Attractional vs Attractive

Have been very lazy with the blogging of late, mainly due to being back at home and not house-sitting where I can use their internet.

Am currently trying to sort out this new USB Modem system, where I think i may have shot myself in the foot by buying a Modem off the net, it's not dodgy, but just has Vodafone software, which is not seeming to be friends with my Optus SIM card, even though it's not network locked...

Anywho, this article is something I've explained a few times before, so big ups to Hamo for writing it and saving me the effort. Here are a couple excerpts, follow the link above for the whole thing.


In missional church lingo the term ‘attractional’ refers to the way a church seeks to do all it can to get people to the service. This might be better music, more comfy seats or a free car (serious…) It is all about marketing and developing a way of getting people ‘in’. It operates on the assumption that people actually want in… a bloody big assumption if you ask me…

I am not a fan of church being attractional. I believe the foundational assumption is flawed. People are not sitting at home just waiting for us to get the show right and then they will come. This approach will lead us to more focus on style and less on substance.

However I believe Christian community ought to be attractive. If there is genuine Christ centred community happening where we are loving one another deeply and sharing life then it will be attractive to people. Perhaps not to all however. Community can be frightening - exposing us and leaving us vulnerable - it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

But the foundational assumption here is not that people are waiting to join us if only we could ‘get things right’. It is simply that if we are a genuine community then chances are that will be very attractive to many. And if they encounter our community then they will find it life giving.