When I’m a consumer, I want great customer service.
Whether online or in real life, I want products and services that meet my needs in the best, quickest, friendliest manner possible.
But I don’t want that from church.
Sure, I’d rather experience a church service with passionate worship, strong teaching and friendly people than one with passionless praise, shallow teaching and a sour attitude.
But church is not about great customer service. A great church experience should be about relationships.
Author
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Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of four books on church leadership. His fifth book, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next, releases on April 2, 2024.
He also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry. Episodes feature in-depth interviews about the topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.