Attracting People

Sitting in Church this morning something (and don't even ask what, cause I can't remember) reminded me of a story I heard from my dad about a Church giving away a Hummer to attract people to their services.

This got me thinking about what are acceptable means and what are unacceptable means of attracting people to a Church. I think this should somehow link into building trust, but I'm looking at this a little more specifically than that.

There are a few other stories I found that relate to this concept. A Church has given away iTunes gift cards/songs to attract people to an "i" themed sermon series, and maybe slightly different is Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois who has a car donation program where they give cars to single moms and families in need of a car.

I guess the question should be "Where do we draw the line in trying to attract people to the Church and God's Kingdom?" or "Is there nothing too controversial when it comes to this task?"

I am operating under the assumption here that the Church's goal is to help people, and the ultimate way to help someone is to bring them into the Kingdom. (Simplified of course, but I think it is a fairly accurate simplification).

Is there a difference between giving away a Hummer, 1800+ used cars, iTunes gift cards, and donuts and coffee on a Sunday morning?

If I were to take a guess I would say the best option is to help the most people and make the biggest possible impact for all those you are helping.

What do you think?