Your church meetings could be great. Maybe you have a prepared lesson, maybe there’s a speaker, or maybe everyone has an opportunity to contribute. Whatever the case may be, every member of your church needs to participate in order for these meetings to be truly effective.
If someone isn’t taking part, then they are experiencing the meeting passively. This often means that your message may not be reaching its full potential. Fortunately, there are a few easy things that can be done to ensure that people stay engaged and focused on what you’re trying to communicate.
These tips below will keep everyone more focused and attentive so they can get the most out of the meeting.
1. Remind Them
Everyone knows what it’s like to be somewhere and zone out.
We all have our ways of zoning out or distracting ourselves, but knowing that everyone else in your church meeting is doing the same thing can be unnerving. So how can you keep everyone focused and on track? Make sure to remind them about the topic at hand.
If the meetings are long, break it up with a song, clip, or something else that is fun and engaging. You won’t lose any momentum this way so no one will be able to zone out and slip away before you start back up.
Also, keep people on track by keeping an eye on them and subtly reminding them what is going on. If someone starts glancing around the room, looking up at the clock, or repeatedly tapping their foot, then be sure to acknowledge it and get everyone’s attention back into your meeting.
2. Stay Focused
Your church meetings may include a live speaker, and that can be intimidating and cause people to get nervous about what to do. Even if the speaker is not a close friend or family, we’ve all been in situations where we don’t know exactly how to act.
What should we do with our bodies? How should we respond? Do I say something at this part?
All of these questions could cause people to become anxious and ultimately lose focus on what’s happening.
Speakers should give plenty of cues to let everyone know what they expect from them. For example, if you want the congregation to stand up for the first song then make sure that everyone knows it will happen by putting handouts or making announcements beforehand mentioning that they can expect this.
Also, remind them about the meeting structure during the speaker’s talk so there aren’t any questions later on.
3. Have Gratitude
One way to capture attention and get everyone more involved is to share your gratitude toward someone else in your church group or congregation before beginning a lesson or service.
With this tactic, you’ll be able to start off with a bang because everyone will be much more attentive. To facilitate this, give your inputs or teaching points in small chunks that are easy to understand and digest.
Since people are being actively engaged they won’t have time to zone out or get distracted by other things happening in the room. Also, try using visuals so you can attract their attention even more.
If people are more engaged, then they will appreciate you more and be able to communicate the message better by utilizing everything at their disposal.
4. Be Attentive
You should always be attentive to your church members. They won’t always feel confident enough to approach you if they happen to need help. If they don’t even know that you’re available, how can they ever ask for your assistance?
This means that if someone is coming to the end of their seat, clearly drifting away, or losing focus, then be sure to approach them and give them a subtle reminder. This could be something like looking at the clock, reminding them about the meeting structure, or otherwise informing them of the remaining duration of the meeting.
This can go a long way when it comes to retaining everyone’s attention. So, be sure to keep this tip in mind when moving forward with your church meetings.
5. Plan Ahead
Make sure you know what you want to do and how you’re going to go about it before the meeting starts.
The more prepared you are, the easier it will be for everyone else to follow along and understand what’s going on. Start by writing down your goals and objectives for the meeting.
What do you want to accomplish? Who is the audience? How will they benefit from this? Next, break out some paper and write down how you can reach those goals.
Will you need the Church Handbook? Maybe some PowerPoint slides to help visualize what’s being said?
You should have a pamphlet ready that will quickly inform them about an upcoming event or service to give them time to prepare themselves. Otherwise, you may encounter a handful of the above issues in the future.
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Improving a Church Meeting Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
In fact, it will likely be much easier than you anticipate. The above guide will help ensure your church meetings go smoother than ever before. So, be sure to keep it in mind when looking into how to make your church meeting go well.
You can check out the rest of our blog for other useful lifestyle tips like these.
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