Growth Ideas 101: Inviting Inspection Perspective (October 15, 2025)

How do others perceive your property and community of faith space? When our property and buildings are familiar, we take for granted all our own knowledge of which door to use, where washrooms, kitchen space, meeting rooms are, and what is expected. Too often we hear stories of a visitor who tried to attend but could not figure out even which door to enter, meeting locked door after locked door and no clear signage. Invite some people who do not attend your church to come have a tour, and share their observations, impressions and ask questions. Tell them you want them to inspect the space and lift up what is easy to understand, what is missing, what they are attracted to, what is a concern, distraction or turn off? Look at upkeep and tidiness, access, signage, how welcoming the spaces are. Consider all ages, abilities, those for whom English is not first language, inclusion. What needs to be cleaned up or cleaned out? Look at messaging on bulletin boards, information tables, bookshelves, what has become an unintended storage area? Are there areas to refresh? Are there safety concerns, like old and broken toys in a nursery or Sunday School space? Before you invite people from outside the church, have the congregation conduct your own inspection and perspective experience. Perhaps after a worship service, invite everyone to do their own inspection tour of all of your spaces, from arriving on property and through every part of the building. Equip them with paper and pens to share their observations. Invite them to pretend they are a toddler, a child, a teen, young adult, person with young family, older person, a person using a stroller, walker, wheelchair, a service animal, a non-English speaker, etc. As you look at the experience through the imagined lens of another, what improvements will you suggest? Address as much as you can and then invite people who don’t come to your church to come and share. Plan to do this in October or early November so you can be more visitor ready before the holiday season.