The "Klondike Bar Effect"

I'm highly distrustful of generating momentum in places outside of our church's mission. Our church's mission ~ making disciples who can make disciples of Jesus Christ ~ happens in 3 environments in our church: Sunday mornings, small groups and our leadership communities. It's so tempting to put lots of energy into side events that could yield high turn-out, but have very little carry-over into our three foci. Things like carnivals, festivals, movie nights, etc. I'm not saying they're wrong; I'm just distrustfulof their effectiveness.

I think of it as "The Klondike Bar Effect." People will do anything and say anything toget free stuff or take their children to incredible, free events... but it doesn't seem to impact the church on Sunday mornings. The other month, when Honey Bunches of Oatswas giving out free bowls of cereal in the Town Center, I told their marketers how incredible they were, how delicious it was, and how revolutionary their approach was. But once I got my free bowl of cereal... I was outta there.

Ben Arment: http://www.benarment.com