to find lessons in the Christian churches too. Churches with superstar pastors who build their brand around fame find themselves in trouble when the pastor falls to moral failure, leaves for another church, or retires. The people who attend the church come for the superstar; therefore, the superstar will keep them. The same is true even of coffee or donuts on Sundays. Take away what drew the people and watch the people freak out or leave.

What's the answer?

The key to overcoming this problem is that a church needs to be sure the draw is something they are committed to forever. It must be something they can be dedicated to for the long haul. And what is the most obvious, faithful thing the church should rely on to draw people? The Word of God. A church faithful to the ministry of the Word won't have the problems seeker churches, over-programed churches, and celebrity-based churches will run into. If people come to the church for the Word of God, the Word of God will keep them coming.

Furthermore, the Word of God promises to transform souls over the long haul, so by the Word of God, the church will continue to glorify God as people give themselves to our Lord as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2). It's not complicated. How you get them is how you keep them. So be sure what you use to get them is the right thing you want to keep them.