Let me explain.
When you see the same place and people every week or every day, you lose gradually you ability to see things critically, honestly, and without emotional investment or opinion. This is how cobwebs can go undetected in the corner of a living room, or a trash can go un-emptied in the foyer for weeks, or nobody notices a newcomer who slips into the back pew. Sometimes fresh, discerning eyes can help us to see things as they really are. Enter the secret, undercover worshiper.
My maniacal madness began as my congregation is struggling with growing pains—how to plan for growth and more participation as a faith community, to share the good news, and make our gatherings and building as hospitable as possible. In church parlance, that’s the magic word: hospitality. When our leadership council had discussions about change in our congregation, about what works and what doesn’t, I was surprised to discover how all of us (myself included!) had become blind to what was really happening on Sunday mornings and during the week. Nothing terrible, of course—just how easy it is to ignore some glaring problems, let things disappear into the background. Something had to be done.
If you have ever watched one of those reality shows like Undercover Boss or heard about stores hiring mystery shoppers to assess their shopping experience, you’ll see where I got my bright idea. I had first considered taking a Sunday off and secretly sneaking into the church in disguise to evaluate. This wouldn’t do on several levels: my congregation is small enough that it is difficult to sneak in anonymously, and I admit my own complicity in missing the forest for the trees. It has to be an outsider.
Enter Visitor X (I’ll keep his name anonymous, just because it’s fun!). He is the youth minister at a Lutheran congregation who knows what church is typically about. In this case, X is fluent in Lutheranese and liturgy, and coming from a different congregation he is sensitive to bumps in the road. I put together a five-page evaluation tool on hospitality, and together X and I set a date. X would take on the persona of a newcomer to the area looking for a new church home. I would be cordial to him, neither gushing nor ignoring.
In one word, the exercise was awesome.
X returned his evaluation form Sunday evening, and I was thrilled with the results. I found a balance between what we did well and where we needed improvement. I was flattered in some places, and genuinely taken by surprise in others. Examples of what we did well were the informational literature and bulletins we use to help newcomers navigate the church, tradition, and worship. Where we need improvement included a few facility issues I hadn’t noticed that were shoddy and off-putting. And despite the smiles and hellos from people, X was pretty much left to his own devices (not good). These are things only an outsider with no investment in the congregation could tell us.
X expressed how transformative the experience was for him, and says he will suggest the practice to his pastor. Bwahahahahahahaha!
I will share the results of Visitor X’s experience at my next leadership council meeting. I hope that they will share the same eye-opening experience I had, and have the courage to make necessary changes to improve our hospitality.
And you can bet I will deploy another undercover worshipper in the future. Visitor X was a polished churchgoer who knew what he was looking for. Our future Visitor Y will be someone who doesn’t have a clue what a church should be like, or how to worship, or the words to the songs or prayers.
THAT evaluation will be an eye-opening revelation.