The Pew Meter
The utter silence was as loud as an explosion; the effect it had on me. Our small group of men were discussing how we could help the pastor and how we could grow the church. One said that attendance was down and doesn't change. And then a deacon said weekly offerings were continually below expenses. One other fact we all agreed on, was that we knew very little about each person that attended... other than health issues.
We all looked at Pastor and asked how we fix this thing. Without hesitation, looking at each of us, he calmly said, “Visit the people.” What immediately followed, was that explosion of silence. I'm sure most of us were asking ourselves, “But how does this thing get rolling?” Even a couple of us might be thinking visitation is the pastor's job, “Hey! Wait a minute. Visitation is mainly the pastor's job – that's what we pay him for. Besides, he's better at answering Bible questions than we are!”
But the question that lingers in our minds, is, “How do we save our church?”
Across town, beyond the tracks, Hank Beam was getting nervous, because he knew what was coming. They both leaned against the window of the little MAKIN' JESUS SMILE CHURCH, peering in, enjoying the happy singing and clapping. Hank and Henrietta were outside because it was packed inside. Every time the church sang the chorus, “If you're happy and you know it – tell your face!”, Henrietta would clap harder and sort-of prance in place. Being 6 months pregnant, she had no business bouncing around, for any reason. But Hank knew it was futile to try to calm her down.
A few moments later, gray-haired Max came limping out the front church door, with his cane in one hand and his folding chair in the other. Max stayed outside the window with Hank and Henrietta. It easily warmed your heart to see first Henrietta sitting in the chair for a while, and then Max resting his war-weary bones, seated.
What you probably will never see is what the little church calls, “Dozer on Duty”. Dozer had the appearance of what his nickname suggests – a bulldozer. Dressed in his Sunday-best coveralls he would always get to church almost before any one else. He would quietly touch the end of a bench (pew, if you got them), turn his face heavenward and offer a prayer for those who'd be seated there shortly. Then he's step to the next bench and do the same. He never failed to take extra prayer time at the red ribbon.
The ribbon reserved a spot on the back bench for soldiers currently serving and those who'd paid the ultimate price. Pastor once asked Dozer about what he was doing. The answer was, “Some people call this 'prayer walking'. But the short of it is, I'm fillin' these benches with prayer before anyone sits in 'em. And nobodys gonna stop me, neither!” (Does your church have a Dozer on Duty?)
Dozer would tell us flat out; visitation always starts in the pews. This month's usher stands by the door and greets everyone, noting especially the visitors. He always watches to see if a member moves over and sits with the visitor(s). Good visitation starts in the pew with sharing a songbook, a Bible and plenty of smiles. Miss Donna never learned to read and was far from a fancy talker, but you could always tell she was on duty. She immediately gave each visitor a friendly smile, and a bloom from her own Lilac bush. Fresh tracts and colorful church contact fliers on a table (not in a wall rack) are a must.
Pastor Josh could see his PEW METER was hitting maximum. Just like a thermometer tells if a person is healthy or not, every church's pew meter measures it's health. It's easy to use too. At the beginning of the service, watch to see if everyone sits in their own seat, leaving the visitors to sit by themselves. If this is what your church's pew meter indicates, you'd better find a Max, Donna, Dozer, and quick – flooded with tearful bone-deep prayers. [~]
