Entice the lapsed or reward the faithful?

Ministry is made up of tensions to manage.
One such tension is that which exists between those who are in attendance and those who aren't.

Which should you cater to?

Do you postpone the start of an event or church service for the latecomers?
Do you send enticements to those who haven't attended in a few consecutive weeks?
Do you only provide gifts on special occasions for those visiting?

Or...

Do you honour the time of those who were punctual?
Do you give rewards for those who attend with regularity?
Do you go out of your way to recognise those who are there week-in, week-out?

As with all tensions, you should do a healthy balance of both.

But, the danger is when one group starts to resent or desire the carrot dangled before the other group.

You don't want visitors to think that you favour those "on the inside" unfairly.
Equally, you don't want your regulars to start drifting in order to receive the enticements to return.

Ideally, you want visitors to recognise that you value those who are committed to your community and your regulars to value guests enough that any means of attraction are accepted.