January 27, 1999

DeSoto church's sign
brings in first-time visitors
___DESOTO--When an unfamiliar woman dropped off her children at the nursery of Southwest Baptist Church in DeSoto on a recent Sunday morning, the nursery worker asked her how she heard about the church.
___"It was your sign," the woman said, somewhat apologetically.
___She then explained that the messages on the church's outdoor sign had intrigued her so much that for several weeks she made a point to drive by and read the sign.
___Ultimately, that caused her to visit the church, the first time she had been in any church in a long time, she said.
___Such stories are not uncommon at Southwest Baptist Church, according to Pastor Brian Waite. The marquee-type sign has become the church's trademark in the community, he said.
___On response cards included in each Sunday's bulletin, worshipers are asked to indicate what brought them to Southwest. "You'd be amazed at how many times people put down the sign," he said.
___It's not by accident that the church's sign is generating so much interest. Waite and other church leaders intentionally focus on using the sign effectively, with a creative team holding regular brainstorming sessions to think up the catchy phrases to be displayed.
___"We want to make people stop and look," Waite said. "We're trying to get away from the cutesy type things to something that's going to attract a non-Christian or non-churched type person."
___Here are some of Southwest's recent offerings:
___ Our Sundays are better than Baskin-Robbins.
___ Free faith-lifts on Sunday morning.
___ Open Sunday.
___ Early-bird special (advertising early service).
___ Come learn to live without fear.
___ You're the reason we're here.
___ Our sermons are fat-free.

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