Today I’m teaching live at our Jersey City location, by video in Brooklyn and Kerrick is teaching live in Manhattan.  But here’s what’s cool:

We are holding newcomer receptions in all three locations!

By the time the day is out, I will have met 100 newcomers to our church.  Very cool.  I love to meet new people….they are the lifeblood of any growing church.

BTW, I recently wrote about a How to Have a Newcomers Reception here.

Have a great Sunday!  Off to Jersey City….

Nelson

A great reminder from Seth Godin:

Two Seconds

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that we had a meeting where we asked this question:

How do we WOW people when they first walk into our church?

My first answer is always that the Gospel is WOW enough! At the same time, I believe we should do all we can to welcome people in such a way that they are more open to the BIG WOW of the Gospel This is called Biblical Hospitality. (See my book Fusion for more).

I would encourage you to ask your staff this question, too. I asked it at an all-staff meeting and it led to a 15-minute brainstorming session. Great ideas came out of the meeting…and only about two (ok, maybe one) came from me. There’s a tip…

Since the focus of this meeting was how to wow ‘”from the street to seat,” we mainly focused on greeting people and directing them toward the bathrooms, lobby and children’s check-in.

Here are our (edited) thoughts:

• Upgraded mints in women’s/men’s restrooms
• Fun size chocolates in men’s restroom
• Flowers in women’s restroom
• Nicer soap in women’s restroom
• Program above urinal in men’s restroom
• Deodorizers for restrooms
• Mouthwash in both restrooms with disposable cups
• Plants (silk) in lobby and outside by door to soften the environment
• Upgraded candy in lobby
• Tape down the entrance “red carpet” with red tape
• Scrolling marquee outside
• Featured sermon series poster outside in showcase
• Big individual bottles of water in lobby
• Big cups for hot chocolate at refreshment table
• Ushers walk through attenders and offer mints (before service)
• Better trays for food items
• Upgraded food: apples and bananas
• Omelet bar
• H&H bagels – the best bagels in the city
• Toaster for bagels
• Better cream cheese / different flavors / Philadelphia Brand
• Carry food on trays to serve people seated / offer the tray full of pastries to seated attenders
• Cardboard trays to carry food to seats
• In Elevator: “This Week at the Journey” events
• Recycle bins that show we recycle

In a later meeting, a few of us pulled together and decided which of these things we would do immediately, which ones we would do over the next few months and which we would never do. Here’s the final decision on each restroom:

Women: Bath & Body Works or similar soap & lotion, tissue, mouth rinse, and special canisters for other feminine products for better presentation, including tray with fine chocolates, flowers.

Men: Bath & Body Works soap, regular chocolates, mouth rinse, and possibly paper towel holder/tray. Coming attractions (Inside of program) posted at the urinals, and on stall doors.

At the end of the day, we implemented about 75% of the ideas. And guess what? It cost us just a few dollars to do everything. Yet our regular people noticed (our members were wow-ed!) and our guests took notice, too.

The general guest response was “what kind of church would do this for us?”

I want to be the kind of church that does whatever it takes to reach people and introduce them to the BIG WOW of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, what could you do to wow people when they first enter your church? What could you do this Sunday? Next Sunday?

Nelson

P.S. This is one of several ‘advanced’ Assimilation strategies we discuss in The Assimilation Intensive – a twol day workshop that goes far beyond the regular Assimilation Seminar and the Fusion book. Click here to learn more.

I try to live by the axiom “Learn and Return,” which says: If you LEARN a lesson or principle that helps your church, you must RETURN that to others so they can benefit too. Sometimes this means that the ideas or lessons you are using are not your own and that you can’t take credit for them! It might also mean letting go of your desire to put your name one some of the proliferated ideas that are yours. In one of his recent blog posts, Scott Hodges reminds us that building God’s Kingdom is “not about us” at all. Here’s his post:

Whose Kingdom Are You Building?

“All I want is to expand the Kingdom of God.” Really? Not me. I want people to know who I am. I want my peers to acknowledge me. I want to do something big for God and at the same time leave a trail that leads to my web site. I am self-serving. I wish that weren’t the case. Am I normal?

I used to wonder how the Pharisees drifted so far off course. Now, being a Christ follower and a spiritual leader for a number of years, I see how it happens. We begin with pure, godly intentions. God blesses our efforts, and some rewards come with it. (Let’s call them “perks.”) After time, we feel entitled to those “perks.” After more time, we get competitive and begin to compare ourselves with others. When that happens, our efforts are more about being first than making a contribution. Then jealousy and bitterness take over. All of a sudden, we get caught up in building our own kingdom.

Here’s how I wrestle with this tension. First, I admit that it’s real. Stop denying it. We’re human. We’re flawed. We’re prideful. Second, compensate for our selfishness and pride with generosity and sacrifice:

• Pass along the great idea even when you know it won’t be traced back to you.
• Give credit to others without mentioning your level of involvement.
• Stop worrying about your position on the org chart. Instead, focus on adding value.
• Allow anonymity to be an act of worship.

Have you been down this path? How do you wrestle through it?

Read the complete post here. Thanks Scott for a great challenge. I’m gong to be working on the four sacrifices you’ve outlined!

Nelson

It’s taken me a while to get it all together but the application for my new Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors is now available. I’m very excited about this network and the quality leaders that have already applied.  I could go on and on trying to motivate you to consider applying (we start in August) but let me just direct you to this link – the application has all the info.

READY TO DOWNLOAD AN APPLICATION FOR THE NEW
TELE-COACHING NETWORK WITH NELSON SEARCY NOW
(Right Click Here and Choose Save As)

Want to Read More Before You Download?  Follow This Link

If you have any questions, just let me know!

Nelson

I just heard a secret about Craig Groeschel….want to know what it is?

A LifeChurch.tv insider (who will remain unnamed so he doesn’t get in trouble) told me this secret.

I think you can trust the source. I even checked with another person to confirm it. (I hope you don’t think I’m passing along gossip.)

Ready?

At a recent meeting of all the Campus Pastors from Life Church, Craig gave everyone a copy of my book “Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church“ Now you know the big secret!

Actually, that’s not the real secret…..

Here’s the secret:

Craig is willing to learn from everyone!

Yep, I think that’s one of the secrets to his strong leadership and the tremendous blessing that God has given to Life Church. Craig is a life-long learner.

Even though his church is 10 times (or more, by now!) bigger than The Journey, Craig picked-up my book, read it and decided it was something that his pastors could benefit from.

Remember Craig’s secret – You can learn from anyone.

Great leaders learn from everyone! So, who are you learning from?

Nelson

P.S. I just pre-ordered Craig’s new book entitled “It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It” I recommend you do the same.

If you’ve listened to my Stewardship Seminar then you know that I’m a fan of quarterly giving statements. The IRS only requires that you send “Giving Statements” once a year (in January) to everyone who has given financially to your church but I recommend you do it four times a year.

Even if you can’t send giving statements four times a year, let me highly suggest that you do a mid-year giving statement. In fact, if you jump on it, you could probably get it mailed out this week or next.

We are currently putting the final touches on our mid-year giving statements which will be mailed out next week (I recommend you mail them as opposed to emailing them).  Here’s what we are including:

- An update letter and challenge from me.  You can download the rough draft of my Mid-Year Giving Statement Letter by clicking here. (Note: I offer this letter to you as an example only)

- A unique giving statement that shows what each family has given between Jan 1 and June 30, 2008 (our accounting software makes this pretty easy to print)

- An Auto-Debit from. You can download ours here. Feel free to complete it and send it back to us – I suggest you start at $500 per month!  OK, seriously, check with your bank before you ‘adopt’ our format.  Some banks are more friendly to auto-debit set-up than others.

- A small free gift. We only do a free gift with our mid-year giving letters.  I want the envelope to be ‘lumpy’ so people will open it.

- A postage paid giving envelope that people can use to send in their next tithe/offering.

We place all this in an oversize envelope and mail it at the non-profit rate (we will send our third quarter update via first class mail so we can get the new addresses form the Post Office for anyone that has moved).  Overall, this costs us pennies a piece but the return on it is incredible!

Here’s a few of the benefits of a mid-year giving statement:

- A great way to communicate vision

- A great way to challenge people during the summer slump

- A great way to shepherd your people by showing them what they have given

- A great way to keep your stewardship system tight

- A great way to lower end of the year edits to giving statements

- A great way to honor God by reporting to those who are supporting your church

Plus so much more.  I can promise you that your people will appreciate the statement if you do it well and make it attractive and professional.

So get started…even if you can’t get this out until early August, I still recommend you do it.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Nelson

P.S. Here are two additional Stewardship Resources for you:

1- The brand new podcast with Steve Stroope, author of Money Matters and Church and Senior Pastor of Lakepointe Church, click here to listen now.

2- My bestselling seminar on developing extravagant givers in your church, click here to learn more about The Stewardship Seminar

This Thursday, Kerrick Thomas, The Journey’s Executive Pastor, will be starting an 8-month Executive Pastor Tele-Coaching Network.  I worked with him to design the network, which will tackle the 8 unique challenges for an Executive Pastor (they include, the systems challenge; the staffing challenge; the senior pastor challenge, etc.).

This is a great opportunity for Executive Pastors or those who currently fulfill the Executive Pastor role or who may be Executive Pastors one day.

Note to Senior Pastors: If you have an Executive Pastor or have someone you think may eventually be an Executive Pastor then I highly encourage you to enroll them in this network.

Most of you know Kerrick as The Journey’s Executive Pastor.  He is also the co-author of two books with me and a highly sought after trainer and coach.  You will gain tons of insight from him and I can almost guarantee it will take your leadership to the next level.

In order to save on travel costs and to maximize participation, this network will be a tele-coaching network.  This means you will meet with Kerrick and 12 – 15 other Executive Pastors each month for two hours by phone plus there will be home work assignments and tons of free resources provided to everyone who participates.

Learn more about the Network and download an application by clicking here (note: the web page says the network starts in June 2008 but it actually has not started yet, the first meeting is this Thursday, July 10).

But hurry, there’s only a couple of spots left and the first meeting of the network is on Thursday.

If you have any questions, just email cristina <at> churchleaderinsights.com

Nelson

P.S. I’ll soon be sending information on a new Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors. Those on my interest list will receive priority applications.  To be added to the interest list, check out this link or email Cristina at the email address above.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming week. Here’s what’s happening with me and Church Leader Insights plus a free resource that may be of interest to you:

Monday – I’ll be in the office all day for the usual round of meetings. One of the highlights for me is the Sunday debrief. Here’s a free podcast that Jason and I did on how to conduct a Worship Debrief.

Tuesday – Watch your email for the new Church Leader Insights newsletter – should arrive in your in box between 10am and 11am. I share 7 great articles on evangelism and church leadership plus my latest book recommendations. If you aren’t getting the newsletter, sign-up today right here.

Wednesday – This is my ‘normal’ day off. I’m highly committed to working hard six days a week and taking one full day as a Sabbath. Not sure all that I will do but I know it will include major time with God, Kelley and Alexander. Is your day off scheduled yet?

Thursday – I’ll be interviewing a potential multi-site pastor today. I’m spending more and more of my time these days recruiting A-players to join our team. How about you? Are you interested in being a multi-site pastor with us?

Friday – Lots of little things today, including the final message run thru for Sunday and general paperwork (I always put paperwork at my least productive times). Tonight I have a date night with Kelley. Is your date night scheduled yet?

In addition, watch the blog this week for some thoughts on Mid-year Giving Letters, My IRS audit and a secret I just discovered about Craig Croeschel.

It’s going to be a great week – aren’t you glad we get to do what we do?

Nelson

“As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.” — Romans 12:3

Today I’m teaching a message on ‘seeing yourself as God sees you.’ I’m continuing our God on Film series with “Hancock: Discovering My True Identity.” I’ll be teaching live in Manhattan and via video in Jersey City and Brooklyn.  We have canceled our evening Manhattan service today as a gift to our staff and volunteers on this holiday weekend.  It’s rare for us to cancel a service but its nice to do from time to time, especially on weekends where attendance is already going to be low.

The Journey-San Francisco, our latest church plant, is also doing God on Film.  God is really blessing them and using Pastor Chris Brady in big ways!  Check them out here.

I hope you are as excited about Sunday as I am!

Nelson

P.S. We are currently praying about starting another Journey video venue in metro NYC – anyone interested in leading it?