How To Attract New People To The Gurdwara

[Akalifauj]

Sahejdhari / mona Sikhs make up 80% of the sikh population yet these people are not even catered for in the gurdwara hence they only come 1-4 times a year during a wedding, vaisakhi or guru nanak birthday gurpurb or new years day.

Not true but what gurdwara are you speaking of and what catering does this group need.

So gurdwara needs to be centered around their needs more as for new comers into Sikhi like recent converts there is no facility for them. Many westerners are interested in becoming a Sikh but have no idea what to do or have a community to welcome them. What kinda of impression must they get? Sikhi more like a secret society or a race than a religion.

What facilities are you looking for the westerners and what special treatment in your mind does the amritdhari group get and the mona group doesn't. Add some substance to your claims. Otherwise you are just another person whining because you have a grudge.

[Big_Tera]

Make it relevant to people's lives.

End of the day the gurdwara should be a place to recharge the spiritual battery and meet fellow Sikhs but how many gurdwaray are like that these days? And the commitee's that look after them should be serving the needs of the sangat and not serving the needs of their bank account or their own friends and family.

Sahejdhari / mona Sikhs make up 80% of the sikh population yet these people are not even catered for in the gurdwara hence they only come 1-4 times a year during a wedding, vaisakhi or guru nanak birthday gurpurb or new years day.

So gurdwara needs to be centered around their needs more as for new comers into Sikhi like recent converts there is no facility for them. Many westerners are interested in becoming a Sikh but have no idea what to do or have a community to welcome them. What kinda of impression must they get? Sikhi more like a secret society or a race than a religion.

Good point. How can new converts to Sikhism feel welcome when we cant even welcome our own.

I would like to add bringing people to the Gurwdwara is not the main objective. Its more about making people aware of Sikhism So that they can do their own research after we give them the leaflet. The flyer will act like a spark to get them interested in learning more about the faith. If they come to Gurdwara that is good but it is not necessary for them to come, to learn about Sikhism. The main goal is to spread the teachings of Sikhism through awareness campaigns. This is a great way of making people aware of who Sikhs are and what they believe so they dont mistake us for other religions also. After reading the leaflet they may become interested in Sikhism and even convert. But first we have to show that we want them and that they are welcome. One of the reason people convert to Islam and Christianity is because these religions great sense of cherishment and love for new converts, Sikhs on the other hand their are to busy counting their money and dont care if anyone becomes as Sikh or not. Is it any wonder not not many people convert to Sikhism when we as Sikhs dont show any strong desire to shows what our religion is?

P,S There are many websites where you can make professional looking flyers for free. This is one of the main ones i found.

I would like to add bringing people to the Gurdwara is not the main objective here. Its more about making people aware of Sikhism So that they can do their own research on Sikhism after we give them the leaflet. The flyer will act like a spark to get them interested in learning more about the faith. If they come to Gurdwara that is good but it is not necessary for them to come. The main goal is to spread the teachings of Sikhism in a non confrontational way. Not forcing religion down peoples throats that other religions do. This is a great way of making people aware of who Sikhs are and what they believe so they dont mistake us for other religions.

P,S There are many websites where you can make professional looking flyers. This is on of the main ones. https://www.canva.com/create/flyers/

I made a very nice flyer/leaflet in literally 2 minutes then you just dowload it and print it off. And your ready to go. Its very simple and easy to do.

To hand out the flyers you can go to community events, Asian melas, high street, shopping centers. ect. basically anywhere were people congregate. We can specificaly target non Sikhs such as Christians, Hindus and even muslims.

To hand out the flyers you can go to community events, Asian melas were you find alot of white people who are already interested in Asian culture/beliefs ect, high street, shopping centers. ect. basically anywhere were people congregate. Here is one I made in a few minutes. But obviously when you make them for distribution more effort will go into making them. You will also edit it so that it displays your local gurdwara address and contact details. website links to information ect. Its not about forcing religion on anyone. If people dont want the leaflet they will simply walk away.

You will stand in the high street with the leaflets and simply ask people. "Can I have one minute of your time"? Then explain that we have Prayer evenings in the Sikh temple ect and would like to come along. At the same time you can give them some info on Sikhism.

[Not2Cool2Argue]

Basics of sikhi are the only people taking such steps of creating leaflets about any Sikh related things. Other people are too busy trying to prove which jatha is better

SikhRI is also doing a lot. But they r mostly based on east coast of USA. Look at their website. They r trying to make Sikhi accesible to outsiders

[Akalifauj]

SikhRI is also doing a lot. But they r mostly based on east coast of USA. Look at their website. They r trying to make Sikhi accesible to outsiders

Sikhri is a venomous organization. Sikhs should not support them. They have ill intentions.

[Big_Tera]

Just and update I have finished completing the leaflets and printed them off. I made a nice booklet and have been handing them out. So far the response has been great, many people were genuinely interested to learn about Sikhism. I think this is a great way to spread the message. More Sikhs need to do this up and down the country . In my 3 page booklet. I included facts about Sikhism and the key beliefs and practices such as Langar, belief in one God and concept of seva.

[MisterrSingh]

Great work, Big Tera. You're doing valuable seva, and not many of us actually do anything aside from talking a great game on the internet.

[Big_Tera]

Great work, Big Tera. You're doing valuable seva, and not many of us actually do anything aside from talking a great game on the internet.

Thanks for the encouragement.

yep alot of people like to give it large on here with out doing anything proactive. I have some spare time and some connections so I thought I would use them for the benefit of Sikhi. I aim to hand out 20-30 leaflets a day. just imagine the difference this is making. 30 people who may never have heard of Sikhism suddenly know who Sikhs are and what their beliefs are and can also spread this knowledge to their family's and friends.

Its not just about bringing people to the Gurdwara its about educating people about Sikhism. Once one person knows something about the religion then they will tell others slowly more people will become aware.

Its also great fun making the leaflets you can be imaginative and create eye catching designs. I know basics-of Sikhi are doing this but there needs to be more people doing this kind of thing. P.S I also printed these leaflets from a friend who's got a print business so it did not cost me anything which was handy. It costs £50p to print each booklet. Ink is expensive. So I recommend finding a way where you can get a discount somehow.

[MisterrSingh]

You're setting an example and putting your money where your mouth is. Motivation for us all to get up off our behinds and do more for the Sikh faith in this coming year.

[simran345]

Good job ?? Big Tera ji, stay in Chardi kala.

[Balkaar]

Addressing social issues and welcoming monas is all very well, but these will be for nothing if they are not carried out IN ENGLISH.

The reason attendance at our Gurdware is not as high as it should be is because contemporary Sikh parents and grandparents have failed in their duty to educate their children about Sikhi and their Punjabi mother tongue. And when the Gurdwara's primary method of disseminating information is linguistic, it's no wonder that so many don't want to go, why would they? This is the central issue here and it will not be addressed for as long as those old, irrelevant farts continue to clog up the committees and insist on using our Guru Ghars as battlefields for their petty squabbles (with no English subtitles for the kids). It would also help if our Granthis and Raagis could speak English, as people tend to go them with their questions.

Kudos to Big Tera Veerji for taking steps to address this problem- as I sit behind a laptop mouthing off. The Sikh people, myself included, could benefit from feeling some shame. I'm going to try and do more in 2016.