I attended the One Day Catalyst event with Andy Stanley and Criag Groeschel when it rolled through Northern California a couple weeks ago. All the sessions that day were packed with organizational leadership nuggets to keep a leadership freak like me chewing for months.

There is one particular session by Andy Stanley entitled Creating a Come and See Culture where he made a really valid argument for the constantly criticized attractional church. He was somewhat poking fun at the missional & attractional debate suggesting the opposite of attractive is unattractive.

The phrase that came to my mind was Mission Attractional. Is it possible to be a missional and attractional at the same time? I think the answer is a resounding YES!

Here are 5 recognizable traits of the mission attractional church. All 5 traits have a combination of a missional and attractional approach to ministry.

1. Your congregation invites their friends and family to church. When the people who attend your church (attractional) tell others (missional) multiplication is a result.

2. Your community has been to your church campus for an event (attractional),  but not necessarily for a church service (missional). When people know your church for something other than your church service times your missional events are having an impact on your community.

3. Your church’s staff empowers and resources attendees (attractional) to do ministry outside the four walls of your Yourchurch location (missional). Empowering leaders attract followers who find liberty in being released by healthy authority.

4. Your church’s children ministries are seen as safe and clean (attractional) and you win the confidence of visiting families (missional). Safe and clean environments says to the community we value your kids as much as you do.

5. Your church celebrates the people who are coming (attractional) and supports those it is sending (missional). I love the saying that “a church should be known by its sending capacity, not its seating capacity.” The missional and attractional church not only gives to missions it goes on mission.

A mission attractional church is not a mission impossible. A church can be both if it is deliberate in understanding how both dynamics work together to attract and engage the community in mission.

Here are a couple good articles on the missional and attractional church:

Choosing Missional and Attractional

Can a Church be Both Attractional and Missional?