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!