Both missions and revivals try to attract converts, but they work in different ways. The "downtown mission" of movie lore attracts people by offering food and shelter. And, usually in unspoken exchange, they seek to convert these people. A revival directly caters only to those people who want to be converted. Which one is more like selling today? At a revival, the audience has to be ready to be converted. They know why they are there. At a mission, the audience's primary goal isn't getting converted. But, the mission manager is appealing to their hunger and cold in order to get them in the door. I've met many salespeople who want to run their companies like a revival. Only those truly "ready" to consume their service get in the door. The good thing about this approach is that you're likely to convert more people. But, you will have a smaller audience. In addition, those who convert are more likely to stay converted, because this is the reason they are there in the first place. Others work like a mission. They use non-sales methods to attract their audience. Then, while they are consuming these ideas/services/etc., they try to educate and convert them. Lead nurturing is like this. The goal here is to meet people's immediate needs/desires, and then work on serving their "real" needs down-the-road. Lots of people don't think the mission approach is worth it. It takes too much time and effort, they say, to deal with these people and eventually convert them. On the other hand, the revival approach seems perhaps unnecessarily limiting. If you allow only a few people into the tent, then you naturally can't convert more than a few people. So, which is a better approach? I am a fan of the mission. Without being deceptive, I think it's important to meet people where they are and move them along gradually. In our business, we can't expect our future clients to be fully educated and informed and ready to convert. This is especially true in today's climate of layoffs and overwork. Many of our clients just don't know enough to find, never mind attend, a revival.