Cultivating Fertile Soil (from parking lot to parking your seat)

I was reading in Mark 4 the other day and was thinking about the parable (story with a point/message) Jesus told about the different soils.  Jesus said a farmer was scattering seed by hand and observed that some of the seed fell on rocky soil, some on hard packed soil, some fell among soil that had not been worked (weeds) and some on the good cultivated soil.

The seed is the message of hope and help in Jesus Christ, we call it the Gospel (it means Good News).  And the different soils represent different life points.  Some people are like the rocky soil - there is something for the seed to grab onto but the roots soon have no place to grow and the seedling dies.  Some are like the hard packed soil - never even letting the seed in so that it can germinate.  Some are like the soil with weeds that had not been cultivated - the seedling took hold but the weeds soon choked out the light, nutrients and available soil.  But some people are the cultivated, weeded and tended soil - the seed not only takes hold but has all that it needs to grow and produce a crop greater than the single seed that was sown.

Here's what is going through my mind today (among other things...haha)

Everybody is in a different place in their life.  Some people have so much baggage that while they hear and get excited about Jesus there is just not enough room for Him and they quickly fizzle in their young faith.  Some people have been so beat down by the world, abuse, their own sin, addictions, hurts, failures, etc., that when they hear about hope, joy, peace and real life through Jesus, it just bounces off, it can't soak in and take hold.  They walk away wondering what the big deal was - they just don't get it.  Some people are quick to jump on the Jesus wagon but their own lives, schedules, plans, obligations, civic or religious duties, bills, jobs or kids soon crowd Jesus out.  But some people are at a point in their lives where they are ready to hear, ready to respond and ready to produce a crop for Jesus that far exceeds their own life.

 So, in order for the Gospel to take hold and grow strong, to produce a crop in someone's life, the soil must be cultivated and taken care of.  Here's my questions:

1. How do we intentionally prepare the soil of a person's life so that when they hear the message of hope and help in Jesus, forgiveness and freedom through His sacrifice, they respond and hold on tight?  
2. Are there ways in which we can do that from a person parking their car on Sunday morning to parking their seat in a chair as the service starts?  
3. How can we prepare them to receive the message with joy BEFORE it is delivered?  

If you have any insight I'd love to hear from you!  Especially if you are NOT a regular church attender, I want to know!  Comment and share this post I want to know how we can be more effective!