1. Facility barriers. The two most common are poor signage and inadequate parking. Other common facility barriers include dirty and cluttered facilities, inadequate worship space, inadequate children’s space, and poor sound and lighting in the worship space.
2. Governance barriers.These barriers include restrictive bylaws and policies, a model of church government that is not working as intended and frequent acrimonious business meetings.
3. Staffing barriers. Churches often staff the way they’ve always done it. But times change and needs change. Staffing alignment and job descriptions of the 1990s may be inadequate today. Sometimes the job descriptions can be fine, but the wrong people are in those positions. If a church leader is not in a position that matches his or her gifts, abilities and passions, the church has a structural growth barrier.
4. Cultural barriers.These barriers refer largely to attitudes and practices of the leadership and membership as perceived by guests. They could include a general unfriendly spirit in the church, acrimonious business meetings, perceived lengthy services and worship times that are not convenient for guests.