Do you know the primary ingredient that keeps people active in a church? Is it:

powerful preaching?
dynamic music?
toothy greeters?
Starbucks in the lobby?
Nope. None of the above. Our friend Charles Arn of Church Growth Incorporated studies these things. He discovered one thing outshines everything else when it comes to keeping people around and involved. It is:

Friendships.

He said, “Put simply, if people have friends at church, they stay. If they don’t have friendships, they won’t.” So, it pays to be very intentional about helping people form meaningful relationships, ones that extend outside of the worship hour.

That’s what’s driving a key part of our work with Lifetree Cafe, a nationally licensed one-hour experience that connects friends around issues of life and faith.

http://www.lifetreecafe.com/