-
Little Things Don’t Mean a Lot - They Mean Everything
I went to McDonalds recently . . . because I got a coupon in an Amazon.com order for a free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich. I ordered my sandwich, a small fry and a small soda. The total came to $3.47 - I was a happy camper. I can’t remember the last time I ate lunch for under $3.50!
About two bites into my ‘Chick-Fil-A-look-a-like’ sandwich I glanced at the receipt. And that’s when I noticed it:
Eat-In Tax….. 0.25
I was a charged a QUARTER for eating my meal in the restaurant where I ordered it. I was no longer a happy camper.
Now, before you think this must be a ‘New York City’ thing, I want you to know that this happened outside NYC . . . in a standard suburban McDonalds.
The issue was not the actual 25 cents . . . The issue was not ‘tax’ as I don’t mind paying any legitimate tax (render under Caesar and all that)… The issue was that McDonald’s was charging me a hidden fee to eat the meal I purchased from them on their premises.
Here’s the point: The issue wasn’t the quarter but the feeling the quarter caused. It left a bad impression on me that I’ve been living with for several days now. Over a mere 25 cents, McDonald’s left me feeling bad about the entire experience (and overall the chicken sandwich was pretty good).
In 1988, I heard bestselling author Harvey Mackay speak and he said:
Little things don’t mean a lot - they mean everything!
I’ve lived with that quote for almost two decades! In this case, one little thing at a fast-food restaurant left a huge negative impression on me.
So here’s a question for you. . .what are the little things you are doing at your church that are leaving negative impressions on your guests or regular attenders?
Here are a few things to prime your thinking:
- Are you charging for regular coffee on Sunday? Eat the quarter and give it away!
- Are you being stingy with your printed materials and trying to save a quarter by not printing both sides in color?
- Are you skipping the ‘little things’ in your worship service and not telling people when you are about to pray or when its time to sit down?
- Are there funky odors in the bathrooms that a 25-cent deodorizer would solve?
- Are there lights burned out in the children’s area?
- Are the labels on the envelopes you mail out more than a little crooked? (couldn’t resist mentioning envelopes since Harvey Mackay is in the envelope biz)
- Are you settling for regular paper instead of heavy stock for your connection cards in an attempt to save a few cents?
You get the picture. Let me remind you again:
Little things don’t mean a lot, they mean everything!
What changes do you need to make this week that will remove negative impressions and leave people saying ‘Wow!’ when they leave your church on Sunday?
I’m not saying that I won’t ever eat at McDonalds again but I will probably get my future orders ‘to go.’
Nelson
-
Answering Your Assimilation Questions - #4 and #5
This is two-for-one “Assimilation Friday!” For the last several days, I’ve been answering some of the most common assimilation questions I get in response to my Assimilation Seminar and Fusion – my new book on assimilation. I’m going to wrap this up today by answering two more questions about Connection Cards. Here goes:
#4 – How do you measure your Connection Card completion rate?
After each service, we count the Connection Cards that were turned in and divide that number by the estimated number of people in the room. We constantly compete against ourselves, trying to get the number higher than the week before.
#5 – How do you get both a husband and wife to fill out a Connection Card?
The first step is to make sure that every person gets a bulletin – not just one per couple. Train your greeters to hand a bulletin and pen to both the husband and the wife. But beyond that, you have to understand why individual cards are so important – and then relay the importance to your attenders…
First of all, each spouse probably has their own email address. You want to be able to follow up with both of them. Secondly, you want each person to take the “Next Steps” they most need to take… Too often, husbands want to leave it up to their wives to fill out one card and consider themselves covered. I purposely challenge the guys on this - to connect on their own and to take their own steps toward growth.
Hope this week’s assimilation Q&A has been helpful to you! If you missed any of the questions, just check below. And don’t forget – to go more in-depth with how to turn your first-time guests into fully engaged members, check out my Assimilation Seminar and my book, Fusion. Have a great weekend!
- Nelson
-
Answering Your Assimilation Questions - #3
Question #3 – Do guests have to hand their Connection Cards in to someone in exchange for the free gift?
We don’t ask guests to do anything that would make them uncomfortable – that includes handing their Connection Cards directly to someone in order to get the free gift we offer them. Instead we ask everyone, including guests, to put their Connection Cards in the offering buckets as they are passed at the end of the service. And we let them know that if they do that, they can pick up their free gift (currently, the book One Month To Live by Kerry Shook) on their way out.
We keep the books stacked on a table by the exit. No one hands them out. The guest can simply grab one as they walk by. (You may want to have a volunteer stand off to the side to restock the table or answer any questions, if approached.)
Why do we operate this way? Experience has shown us that if you allow guests to remain comfortable and anonymous, they will be more likely to do what you ask and they will be more likely to return. They don’t want to be the ones not turning their cards into the offering bucket when everyone else is. They don’t want to have to talk to anyone to get the free gift. If you require them to speak to someone, or to hand a card directly to a staff person or volunteer to get their gift, you will have far fewer Connection Cards turned in. Guaranteed.
Keep it simple, keep them comfortable and you’ll keep them coming back.
- Nelson
P.S. Check back tomorrow for more on assimilating your newcomers! And, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to take a look at my Assimilation Seminar and my new book on assimilation, Fusion.
-
Answering Your Assimilation Questions - #2
Question # 2 – Do You Do A Newcomer’s Reception?
I get this question a lot. Pastors everywhere are wondering whether or not to do a reception and what it should look like if they do… should it be weekly? Monthly? What should it entail? How do you get people to attend? There are lots of questions wrapped up in this one.
The short answer is yes, we do a Newcomer’s Reception every two months. Let’s break the details out journalism-style, shall we?
What: Every two months, my staff and I host a Newcomer’s Reception.
When: The reception is held right after the last service of the morning and lasts no more than 30 minutes.
Where: We always hold the reception at The Journey’s meeting location, rather than at our offices or some other off-site location. Proximity is key.
Why: I am a strong believer that a Newcomer’s Reception creates stickiness. It gives all of your recent guests another reason to come back to your church. Then, in turn, the reception helps connect them even more deeply – At each one, we do a giveaway (using giveaway cards) that allows us to collect every newcomer’s information. On the giveaway cards, they can sign up for membership, small groups, serving, baptism, etc. The goal is to use this opportunity to get every attender connected on a deeper level.
How: So how do we get our newcomers to attend? After someone visits our church for the first time, they get an email within 36 hours thanking them for attending. In that email, we mention the next Newcomer’s Reception and ask them to RSVP. We also ask them to bring a dessert to share – This gives them “buy in.” Then, two weeks before the reception, we send out personalized invitations from me, via first class mail. It works! We had more than 50 people attend our last one.
Check back tomorrow for some Assimilation tips on giving away free gifts to your first-time guests!
- Nelson
P.S. - If you want to go more in-depth with proven assimilation principles, check out my Assimilation Seminar and my new book on assimilation, Fusion.
-
Answering Your Assimilation Questions - #1
This week, I’m going to spend some time answering a few of the most common questions I get about the assimilation process. These are questions that seem to pop up time and time again during my Assimilation Seminar and as people read my new book on Assimilation, Fusion. The first question is:
“What do you say to get people to fill out their Connection Cards?”
Well, I think it’s easiest to answer this in two parts. First, I’ll give you what I like to say before the message and then what I, or the host, says at the close of the message. These two “scripts” work together to get people on board with filling out their cards.
***
Beginning of Service (about 15 - 20 minutes into the service)- After you greet everyone and welcome them to the service (make sure you tell them what a great day it’s going to be!), say something like this: “When you came in today, you were handed a program. Inside that program are several things: One is your message notes, which you can use to follow along with the message and take notes. Also inside your program is a Connection Card. Go ahead and pull those out… Your Connection Card looks like this. (Hold up card.) If you are a member or regular attender, we ask that you fill out your name and email address. If you’re a first time guest, we ask that you fill out as much information on the front of this card as you feel comfortable sharing and mark the box First Time Guest. Also, we would love for you to answer the question at the bottom of the card: “How did you hear about The Journey?” At the end of the service, you can drop your Connection Card in the offering bucket.”
***
End of Service - As you wrap up the message, bring everyone’s attention back to the Connection Card with, “Go ahead and pull your Connection Card out again and look at the back. You’ll see a list of possible ‘Next Steps’ you can take following today’s message. Maybe you’d like to memorize this week’s verse, or commit to being here through the rest of this series. Just check the box to let us know. If you’d like more information on small groups, membership, or baptism, just check the appropriate box, and we’ll be sure to get that information to you. If we can be praying for you in a specific way, write that on the lines provided, and know that you will be prayed for this week. In a moment we are going to receive the offering, so please take this time to finish completing any information or next steps on your Connection Card and when our offering ushers come around you can drop the card in the offering bucket. If you are a first time guest with us today, we are so glad that you joined us and we have a gift for you. It’s a book called Case For Faith and all you need to do is drop your completed Connection Card in the offering bucket when it is passed and you can pick up your free book on your way out at the tables by each of the exits.”
***
As you learn to handle the Connection Card process with confidence, you will see more people filling out their cards each week - and that means more people getting connected!
- Nelson
P.S. Check back tomorrow for the answer to another common assimilation question. I know it’s one you’ve wondered about yourself!
-
Webinar Results - Very Cool
Just finished a webinar with 62 church leaders from across the United States and Canada. All I can say is WOW! How cool to be able to train so many through technology! Some of the churches had 8 people around the computer - talk about exponential impact.
No word on when the next one will be but we are in the process of scheduling Fusion, Worship Leader and Activate Webinars soon. If you have a suggested topic, just let me know.
Also, since this technology is such an effective way to train people, I’m considering my first Tele-Coaching Senior Pastors Network for August - click here. Let me know if you are interested.
Thanks to everyone who was at the event today. I’ll be answering your questions on the blog in the near future.
Nelson
-
Fusion Webinar in Less than 24 Hours
In less than 24 hours the next Fusion Webinar will begin. I’m very excited to one again teach the principles of how to retain first time guests and move them through a clear process from newcomer to fully committed member.
We can handle 999 people on the phone/internet webinar so there’s still room for you! Why don’t you take a moment and register right now - the event is tomorrow, May 14 from Noon - 2:00pm EDT. All you need is a computer and phone to join in. Register by Clicking Here.I look forward to being online and on the phone with everyone tomorrow.
BTW, still wonder what in the world is a ‘fusion webinar’? Check out this post.
-
Q & A: What About People from Other Churches?
I recently got this question from a friend in New Hampshire who attended the recent Launch Conference that Kerrick and I did here in the city:
“How do you handle people from other churches who want to join your church?”
This is a great question that we all should wrestle with. There are three types of church growth:
Conversion Growth - when new believers join your church by evangelismBiological Growth - when children of members are evangelized
Transfer Growth - when a person from another church joins your church
Transfer Growth is the most tricky because there is no clear path for assimilation and because there are two kinds of transfer growth:
Transfer “IN” growth - when a church member from another city or state moves to your city and wants to join your church.
Transfer “ACROSS” growth - when a church member from another church in your city wants to join your church.
I’m not a big fan of Transfer “ACROSS” growth but it does happen. So what should you do when it does?
For the answer to this question, I’m going to quote our Executive Pastor Kerrick Thomas (my co-author on several books and CLI resources). Here’s what he had to say:
“As far as handling people from other churches – honestly all we do is to not do them any special favors. We don’t discourage them from coming in any way. However, just because someone has served in a leadership role in one church doesn’t mean they automatically get to do so here. We have a leadership ladder at The Journey. And if you want to serve in leadership in the church – you start by serving others in entry level positions and earning your way. We have seen church plants put people from other churches in positions of leadership right away because they know how to do things and have been Christians for a while – but unless that person has bought into the vision of the church (and worked through baggage) then it usually ends with discontent and them spreading that discontent to others who were otherwise happy.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself - thanks Kerrick and thanks for the question from New Hampshire! If you have a question, send it over - just use the “Ask Nelson” button on the right.
Nelson Searcy
P.S. If you haven’t yet joined the thousands of people who have read my NEW Report on Organic Church Growth entitled “Healthy Systems, Healthy Church,” check it out here.
P.S.S. Kerrick is beginning a new Tele-Coaching network exclusively for Executive Pastors in June. Click Here to download an application or for more information.
-
What a Great Webinar!
Thank you to the 62+ people who were part of today’s Fusion Webinar. I had a blast being with you. We received over 370 questions! I’ll try to answer as many as I can on the blog in the near future (hopefully some of them will be the same question!).
For those on the call today, here’s a link to the Connection Card Script we mentioned (just right click the link and choose save as, its a Word Document)
For those of you who want the PowerPoint we used, its a large file but you can download it here (right click here and choose save as, its a Microsoft PowerPoint document)
Finally, if you missed the Listeners Guide, you can get it here too.
Over 40 states were on the webinar plus four candaian provinces and three international locations.
If you’d like to do another one let me know in the comments box.
P.S. Here’s the feedback survey, we’d love to get your input on the overall experience:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=4YWi_2bXc_2ffDup7HqYTlhbEA_3d_3d
-
Fusion Webinar - Download the Notes
I can’t wait for the Fusion Webinar! We have almost 60 people signed-up and its growing by the minute.
1) Here’s the Listeners Guide (notes) for you to download and use as you listen to me on the telephone and follow the slides on your computer with internet access.
Right Click Here and Choose Save As to Download
2) Here’s the Free Strategy Document we promised:
Right Click Here and Choose Save As to Download
Remember, if you have any issues the day of, call 1-800-264-5129.
If you have questions that you’d like me to address during the webinar, send those to this special webinar email - webinar@churchleaderinsights.com (note: this email will be shut down the day after the seminar).
Please be in prayer for me and our team (and everyone who will be on the call and the web with us).
P.S. It’s still not to late to register, click here
-
What in the World is a Fusion Webinar?
I was looking around my office today and noticed several indispensable techie items that didn’t exist a decade ago. Do you remember when a blackberry was a type of pie? And an iPod was most likely something they put on the moon!
So what in the world is a “Fusion Webinar”?
For the last couple of weeks you’ve been hearing a lot about a “Fusion Webinar” that I’m doing one week from today. The response has been incredible as tons of people have jumped on board with this first of its kind event. At the same time, we’ve received a ton of questions.The word “Fusion” comes from my new book on Assimilation entitled Fusion (thank you for making it a best-seller!) and it’s also the title of seminars we are doing across the country (over 2000 church leaders trained so far…with upcoming events in Houston and Atlanta).
The word “Webinar” is a new word that comes when you combine “seminar”
with the “web.”So basically, we are doing a Fusion seminar via the web - thus, a Fusion Webinar. OK, so that’s almost true.
Actually, the webinar will only be part ‘web.’ The other part will be by phone (think very large conference call). Here’s how it works:
I’ll be in my office in New York City with my computer in front of me and telephone in hand.
You’ll be in your office, home or anywhere you have access to a phone and the internet.
I’ll teach the seminar by talking into the phone and showing slides and images on the computer. At the same time, you’ll hear what I’m saying and see the same slides on your computer. Pretty cool, huh?
Over the last several months, I’ve participated in several of these ‘webinars’ and I have to say that the experience has been ‘almost’ as good as live (not quite, but almost).
Yet, when I think of all the money I saved in travel costs (gas, flights, hotel, etc.) plus the time saved by simply listening to the webinar from my office, it was a trade off that I was willing to make.
The LIVE Fusion Seminars that we (me and my advanced coaching guys) have done have been extremely blessed and the response has been incredible! But since we are all full-time pastors we simply can’t go everywhere and do a seminar in every city.
Thank God for technology! With the webinar, anyone, anywhere in the US or around the world can join us for the same powerful, practical seminar.
Makes sense, right?
Now, you may be asking, “I bet you are going to water down the content for the webinar?”
The answer: NOT AT ALL. In fact, you can actually cover more content during a webinar than you can in a live event because there’s no need for stretch breaks. You’ll be able to get the three hour live seminar during the webinar in ONLY TWO HOURS.
And if you want to snack during the entire seminar or wear your bathrobe, that’s perfectly fine (be as comfortable as you want, just don’t email me any pictures).
“But what about asking questions?”, you ask.
You are right, I will be doing all the talking on the webinar so it’s not as interactive as I’d like but since I’m at my computer (and you are too), I’m going to set-up an email account just for the webinar and you can email me your questions and I’ll do my best to answer them as we go.
So what will I cover during the webinar? Will it be a repeat of what’s in the book or the seminar on CD?
In some ways the webinar will be a review of the book and seminar on CD,, but repetition is the mother of learning!
Plus, over and over I hear in live events that ‘it really came alive’ during the seminar in a way that it didn’t come alive through books or CDs.
Now, to get real practical, I’m going to cover:
- The complete assimilation process necessary to turn first time guests into fully engaged members of your church
- How to WOW first time guests on their first visit
- How to collect the needed info on every first time guest who attends
- How to follow-up on every first time guest so they read what you send them
- How to get first time guests to come back and what to do (and not do!) when they come back
- How to turn regular attenders into members and so much more!In fact, if you don’t like what I cover on the webinar, we will give you 100% of your investment back, no questions or hassles.
OK, OK, I admit, doing a webinar is risky. The devil loves to mess with technology (he seems to be in our sound system every Sunday at The Journey). And there’s a lot that could go wrong but . . .
Doesn’t every good thing in life come with some element of risk?
It’s risky for you to lead your church (we could all be doing something else that’s far less stressful), it’s risky to preach the gospel, it’s risky to try new things . . . but it’s the risk that BRINGS THE REWARD!
So, will you take a risk and join me on the Webinar next week?
Here’s what you need to do . . .
Just follow the link below to register. As soon as you register our website will send you a receipt. Then in the next few days watch for emails from me, Roy Mansfield (who leads Church Leader Insights) or my hard working assistant Lauren Faultless and we’ll send you the details for how you log-in to the webinar, what you need to do to make it successful and what to do if you have any problems.
OK, ready to sign-up? Here’s the link:
http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=235
I look forward to being with you for this first-of-its-kind event.
Thanks for stepping out of your comfort zone. If you have any questions, just click reply.
Your friend,
Nelson
P.S. Maybe you are thinking, “I bet we could get the entire staff to gather around the computer and watch/listen to the webinar.”
OR, maybe you’re thinking, “Maybe I could get my key volunteers to join the webinar and log-on from home or work.” If this is what you are thinking you are on the right track!
Get as many people around one computer and speaker phone as you can or get as many people to sign-up from their home or work computers as possible. That’s the goal! We want to equip as many people as possible to implement an effective assimilation process at your church.
You gotta, love technology, right? OK, I’ve gotta run, I just got a text on my blackberry and my iTunes needs updating! LOL!
One more time, here’s the link to sign-up:
http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=235
Recent: Assimilation
Church Leader Insights is a bi-weekly publication sent via email that focuses on effective leadership, church growth, church planting evangelism and much more.
My Books
Activate: A Totally New Approach to Small Groups
