Pastor, “We’re not ready yet” is costing you. The only way to get ready is to begin.

Two pastors know their church needs to start inviting the city. The first one says, “We’re not ready yet. Once it’s perfect, then we’ll invite people,” and punts the decision to next week, again. The second one says, “We’re not perfect, but the preaching is strong and the kids are safe. Let’s go.” Same church. Different belief. Different future. If “we’re not ready yet” has been on repeat in your head, let’s talk about where it comes from, what it costs, and how to know when you’re actually ready.

The old story: “We’re not ready yet”

You know you need to do it. You know it needs to happen. But: we’re not ready. We’re not ready. We’re not ready.

That story usually comes from one of a few places. Sometimes it’s decision paralysis: I can’t decide yet, let’s push it to next week. Sometimes it’s insecurity about what’s going on in your church, so you don’t want to market. And sometimes it’s perfectionism: once it’s perfect, then we’ll invite people.

Here’s the problem with that last one. The imperfect thing today is just another imperfect thing tomorrow. “Not ready yet” is usually just delaying necessary action.

What it costs

Every church has churn. Some people get mad at a sermon and leave. Some people move away. Depending on the age of your church, you’ll be doing some funerals this year. Add it up and somewhere around 15 to 20 percent of your church churns out every year.

So if you’re not inviting, you’re not holding steady. You’re declining. Your inbound needs to be greater than your churn. Refuse inbound, refuse to grow.

Breaking the old story

Let me be fair. You should have something worth inviting people to before you spend tens of thousands of dollars on marketing. But I’ve seen guys with great churches still making excuses. So how do you know if you’re ready? Two things, and only two.

• Your preaching is the best you have ever done. Not the best in the world. The best you have done.
• Your kids environment is excellent and safe. Clean, fun, kids checked in and checked out, and they’re okay.

If you can do great preaching and great kids, stop waiting. People will forgive bad music. They won’t forgive bad preaching or a bad kids experience. Statistically, they’ll forgive just about everything else. And great preaching attracts great leaders, and they start solving the problems you can’t.

Here’s the other thing to remember: the churches you compare yourself to were inviting back when they weren’t what they are now.

And can we stop treating marketing like a bad word? Marketing is part of the gospel. People don’t know where you are. But spending ten or fifteen dollars to boost a post here and there isn’t marketing. That’s gambling, like dropping chips on a roulette board. Real marketing is getting your best sermons out there, cutting clips, and committing a dedicated monthly spend, with more at back to school, Christmas, and Easter.

There’s a hard mirror question here, and you’ve probably asked it at some point: would you go to this church if you weren’t the pastor? Sometimes there are things you’re not proud of. Say “not proud of yet.” You’re on your way. You’re getting better every week.

The new belief: action creates clarity

Sometimes the only way to get ready is to begin. I see far more churches sitting back and waiting than churches I’d need to rein in. In our world, there are far too many people leaning back when we need to be leaning forward. Do it. Implement it. Try it. Build it as you go. You’ll succeed, you’ll fail, you’ll learn, and you’ll learn more doing and failing than not doing at all.

We’re building it as we’re flying it. Perfect is the enemy of done.

What to do this week

1. Ask the mirror question honestly. Would you go to this church if you weren’t the pastor? Write down what you’re not proud of yet.
2. Check the two essentials. Is this the best preaching you’ve ever done? Is the kids environment safe and excellent? If yes, you’re ready.
3. Set a dedicated outreach budget. Monthly, not random boosts, and heavier at back to school, Christmas, and Easter.

Stop saying “we’re not ready.” Go learn. Iterate. Try something, see what you learned, and try it again. Be bent toward activity, not hesitancy, and keep going forward. As you go, you’ll keep growing, building, and refining. Same situation. Different belief. Different future.