The majority of families who are going to visit your church this Sunday are going to visit for one reason - what you have to offer them. Unfortunately it seems the days of attending church simply to honor the Sabbath are about over.

People, especially non-believers, come to church today so they can hear practical, encouraging messages that are going to help them in their work, families, and personal lives.

You don’t have to settle for simply “tickling their ears”. Yet you do need to speak their language and talk about subjects they care about.

Remember Secret #1 from 10 Advertising Secrets Every Church Should Know

“People get saved only for selfish reasons”.

http://www.truthadvertising.org/ten_secrets_of_church_marketing.php

The million dollar question is: Are they going to leave your church filled with power to help them in the week ahead, the hope to fight for their marriage and family, the determination to beat the habits they struggle with daily? Or, are they going to leave with the same empty feeling that drew them to church in the first place?

Some of the same tools we use at Truth Advertising to reach people for the church can help you minister to them - once they are at your church. 

How To Preach More Dynamic Sermons.

1. Capture Your Audience’s Attention 
During the first few minutes of your message, your hearer will make the decision whether they will listen to the rest of your sermon or, spend the next 30 minutes counting ceiling tiles. Just like a powerful headline will determine whether or not someone will read the rest of your postcard, a powerful sermon introduction will draw the hearer into the rest of your message.

Bring your audience to the edge of their chair using intriguing illustrations, challenging questions, emphatic statements, hard-hitting statistics and more. Your introduction should foreshadow the central idea of the whole sermon.

2. Engage the Listener 
Once you capture the attention of your audience you must engage them into the body of the message. They must quickly identify within your message – what’s in it for them?

Many pastors leave the application to the end of the message. This can be a huge mistake. You must tell them what to apply before you tell them how to apply. Most sermons already touch on a specific need before you tell them how to fill that need. If you go through your Biblical exegesis before telling them what to do with it, they might miss it entirely.

3. Educate Your Audience 
This is the body of your sermon. You want to make sure that you give them what they came for. There is nothing worse then coming in anticipation of something rich and leaving feeling like your appetite has barely been whet. You don’t need to exhaust every area of spiritual truth once they get in the door, but you do need to give them tangible Biblical teaching that will be easy to apply to their daily lives.

Be conversational in your approach rather than instructional. People want to feel that you are talking to them as a friend not a scholar.

Use examples and stories to communicate more than just facts. Remember the teaching approach of Jesus.He spoke more in parables than anything else. Use stories that will relate to the day and the very things in the lives of your hearers. If you feel that you struggle relating about a particular topic, use people’s testimonies to help out.

Keep it simple. Most of the new people that will come into your church may have no spiritual background at all. This doesn’t mean keeping it superficial, but does mean you should use language and anecdotes that will be understood by all of your audience. It is easy to acquire our own culture that can ostracize people on the outside. Biblical teaching should simplify the truth not confound it. Try to focus on one simple truth that people can apply to their lives rather than leaving them with so many that they don’t remember anything.

4. Make them an Offer
This is where you tell them how to apply the message to their lives. Remember the goal of Biblical teaching is changed lives. Giving people the warm fuzzies or making them more educated doesn’t mean anything if nothing changes in their daily lives.

You can give them the greatest stories and biblical facts, but if they cannot use it in their lives that week they will remain as they were before they came. In order for people to change their behavior they must have a desire. You cannot make people change but you can help them to see the value in the change that they will have. People do what they believe will benefit them. If the only reason people come to church, pray, or study the Bible is because they believe they will have a better marriage, better working relationships, or less stress, then at least they are doing something that inevitably change all other areas of their lives.

Making disciples takes time. The first step is getting them in the door. The second step is getting them in the door again. Every week you are marketing to the people that come to hear you speak. They must consistently see the benefits of coming back again. As you patiently apply these steps, you will begin to see the fruit in your labor. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that starts small and grows large over time. Be patient, be persistent and trust God for the results.