In Omaha, it pays to go to church

OMAHA, April 20 (UPI) -- Leaders at an Omaha church took a novel approach to assessing the quality of their services -- paying people to attend church.

The Covenant Presbyterian Church paid eight people $25 each to attend a service Sunday and complete a survey about the experience that included questions about whether the church conveyed a meaningful message, KETV, Omaha, reported Monday.

Senior pastor Jeremy Grant said the church is looking for ways to improve.

"We come here every week, and we're used to this congregation and the way it operates, how does someone else see this?" he said.

Joe Davis, who consulted on the creation of the survey, said the process allowed the church to obtain legitimate third-party opinions.

"What they're giving us is worth so much more than what's being paid," he said.