fresh & practical ideas for your journey to the summit
5 lessons for connectors from the movie Free Solo
What Alex Honnold did on El Capitan is too astounding to take in. Alex climbed El Capitan in less than 4 hours….without a rope or any other safety equipment. His documentary Free Solo is up for an Oscar this year and is in IMAX theaters right now. As I watched the movie, the lessons for those of us leading people on the climb to connect with God and our churches became obvious to me.
Help...Our church campuses aren't growing!!
Ideas, tips and encouragement on this reality of multisite ministry is what this latest episode of our All About Multisite podcast is about. This one focuses on lack of growth and what can actually reverse it.
Communicating better with your Guests: A five-day idea blast
I am coming up for air with some clarity regarding 5 ideas about how we communicate with Guests. These tangible and specific ideas are now time-tested in my assimilation process and could make a big difference in whether guests at your church become meaningfully connected or not.
What is the best way to onboard a volunteer at your church?
What is the best way to onboard a volunteer at your church?
a. Carefully
b. After they have proven faithful
c. When they have completed the membership class and been baptized
d. As quickly as possible.
My 4 must-have qualities in a connectable church
As I write this on New Year's Day 2016, I am reflective over 2 questions that are close to the core of probably any man or woman who has a ministry in any aspect of assimilation:
- What are the must-have qualities that make a church connectable for people?
- What characteristics are deal-breakers for me personally when it comes to my being a part of a church?
Communion and Reaching In (3 of 4)
I believe we can help guests AND members of our churches make better connections with God and each other by sharing Communion together, holding fast to these two realities:
1. Understanding the story of communion is the only pre-condition for participation
2. If the Holy Spirit is drawing a person to receive the Meal as the story is explained, that is a "sign" of their acceptance at the Table.
Communion and Reaching Out (2 of 4)
What if Communion is not a cleansing ritual for Christians but a story-telling experience for all who need the gospel?
This is the question I proposed in my last post. As someone who is passionate about helping people connect to the Body of Christ, I would respond to this question in a controversial way: I believe that communion was never meant to be a time of personal cleansing of sin for a believer, but a chance to vividly understand the good news about Jesus and how that works out in everyone's life.
The Role of Communion in Assimilating People (1 of 4)
Now a warning: In this series on the role of Communion in assimilating people into your church, I am about to step on all kinds of tradition, notions, orthodoxy and orthopraxy when it comes to the Lord's Supper, including that of churches who may not take it at all. But since most of the two and a half billion Christians in the world take it in some form, its impact on the seekers and guests coming to your church from various traditions cannot be ignored.
Church Membership: Harmful or Helpful? (4 of 4)
Membership has its privileges. We hear this quite a lot. But, there are many understandings of what membership is, and what it means-especially when it comes to the Church. Like a health club, people can be a member of a church that they have not attended in years simply because they fulfilled the membership requirement to remain on the roster. Read on to explore an understanding that will not only really resonate with your guests, but would resonate with the Apostle's understanding of membership as well.
Assimilated means they're CONNECTED (2 of 4)
Connection is the most vital aspect of assimilation a guest to your church can experience.
To address this reality, there are 2 questions you will need to begin asking yourself.
Leveraging the Affinity Factor
One of the reasons that guests make a decision to return to your church within the first 7 minutes of their first visit is because they are unconsciously asking the same question all of us instinctively ask ourselves when we find ourselves in a new environment: "Is there anybody here who's like me?" As Rick Warren says, "You don't attract who you want, you attract who you are".
Learning to leverage "The Affinity Factor" can unlock whole new opportunities to connect guests to your church.
What I now believe about guests at our church
I used to believe that I needed to "sell" church to new people.
I believed that I needed to continually speak of the advantages of being part of a church, the benefits of spiritual community, a connection to their ultimate purpose, and more. Though true, I think focusing so much on these advantages distorted my thinking about our guests.
I know believe almost the opposite...
Our Primary Way of Recruiting Volunteers
When I went on my honeymoon to Cancun Mexico, I had an idea that my wife found disturbing. It wouldn't be the last time...
How One Man Found Our Church
It is good to remember that this journey of assimilation is not our own creation or a responsibility of ours to make happen. God owns it. He was working ahead of us, is working alongside us, and waiting for us and those we lead at the summit.
Here is one of the most extraordinary example I have heard at my church of how God does this.
Ready to speed up your progress?
Is it time for you to take building (or rebuilding) your Assimilation System seriously with the CTA Video Course (especially before your next big weekend)?
Do you need one-on-one help with one of our results-driven coaching packages? (we’ll join you in the weeds and do the work with you)
Or are you ready for total staff-wide alignment — the fastest move you can make toward strong walls and open gates? Then Base Camp is for you.
What about a full audit of the walls and gates that you are (or maybe aren’t) presenting to your guests every Sunday with a Secret Sunday Guest Review?