How wine tasting is affecting retail stores (and what it means for your church)

Really?! Wine tasting?

Yep.

My wife and I love to go wine tasting, especially up the Central Coast of California not far from where we live.

We like going from place to place, to see the atmosphere wineries have created to sit and try what they have produced from the fields just outside.

Some of our favorites have stone outdoor patios and caves to taste in. Others have retro-modern or mid-century decor under huge oaks surrounded by green mountains. Still others are rustic and feel like you have walked into someone's ranch from a couple generations ago.

The thing they all have in common is you don't have to buy a single bottle.

For a nominal fee, you can taste a small pour of many different kinds of wine, snack on cheese and crackers and sometimes even keep the glasses you are sipping from. If you fall in love with something... buy it, take it home, and relive the experience (an experience Michelle and I repeat around 3 times a year).

As a result, we don’t have to go to liquor or grocery stores where you would buy the same bottle at a price that is marked up heavily.

Because you haven't tasted it, you’re not even sure about what you’re getting if you purchased it that way.

That's why we bring home the wine we enjoy, straight from our wine tasting excursions at our leisure. We can also become a member of our favorite wineries and have it delivered to our home if we choose, many times with free shipping.

This is how a lot of people select and enjoy wine today. It's also how many people select and enjoy churches.

Like those who go wine tasting, many people visiting our churches want to...

🧐 get a feel for something before they commit to it
😲 be in an environment that helps them experience what they are being encouraged to commit to
😊 be able to relax and feel comfortable with the pace of that exploration
🥳 jump in when they are ready

Psalm 34:8 says to "taste and see that the Lord is good.” God loves to invite people to experience a part of him—confident that when they do, they will want to go deeper.

The question is, how can we create an environment where we offer that experience to our guests? Here are 10 ideas:

1. Have a special place where guests can give you their information, receive a gift, and not stand in any lines. Put it in the line of traffic so it’s easy to find and take advantage of QR codes and tap technology for those who have less time.

2. Invite all your guests at some point to connect at an environment where food is served, where they can sit at tables and enjoy conversation with people who are experts on your church (like “church sommeliers”).

3. Don't require a multi-week commitment to get involved. Just create an environment that is so engaging and pleasant that they will want to keep coming and take their best “next step” to connect with your church. It may not be to become a member (like becoming a member of a wine club at a winery), but it should be to get involved in a meaningful way with a small group of friends or a ministry team to grow and serve others.

4. Offer a program for guests where their experience at tables allows them to taste what a small group would feel like before they commit to finding one.

A table at my one program

5. Offer an All Access Tour for guests only, with special access badges that allow you to take them behind the scenes of your ministries (wine-making) and hear from volunteers who love to serve in each of them... before you ask them to volunteer.

6. Have Community Serve Days, Compassion Trips and select volunteer positions that guests and others in your community can be a part of, even if they haven't been on your campus yet.

7. Have Small Group Expos where open groups serve charcuterie style food items, cookies and the like (food bribes them to engage with you!) so you can visit with people looking for a group of friends to explore or follow Jesus with at your church. Pairing food with these opportunities could add a missing element that connects people more naturally.

8. Have links on your group finding website (or QR codes in your hallways) that form a simply worded email for them to inquire about a group when they press "contact a leader.”

9. Wow them with a free gift or resource they could use to "taste" some aspect of the kind of life your church casts vision for.

10. Give them something free in the mail that they can use next time they come to your campus.

Wine tasting is the most popular way to purchase wine. Getting a taste of community and purpose is the new way of deciding if a church is for you or not.

1. What new thoughts come to mind when you think of your Guest Service Team Members as "Sommeliers"? What church do you know of that comes close to offering that kind of service?

2. Brainstorm to identify any "taste and see" moments in the ministry of Jesus and his followers. What moments stand out to you and why?

3. Which of the 10 ideas shared in this post makes you think of a dial turn that could be a game changer in your own assimilation strategy?

4. What is one "taste and see experiment" that you could road test in the next 4 weeks?