Since Scripture doesn’t mention “church buildings”–other than people’s homes–we have no explicit teachings concerning their function, architecture, or anything else.  Therefore, a sign in front of the church to identify certain details about the congregation is also foreign to Scripture, a small innovation made necessary by the cultures of which we are a part. So, the principles here are basic common sense…I hope.

1. Your church needs a sign.

When oppressive governments first decide to persecute churches, they require that all signage and identifying insignia be removed.  Mistakenly under the impression that if no one can find a church the houses of worship will soon cease to exist, pagan officials forget that the Christian faith existed for centuries by word of mouth, still the best method of propagating the gospel.

Even so, it’s a good idea to have a sign in front of a church.  In America, that is a given. The church without a sign in front may as well have no door.

Please take a look at the sign identifying your church.  Get out of the car and walk up close to it. Study it closely.

2.  Your sign will say a great deal about your church.

The neatness and design, where the sign is located, how attractive its surroundings are, and the message you post regularly, all these announce to neighbors and travelers volumes about your church.

On a route I drive a couple of times a year going to see my grandchildren in Missouri, I pass a church which has erected chains across both its entrances. People are to stay away and violators will be prosecuted  Knowing nothing more, most of us would want little to do with that church. And yet, I’d be willing to wager that the chain and the sign are the result of one crabby individual who grew tired of teens parking there at night and tossing the occasional beverage onto the pavement. His anger at a few intruders is running people off.

Years ago, I recall a little church in a rural Mississippi town asking on one sign of their sign, “Parents, are you driving your children to hell?” and on the other side issued the warning “Turn or burn in hell forever.”  The sign said much about that church, none of it good.  Perhaps the pastor at the time was angry at the world about him and had forgotten that the gospel is good news. Or, even worse, someone else was handling the sign and blackening the eye of that church.

Personally, I would not care to worship in a church that is hell-focused.

Ask a friend what your sign says to him/her about your church.  Take notes.

3. No sign is better than a dirty or poor sign.

In one church where I was the new pastor, we sent the church custodian with a rented backhoe to dig up huge signs at the entrances to the city.   Made of wrought iron and sunk in concrete, these signs had once been beautiful and eye-catching.  By now, however, they merely furnished a target for boys with .22 rifles and bb guns, and vandals had torn off much of what was left.  The eyesores should have been removed a decade earlier.

Not far from my house in the median of the boulevard, a sign points to a church two blocks south. The problem is the sign has been there forever and carries a thin coating of greenish-mildew.  I imagine in 1956, that sign was helpful. Now it is a hindrance. Someone who loves that church would do them a favor by tearing it down.

See if your church sign needs replacing or a new coat of paint or flowers planted around it.

4. The best way to guarantee no one ever reads your sign is to leave the same message up forever.

You’ve seen them.  Two months into the new year, a church sign is still announcing the Christmas Eve vespers’ service.  Summertime has arrived and someone’s church sign urges people to attend Easter services or “Keep Christ in Christmas.”

Church leaders mistakenly think if they leave up the times of their services permanently, they have done well.  What they have done is take the lazy way out.  Now, I’m willing to concede that someone at one time or other will wonder about the schedule of services in that church and it will have fulfilled its purpose, but that’s a small return on a large investment and a great opportunity has been missed.

Thousands of people drive past your church every day, I’m guessing.  Your church sign is the easiest way you will ever have to reach out and touch them.  I’m praying you will awaken to the possibilities and use this opportunity.

As soon as an event is over, the sooner you get the message off the sign and replace it with something current, the more sign-readers will be impressed.

5. Do it right and your sign will be the best free advertising your church could ever need.

In one church I served, we erected a large sign which could be read quickly by the thousands of motorists on that thoroughfare.  Since I’m a sign-reader myself, it seemed second-nature for me to write the sign messages for the custodian to post.  Our plan was simple. Every Monday morning, he posted one kind of message: Something humorous or seasonal or topical.  If it was catchy or funny or poignant, so much the better.  Then, on Thursday, he would post the schedule for Sunday’s service on one side and information about those services on the other (guest speaker’s name, title of sermon, or special emphasis).  As a result, people read our sign.  Many guests told me on Sunday they were in church as a result of the sign.

What about electronic signs with moving messages?  Mostly, they are worthless.  Motorists do not have time to wait through the sequence.

Go for something large and attractive with plenty of space to post a changeable message. Then, keep it current.

Drive around town and check out the most attractive and effective church signs.  Now, compare the one at your church.

For three reasons churches give little attention to their signs.

One: No leader has a burden or vision for it.  This is always the starting place. No one cares about the hundreds of people passing the church every day who could be touched for Christ by this manner.

Two:  The leaders say no one has the time to change the signs and keep them current.  They’re wrong.  While it may be true that no one on the payroll has the time to keep the sign current, there are plenty of people who would do this if they were asked and trained.

Every church has a high percentage of members who do nothing–zero, nada–for the Lord’s work week in and week out.  One or two of them would be delighted to take responsibility for the church sign if they were trained and shown how to do it, then held accountable to make sure it’s done well.

Three: Someone has to go to the trouble of creating the messages for the signs.  This is the fun part for me.  Knowing that I was going to have an audience of several thousand motorists from Monday until Thursday motivated me to try to create something fresh and interesting.  I had taken a cue from a fellow in Charlotte, North Carolina, who created messages for a church there that drew quite a following.  So, one day I called the church to contact that individual. Imagine my surprise to discover the fellow was not a member of that church but worked at the public library.  He just enjoyed creating great sentences for the church sign. One I still recall said, “When Saul of Tarsus met Jesus of Nazareth, he became Paul New Man.”

Our Lord said, “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into His vineyard” (Matthew 9:38).

The volunteers are out there and would love to do this.  But someone needs to ask the Lord to raise them up and then begin looking for them. Perhaps that someone is you.