fresh & practical ideas for your journey to the summit
Our Churches Need Walls and Gates
There’s a real tension between a strong church culture and healthy assimilation. You see, a strong church culture is a double-edged sword — and if you don’t understand both edges, there’s a real danger.
The value of knowing what to expect
Everybody needs a Sherpa when we enter the unfamiliar. It is extremely valuable to know what to expect when you step into something new. Here are a few simple steps you can take to ensure your guests know what to expect.
The Lazy River Effect on your church’s engagement pathway
Your guests are experiencing your church like a lazy river — not like a backyard pool. And believe it or not, the difference will make or break their experience.
3 Things to STOP Saying to Connect More Guests (+ a few honorable mentions)
I’ve re-examined my “default” language time and time again and consistently found phrases and words that I use “because I always have” — instead of “because they WORK.”
Let’s replace ineffective jargon with compelling messages that effectively drive our target audience toward meaningful action 👍
A simple but effective follow up hack to make sure no guest at your church gets overlooked
Over the last year, I have discovered a new hack for making sure no one visiting our church gets forgotten. Whether they are first time guests, just made a decision for Christ, just checked in the kids for the first time or gotten baptized, I can count on this one hack to connect with them all.
The New Atheists and how to serve them well
The trouble with churches when it comes to atheists is when you only have a hammer (sound arguments for having faith), everyone starts looking like a nail. Arguments to people without faith now are about the most non-sensical and least effective thing you can do in many cases. Learn 5 different approaches to respond to 5 different kinds of people who don’t believe.
The top 4 reasons your church needs a comprehensive assimilation system
This is THE most important message I could have posted this year. In this this short 6-minute video, I share 4 reasons why churches in our culture need a church-wide strategy for connecting guests. I guarantee that some of these you have not considered and your leadership hasn't either.
The key to promoting your assimilation environment
Your Yelp app is pointing to a new reality in how guests at your church make decisions about where they are willing to spend their time and why. So here's what I'm learning about promoting our assimilation environments…
The 2nd mistake many churches make when assimilating guests
Have you ever taken a "free" vacation to a time share resort? You go because you feel the need for a break, have the need for a deal, and are willing to pay the price which is sitting through a presentation and a pitch for a few hours-one that could result in your buying-in to the "resort lifestyle". If you are like me, you have been willing to pay that price as long as they a willing to hear a "No" at they end of it.
Despite our aversion to this experience, this is unintentionally how we treat guests when they want to become part of our church.