That was some common-sense advice passed on at a recent day-long “Growth Workshop” for congregations in the St. Lawrence UU District. I was lucky enough to attend, along with Therese Hogle, Lee Ann McKinney and Mardie Ninno.

OK, so how does a congregation repel fewer visitors? Sam Trumbore, the minister from the Albany UU church, offered some tips from “breakthrough” congregations in Milwaukee and Appleton, Wis.; Annapolis, Md.; and Golden, Colo.; which have seen substantial growth.

Welcoming visitors can be as simple as preparing special name tags and having a visitor’s table available every Sunday—things Lee Ann and Mardie already are doing at May Memorial. It’s important to engage visitors even after their third or fourth visit, when they become both more familiar and less visible.

Try not to do “church business” Sunday morning. Instead, look for newcomers and visitors to talk with. Be “outward-focused.” Remember how you were welcomed when you first started coming to May.

Newcomers may be a source of fear. Why? Because they are strangers. Their agenda may not be the same as yours. That’s why it’s all the more important to get to know them—and for them to get to know you and the “culture” of May Memorial.

District Executive Tom Chulak offered fascinating conclusions from a “growth survey” of some 14,000 faith communities. “Wanting to grow or talking about growth won’t do it,” he said. “It doesn’t happen by chance. You have to plan.”

That plan isn’t a structure or timetable for growth, with numerical goals. Instead, plan to be “radically welcoming” and clear about your mission and purpose.

If young adults are coming to church, the survey suggests, you’re likely to grow.

Are you willing to change? Then you’re ready to grow.

You’re likely to grow if your worship service is more “joyful” than “reverent.” By the way, it seems drums and percussion are good for growth.

Involve children in worship. Use the church website to help define the congregation it serves. Sustain and nurture small groups. And when you look around on Sunday and see the Sanctuary is at least 80 percent full, you know your growth strategy is working.

I look around on Sunday mornings and see new faces, new families, new visitors. What more can I do not to repel them?