Register Today – The Fusion Webinar (March 16)

Easter is less than 4 weeks away – are you prepared to integrate your Easter guests into the life of your church?

You’re invited to join me on Tuesday, March 16, from 1:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern time for The Fusion Webinar.

This two hour webinar is all about helping you become the best possible steward of the guests that God sends your way.

Best of all, you (and your entire Assimilation team if possible) can join me for this training without ever leaving your office or home!  You just need a phone and a computer with internet access to participate.

To help you make it worth your while, I’m giving you some of my most helpful assimilation resources as bonuses (worth far more than your $39 registration fee) just for signing up!

You’ll learn:

• Principles to help you create an inviting environment for first-time guests
• How to ”wow” first-time guests into wanting to come back
• The Journey Church’s ”Assimilation System,” used to follow up with the 30+ first-time guests who attend the service each week
• How to turn first-time guests into second-time guests
• How to turn second-time guests into regular attenders and then fully-engaged members
• How to drastically increase the number of guests who give you their contact information
• How to use a Connection Card (Including what to put on it – and what not to put on it)
• How to get people to turn in a Connection Card
• Plus much more!

P.S. To learn more or to register now for The Fusion Webinar on March 16th, CLICK HERE.

The Best Church Tracking Software

OK, OK, the title of today’s post is a little misleading. I apologize in advance for disappointing you.

It gives you hope that I’m going to endorse or recommend or review one specific church tracking software and tell you “this is unequivocally the best package – go and get it,” but alas….

The truth is, there’s no such thing as great tracking software.

As you develop and strengthen your church’s systems, you’ll inevitably find that you want to track more information, view more reports and just generally “do more” than any of the available church database software allows.

Full disclosure: at The Journey we currently use FellowshipOne, and while we are happy with it, there are still things that we’d like to do that just aren’t possible.

All of the “big three” (FellowshipOne, Shelby & ACS) can prove quite expensive, and my experience has been that the less expensive offerings available on the market don’t get the job done.

Even though the available tracking tools are far from perfect, your church’s systems (especially Assimilation and Stewardship) depend heavily on your ability to keep track of vital information.

My purpose for today’s post is to say this: Don’t let the lack of a perfect database software keep you and your church from tracking the information that makes all the difference today and in the months and years to come.

And as long as you can do it securely, feel free to get creative…

We used Microsoft Excel for all of our tracking at The Journey until we had over 800 people in attendance!

P.S. Even if you’re tracking the right information, you may be missing out on prime opportunities to use that info to strengthen and grow your church.

Learn the proven, step-by-step process to move people from first-time giving to faithful (even extravagant) giving with The Stewardship Seminar.

Teach Your Church to Value Newcomers (Free Sermons)

One of the many benefits of having coached so many great pastors is the sharing relationship that we build.

For example, Pastor Steve Wilson of China Grove (NC) First Baptist Church is a Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Participant.

He recently sent over some sermons that he preached to help the people of his church tune into the needs of the guests that God sends their way.

I talk a lot in The Assimilation Seminar about how your church’s guests are gifts from God.  He could have sent them to any church in the area, but he prompted them to attend yours.

That’s a powerful concept that’s vital for church leaders to understand, but it can be a tough topic to try and teach your people.

Steve did a great job with these two sermons and he gave me permission to share them with you today:

• Sermon #1: GETTING READY FOR COMPANY
• Sermon #2: GUESTERIZING OUR CHURCH

Thanks Steve!

P.S. My new Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors starts THIS THURSDAY, so I’m making one Last Call for Applications.  To find out more and download your application, CLICK HERE.

When to Host Newcomers Receptions

Thank you for a very successful Fusion Webinar on Tuesday.

In light of the recent Fusion Webinar and the questions from it, I wanted to share again this post on hosting a regular Newcomers Reception as an environment to connect with new people at your church (click here for “How to Host a Newcomers Reception“).

One question that people often ask when I talk about doing the receptions is “when should we do it?”

Here are a few thoughts:

• Hold them when you think you can get a crowd - I aim for 30-60 people in attendance.  This will make the reception more enjoyable for everyone and reduce any potential awkwardness.
• Consider scheduling Newcomers Receptions about 1 month after key Big Days plus one in the summer.
• Here are a few good times:
  • March (one month after your February Big Day)
  • May (one month after Easter, depending on the date)
  • Late July (to connect with new summer attenders)
  • November (one month after your October Big Day)
  • and possibly a Christmas Reception
• Host the receptions on Sundays after your services. This will reduce the chances that the receptions will conflict with small groups or other activities.

The key to a successful Newcomers Reception scheduling is to do everything you can to have enough people to raise the energy level and reduce the “wierdo factor.” In other words, the more people who attend, the more likely it will be for newcomers to meet some people they can relate to.

P.S. For more information on Newcomers Receptions and other advanced Assimilation strategies, check out The Assimilation Intensive.

How to Promote Church Membership

Even though I know there are a number of different viewpoints on the topic these days, I remain a fan of Church Membership.

Church Membership, when used properly, is a valuable tool in helping the people in your church grow spiritually.

I’m often asked how we promote the Biblical idea of church membership, so here are a few ideas that will raise the value of membership at your church:

• Encourage membership as a part of your people’s spiritual growth. Their commitment to a spiritual community is part of their commitment to Christ.
• Preach on the value and role of church membership in the life of a believer. Include it in your preaching calendar as you would baptism.
• Make membership a requirement for leading small groups or leading a ministry. At The Journey you can’t lead a group if you’re not a member or aren’t going to be enrolled in the next membership class.
• Make use of a membership covenant. Make sure people know what they’re committing to when they become a member of your church.  A good covenant will draw people toward membership.
• Make sure that church membership is the ultimate goal of your Assimilation System. You want to assimilate people with the goal of them accepting Christ and joining the church.  Membership should be the last block of your Assimilation strategy.  Make sure you don’t overlook the end game as you work on your overall Assimilation System.

What can you do in the next couple of months to raise the value of church membership at your church?

P.S. To learn how we handle membership at The Journey, check out The Maximizing Membership Kit.

Register Today – Fusion Webinar, January 12

I want you to join me on Tuesday, January 12, from 1:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern time for The LIVE Fusion Webinar.

This will be my first webinar training of 2010 and it deals with a system (Assimilation) where you can see almost immediate results after even the smallest improvement, so it should get your church off on the right foot toward maximum growth in the new year.

The Fusion Webinar is all about helping you become the best possible steward of the guests that God sends your way.

Best of all, you (and your entire Assimilation team if possible) can join me for this training without ever leaving your office or home!  You just need a phone and a computer with internet access to participate.

To help you make it worth your while, I’m giving you some of my most helpful assimilation resources as bonuses (worth far more than your $39 registration fee) just for signing up!

You’ll learn:

• Principles to help you create an inviting environment for first-time guests
• How to ”wow” first-time guests into wanting to come back
• The Journey Church’s ”Assimilation System,” used to follow up with the 30+ first-time guests who attend the service each week
• How to turn first-time guests into second-time guests
• How to turn second-time guests into regular attenders and then fully-engaged members
• How to drastically increase the number of guests who give you their contact information
• How to use a Connection Card (Including what to put on it – and what not to put on it)
• How to get people to turn in a Connection Card
• Plus much more!

P.S. To learn more or to register now for The LIVE Fusion Webinar on January 12th, CLICK HERE.

‘Tis the Season for Upgrading Your Assimilation System

It seems like this is the time of year for you to share what you’ve been learning and putting into practice with me and the Church Leader Insights team.

Here’s a note I recently received from Pastor Kevin Yandell, of New Community Christian Church in Morris, Illinois about some of the changes he’s made to his church’s Assimilation System:

Hey Nelson,

We have made several changes that I know are going to bring tons of great results.

We changed our Connection Card and that change has increased the number of people completing the card.  I have received many positive comments from regular attenders about the Next Steps on the back of the card.

I also wrote out my Welcome and Closing scripts.  The first few weeks, the devil was laughing, because we had no 1st time guests.  But this past Sunday we had 7 1st time guests.

I email those who give me email addresses and thank them for coming and invite them to write back their thoughts about their time here.  I have received a couple of very helpful responses.

I also started writing notes to 1st and 2nd time guests and including a gift card with each.   We are giving 1st time guests “How Good is Good Enough”, along with a mug and other stuff in a gift bag.

I am excited about these changes and I know that God is going to use these changes to allow us to reach many more people.

Thanks for all you are doing.

Pastor Kevin Yandell
New Community Christian Church

Good work Kevin – and thanks for the update!

As you’re wrapping up 2009 and moving into 2010, I encourage you to take a realistic inventory of your church’s systems and make plans to upgrade.  One thing is for sure, if you keep doing what you’re doing you will keep getting the results you’re getting!

P.S. To upgrade your church’s Assimilation System, check out The Assimilation Seminar.

First Time Guests that Can’t Wait to Come Back

The Church Leader Insights team and I love to read your email about how God is using what we do to help you lead your churches and reach the unchurched.

Here’s one such email I received recently from Pastor Al Marks and asked if I could share with you:

I have to tell you a story from Sunday.

A young couple and their kid visited. The wife turned in a connection card. We send the email and a handwritten note with a Starbucks card. The following week they were back.

She came running up – gave me a hug and said, “Thank you so much for your note. It meant so much. It made me cry. I can’t believe a church would send us such a sweet gift. I couldn’t wait to come back.”

God is honoring our efforts to track first and second time guests. We started the end of August and have averaged 3-4 first time guests per week. Of those who turn in connection cards, we are having about 70% second time visits.

Of those who come a second time we are finding about 90% sticking coefficient. We have seen six come to membership with five baptisms. That is in two months. We are definitely praising the Lord around here.

Thanks for all you are doing to bless the kingdom.

Al Marks
First Baptist Church Vallejo
www.FBCVallejo.com

And thank you, Al, for sharing – Keep up the good work!

I would love to hear how God has used this ministry to help you and your church in 2009.

If you have a brief story you’d like to share, just click on the “Ask Nelson” button on the right side of the blog and send me your Praise Reports!

P.S. To learn how to WOW first-time guests and put a system in place to help them move toward fully-committed members of your church, check out The Assimilation Seminar.

Igniting Growth In Your Church – Week 6 of 6

Welcome to the final week of my six-part blog series, “Igniting Growth In Your Church.” I trust that this weekly series has taken you to a new level in your understanding of how to keep your church’s evangelism temperature at the boiling point. If you haven’t already, make sure you pick up my new book, Ignite: How To Spark Immediate Growth In Your Church to keep digging even deeper into the truths of effective evangelism.

Last week, we talked about how to pinpoint your best fields for promotion. This week, we are going to shift gears a little and talk about one of the most critical pieces of evangelism – how you can prepare for people to say “yes!” to God and how to follow up with them when they do.

Today’s Topic:

Preservation: Preparing For And Following Up With People Who Say “Yes!”

PREPARATION

In addition to inviting people to say yes to God through our various evangelistic efforts, we have to prepare for them to say yes. God will not draw people to Himself in your church unless you are prepared.

Why would God cause people to accept His invitation of salvation under your care, if you aren’t ready to receive them and start shepherding them toward becoming fully developing followers of Jesus?

Preparing for people to say yes to God is actually more an assimilation discussion than an evangelism one. The process of clearing the way for them to meet God in a personal way begins the minute they decide to visit your church for the first time.

The Assimilation System that I detail in Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests Into Fully-Engaged Members Of Your Church outlines the process for making sure a first-time attender comes back again and again until they are ready to accept Jesus’ invitation of salvation, join your church and become fully-developing followers of Christ.

FOLLOW UP

Following up with new believers is a very important task for any pastor. Our faithfulness with the few will prove our trustworthiness with the many. (Hey, that sounds like something Jesus said one time!)  While each church must wrestle with their own new believer process, the goal is to be clear and intentional. Ask yourself these questions:

• What do you want a new believer to do in the first hour after becoming a follower of Jesus? At The Journey, we invite them to check the box on their connection card, so we are aware of their decision. Other churches invite them to come forward during an invitation time. I’m not against come forward invitations. If you use them, just make sure you also have a way for those who are so introverted they will never come forward to register a decision within the first hour.
• What do you want a new believer to receive within one day of becoming a follower of Jesus? For us, it’s a personal email, with the link to the online bible study.
• What do you want a new believer to do within one week of becoming a follower of Jesus? We want to put a new believer’s book in their hand to help them start growing in their faith.
• What steps do we want a new believer to take in the first month? At The Journey, the answer is baptism. What’s the answer for your church?
• What’s the future plan of discipleship for a new believer? For us, it’s connecting them into a small group and normalizing their church attendance.

There’s no such thing as a perfect new believer process, but do everything you can to insure that the new “babe in Christ” that God has entrusted to you has the best chance to grow!

God has big dreams for your church. Bigger than you can imagine. And He has called you to do the work. As you do, He will add His Spirit to your efforts.

My prayer for you is that you will latch into and implement all that we’ve discussed here over the last six weeks. Make sure to pick up Ignite: How To Spark Immediate Growth In Your Church and keep going deeper in your study. You may also want to check out my popular resource, “The Evangelism System.” Just click here.

Make the changes that need to be made in your church. Mobilize your people for evangelism. Keep the evangelistic temperature boiling hot. And then give God the praise as He sends you the harvest.

- Nelson

P.S – If you missed any of this blog series, just use the links below to get caught up:
Click here for Week 1.
Click here for Week 2.
Click here for Week 3.
Click here for Week 4.
Click here for Week 5.

How to Follow Up with New People

With the popularity of the Fusion book and all of the other Assimilation resources and training that I get to do, you can imagine how much feedback and how many questions I get about how to best integrate, or “assimilate” new people into your church.

Here’s one of the more common questions:

Since we already email and call (and possibly send a form letter to) all of our first time guests, do I really need to write a handwritten note to each of them?

YES, YES, YES AND YES!

The handwritten note is MORE important and impactful than either the email or the calls.

The handwritten note shows that you took some actual time writing out a personalized note, rather than simply plugging their name into a database and pressing “send”. On top of that, the handwritten note is more likely to be opened than a form letter (see my ABC Mail video for more about this).

And don’t forget to include a free gift of some sort – a $5.00 gas card or similar is what I recommend in most areas.

A Word of Caution on Phone Calls

If you’re currently calling your church’s guests, I am not sure the calls should come from someone other than the pastor – you might want to find out what kind of response your current callers are getting.

What I hear over and over is that the volunteer caller ’so wants to please the pastor’ that they fail to tell you how awkward the calls feel or the weird, quick or snippy responses they get from the people they’re calling.

If you really want to test the value of your follow-up phone calls, I would personally take 10 – 12 people over the next month and call them – then decide if you want to continue or not.

Here’s why: In 90% of the areas of the country I work in, phone calls are more likely to ‘push people away’ rather than draw them back - the only exception we’ve found is senior adult communities in Florida, Arizona or California. Unchurched people find it particularly intruding.

That said, if you do call, the best hope is that you get the voice mail – that can work for you if the voice mail is well done, scripted and personal.

If you want to improve first time guest follow-up at your church this week, I suggest you send a brief, handwritten note to each of them with a $5 gas card included. It’s a proven “wow” that goes a long way with new people!

And let me know how it goes.

P.S. To learn everything I’ve learned over the years about assimilating new people into your church, consider investing in The Assimilation Intensive Workshop.

Will Fusion Work in Canada?

I love to hear all the success stories of how pastors and their churches are able to implement the principles of our various books, seminars and resources. Here’s an email I received recently about how this pastor (one of my current coaching participants) has been able to put the Fusion assimilation process to work in his church. Enjoy!

We’re located on the eastern seaboard of Canada… similar environment to the New England states. Conservative in many ways and not known for many growing churches. I was off work for 2 months due to kidney cancer surgery and came back with a renewed determination that God wanted something greater to happen in our church and community.

I had our Board read Fusion in June. They loved the book. Then I gathered a team of 7 people willing to read Fusion and work on doing a better job connecting with guests. There was some extensive debate over whether or not we were “bribing” people to come to church with the gifts. Some were very critical of the approach. They said IT WON’T WORK HERE!

This is exactly what you were saying yesterday about it working in Manhattan but NOT HERE.

Well, we are a church of less than 100 on the east coast of Canada and it’s working here. I proceeded to do an “experiment” and see what the response would be from our guests. Let me tell you, the critics were silenced and are now 100% supportive of the system. We have not even finished implementing everything yet and I have never had such positive feedback as I have received through the survey questions. Our guests LOVE GETTING THE HAND WRITTEN NOTE AND GIFT CARDS IN THE MAIL.

There have been many positive comments. Here’s one short quote from a guest…

“Pastor,

Between the emails and the gift card, I don’t think we’ve ever been to a church that’s gone to so such effort to welcome us. Makes me feel a little bad that we won’t be making it out this Sunday. We were originally going to be doing something on Sunday afternoon, but it got pushed to the mid-morning. Rest assured though, we will be back next week.”

Not only that, the first time I used the Connection Card resulted in 5 people indicating decisions for Christ that we’re following up on. We had all their contact info so we have been able to do a better follow up than we ever did in the past. We were also able to collect contact info from newer people that have attended for several months but just never filled out our regular guest card.

THIS REALLY WORKS!

I’m really encouraged and excited about what’s ahead!

Thanks for sharing the good report and keep up the great Kingdom work in Canada!

P.S. If you’d like to implement a follow-up system that will WOW newcomers to your church, check out The Assimilation Seminar!

Assimilation – Can I follow-up on first time guests too quickly?

In Fusion and in all of my other Assimilation resources, I share how vital prompt follow-up is to connecting new people to your church.  I teach a practical process to follow-up with first and second time guests multiple times in the days immediately following their visit to your church.

Because of how strongly I emphasize that this follow-up happen quickly, I sometimes receive questions about whether or not your follow-up can happen too fast.

The short answer?  YES, you can follow-up too quickly.

One simple reason is that most people don’t check emails on Sunday.  For that reason, I like to wait until Monday or even Tuesday morning to send follow-up emails.

As for follow-up cards/letters, we’ve found that they’re most effective if they’re delivered on Wednesday afternoon, so people will get them when they get home on Wednesday. It’s close enough to their visit to reinforce their positive experience and close enough to the next weekend to encourage them to return.

For delivery to happen on time, we drop follow-up letters in the mail on Monday afternoon.  Here in NYC it takes about 2 days for a letter to hit, but it may be faster in your town.  Just aim to have your mail arrive on Wednesday.

All that being said, I do most of the work of preparing these items on Sunday (or even the week before as much as possible) to insure that I can click “Send” and drop them in the outgoing mail at the above times.

How effectively is your church following up with new people?

P.S. For more advanced ideas to connect new people to your church, check out The Assimilation Intensive.

Q & A – Investing in Newcomers (Fusion)

Here’s a question I received and replied to recently regarding Fusion:

Q: Thanks so much for writing the book Fusion, about getting people plugged into our church. I recently found and read it, and it’s been very helpful.

I like the fact that you lay out a clear, practical plan to improve how we connect with newcomers and I truly believe that this book is a great resource for anyone interested in church growth (so much so that I posted a review on my blog).

However, there is one thing that I’m a bit uneasy about. If I understand correctly, your plan calls for churches to spend between $400-$600 per guest on free gifts (books, gas cards, etc…).

Doesn’t this almost seem like bribery? I have a friend who would go to a large church that offered free coffee for first time guests. Each week they would go and claim to be first timers.

Any light you can shed on this topic would be great…

A: Thanks for the post and for your question about Fusion!

One clarification – I do not advocate $600 – $700 on first time guest follow-up.

I do suggest you send them a personal letter with a gift card (currently we send a first class letter with a subway/bus pass – total cost $5) and then at their second visit we send a letter with a CD (about $2 with postage).

At the service Guests have the option to pick up a free book designed to answer their questions about Christ (maybe $3.50 each).

So, I guess we do invest (I like that word better than ’spend’) around $10 to get a first timer to return. I see it more as evangelism since everything is designed to move them forward in their spiritual walk.

In the book, I do mention that the average church spends hundreds of dollars to get guests through the door the first time (based on the money invested in evangelism) and my challenge is to invest a few more dollars to help people return/grow.

Hope that makes sense.  Again, thanks for the shout out!

Feel free to let me know if I can provide further assistance.

P.S. For even more advanced Assimilation techniques, check out The Assimilation Intensive.

Newcomers Reception Sample

I’ve posted in recent months about how we’ve started holding regular (every two months) Newcomers Receptions at The Journey (you can read more here and here).

They only last a half an hour, don’t require a great deal of planning or administration, and they really are a helpful tool in the Assimilation process.  A key part of the reception is giving new people the opportunity to take Next Steps at the gathering.

I’ve gotten a few questions via email about what kind of card we use at the Newcomers Reception, so here’s a sample of a recent Next Steps card.  It’s basic, but it gets the job done (right-click and “Save As…”):

Newcomers Reception Next Steps Card

P.S. If you’re looking for other proven, advanced ideas for connecting more first time guests into the life of your church, check out The Assimilation Intensive Workshop.

Q & A: Fusion and Altar Call?

Q: How do you conduct an Altar Call and still utilize the tools of Fusion?

Guest Blogger:
Coaching Alumni, Travis Johnson
Pastor of Life Pointe Church
Homestead, Florida

A: I want to help people take practical next steps in their walk with Christ.  Nelson calls it “preaching for Next Steps.” This ministry practice has become an integral part of who we are as well.  The growth and the life change I’ve seen in people as a result of this practice are significant.  I could not imagine leading my church without practical devices (like the Connection Card) that assist in moving people forward in their walk with Christ.

So, I do both. I ”preach for the suddenly, organic, experiential moments” where we give place to the Holy Spirit to collide with the seeker. And, we “preach for Next Steps.”

Here’s how we do it:

1. We participate in worshiping God by observing Communion every week. By lifting up Jesus every week, we bring people face-to-face with what He has done for us.  And, we bring people face to face with who they are.  We communicate that we practice a Believer’s Communion. Then, we give people the opportunity to repent, confess, and invite Christ to be their Savior.
2. We have special prayer for Salvation during Communion (Altar Call). We have people at our Communion tables who are available to pray with people choosing to follow Christ.  Twelve people made this decision for the first time this past week.
3. We pray for the sick and special requests during this time. At each of our Communion Tables, we have leaders in our church prepared to pray for people based on James 5:13-16:

13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.  16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

We typically observe Communion and prayer (altar call) prior to the message and during the music portion of worship. It speaks to people who are desperate for a personal interaction with God’s presence.  And, according to Scripture, it “has great power and produces wonderful results.”

Also, since we are in heavily Catholic communities in Miami-Dade County and in the Florida Keys, it speaks profoundly to the richness of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf through the act of Communion.  The symbolism is vivid.  The moment is powerful.  The work of the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.

From there, we close our service with the Connection Card and Next Steps just like Nelson describes.  And, when I feel like there is an unscripted moment in the making, I am at liberty to call an audible and change things up.

But, we always, always, always collect Connection Cards and help people take practical Next Steps in their pursuit of Jesus.  After all, it would be a tragic thing to bring people into a place of wonder without giving them the tools to move forward in their pursuit of the revolutionary Jesus.

P.S. Still haven’t grabbed a copy of Fusion to accelerate your church’s assimilation system?  Click here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0830745319/nyjourney-20/

The Fusion Webinar – Are You Joining Me?

With the economy like it is, I have been more passionate than ever about using technology to multiply the CLI ministry and to train more pastors and church leaders from a distance.

That is why we offered 5 identical “How to Maximize Easter” Tele-Seminars at all times and days of the week (thanks for the great turnout for those by the way) and that is why I’m doing next Thursday’s FUSION Webinar. We have a good crowd signed up already, but there are a few registrations still available.  Here’s the link: https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p669&navicat=27

Nothing is exactly like “being there” and attending a live event, but this webinar is pretty close.  One way it’s actually better than a live event: your webinar registration is per church, so you can gather your key staff and volunteers around a speaker phone and a screen and attend the webinar together (without any travel expenses).

Still not sure about the value of a webinar?  Check out the email I received after the Activate Webinar last month:

Hi Nelson,

First off, let me tell you what a great webinar!!!  This was my third webinar , but this is the first webinar that volunteers joined me.  It was fantastic!  It really got them thinking about some new ideas and strategies.  Thank you for that.

Also, I can’t say enough about all the amazing resources you give at the end.  The resources alone more than pay for the webinar 5x over. And then I think of all the time I save by being able to sample your calenders, curriculum, leader notes, job descriptions, etc.  THANK YOU for being the MOST PRACTICAL church leadership training network out there!  I love how you are so willing to share the actual resources that you have developed and you let me use them and adapt them freely. THANK YOU!

You guys are simply awesome!  Thanks for the tools you offer to build up the kingdom!

Let me know if you need another small groups guy or adult ministry or care giving pastor of some kind.

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.  Click here to REGISTER NOW for the Fusion Webinar (next Thursday, March 19): https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p669&navicat=27

What Do Guests At Your Church Experience?

If you have read Fusion or listened to the Assimilation Seminar, you know that we send out a brief, 30-second survey to each of our First Time Guests every Sunday.  It provides good feedback to leadership and helps to reinforce a positive Sunday experience to the guest.  And from time to time, these surveys remind me of why we take such care in how we treat the new people God sends our way each week.

Here’s a response I received this week from a first timer at The Journey last Sunday:

What did you notice first?
How happy the band was!  It was great.

What did you like best?
The message.  I liked how the pastor moved quickly and really analyzed text, bringing in lots of examples. Having us write along was great too! I’ve never seen that before. It kept me with him; it felt like being in class, but better!

Overall Impression?
Loved the message itself. It was great. Also, when I’ve went to new churches in the past, everyone makes such a big deal about you being new (meaning well, no doubt), and I’ve felt like I had to explain WHY I was new. Also, I felt a pressure to promise I’d be back and/or to say that I liked the service after. I didn’t feel that on Sunday; I just felt close to the Word. I felt welcomed but in a very relaxed, not forced way. No one was “in my face” and that’s one of the main reasons I can’t wait to come back next week. : )

How can we pray for you?
I’m about to make a big decision with regard to an amazing opportunity to go to Ecuador this summer. I’m just not sure what I should do. I see SURE reasons that I should and SURE reasons that I shouldn’t. I’m confused! The opportunity came out of nowhere, so I didn’t have a chance to think about it before the offer was on the table. Thanks for praying about it.

This young lady’s responses confirmed a lot of what I shared a while back in a series of posts about “What First Time Guests Want” – here are the links:

• What First Time Guests Want #1
• What First Time Guests Want #2
• What First Time Guests Want #3

If this is what First Time Guests want, what are they getting at your church?

P.S. – As a reward for your faithful readership of my blog, I’d like to give you $50.00 off The Assimilation Intensive.   Just enter ‘AssimilationBlog’ and click apply code to receive your discount.  You need to hurry, this offer won’t last long!

Are you near West Palm Beach on Feb 25?

If you are within driving or flying distance of West Palm Beach, FL on February 25 then I highly recommend you attend the Fusion Seminar that my friend and CLI Trainner Bob Franquiz is hosting at Calvary Church in Jupiter, FL (one city north of West Palm Beach) from 9:00am – Noon.  This is the only Fusion seminar being offered in Florida until after Easter so its the perfect time to prepare for Easter guests.

I would bring my entire team since its only $49 per person and groups rates are available for 4 or more.  Here’s the registration link, click here.

Here’s what Bob had to say aobut the event:

Fusion Seminar Just in Time for Easter!

If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there.  Here’s the link for more info.

Have a great Monday!

Nelson

P.S. If you can’t make the event, you can pick up the 3 hour Assimilation Seminar (on which the Fusion event is based) on CD or as an MP3 download by clicking here.

Connecting with New People

I have shared before (click here for “How to host a Newcomer’s Reception”) that we love hosting regular Newcomer’s Receptions at The Journey.  Not to overstate the obvious, but connecting new people are vital to any growing church.  These receptions are a great time to meet new people and give them an extra opportunity to connect with the church.

Yesterday’s reception at The Journey was no exception.  I got to meet over 100 new people to our church and we all really enjoyed the time.  The success of these gatherings got me thinking that I’d like to share a little more information about how we do it.  Here are a couple of the emails we use to communicate with people about the Newcomer’s Reception:

• Last Chance email
• RSVP email

Are you doing a Newcomer’s Reception?  Why not put one on the calendar and give it a shot?  Have a great week!

For more in-depth information on connecting new people to your church, click here to buy The Assimilation Intensive.

Are You Reaching Non-Christians This Christmas? (Part 4)

This week, we’ve been thinking about how you can work with the natural surge that God has built into the Christmas season to influence those who don’t yet know Jesus.

We started by making sure we are outwardly-focused this season. Then, we talked about how to increase the number of guests at our Christmas services. Yesterday, we learned how to make sure that those guests feel welcomed and want to come back again and again. If you’ve missed any of these posts, you can check them out below.

Today, we are going to wrap up this mini-series by exploring the importance of follow up. When your Christmas service is over and the pre-New Year lull hits, how will you follow up with the first-timers God gives you this season?

The way you follow up, or follow through, on the guests who come to your church will impact whether or not those guests choose to return. With your follow up, pay attention to the three Fs. Make sure it is Fast, Friendly and Functional:

FAST – Don’t underestimate the power of a quick follow up. Today, people are used to a whole new level of immediacy, thanks to technology. I suggest getting an email in your guest’s inbox within 36 hours of her visit.

FRIENDLY – Your follow up needs to reach out in a warm, personal way. Make your guests feel valued as individuals, rather than sending them something that resembles a mass form mailing. At The Journey, we send a handwritten note from me (or that week’s teaching pastor), along with a small, relevant, free gift within 96 hours of a guest’s visit. Handwritten notes seem to find their way to the top of everyone’s mail pile!

FUNCTIONAL – Follow up with your guests in a way that meets them where they are. Be simple and straightforward. Use the opportunity that follow up gives you to extend a clear invitation for them to come back to your church. I mentioned the free gift… you might include a $4 gas card and say something in the note like, “We’d love to see you again. This trip is on us!” Be creative!

This Christmas, God will bring millions of unbelievers into our churches. We can either let the opportunity to influence them with his truth pass us by, or we can make some decisions now that will help us reach them effectively.

Let me challenge you to make this the year you focus on non-Christians at Christmas. Enjoy the celebration of our Lord’s birth but while you do, make sure you do your part to introduce him to those in your community who don’t yet truly understand the significance of the season.

- Nelson

P.S. – For more on creating a follow up system that will keep your guests coming back, check out Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests Into Fully-Engaged Members Of Your Church.