The Need for Speed (Part Two)
Climbing Mount Everest is not just about physical strength and skill - it's also critically about timing.
Climbers must carefully plan their ascent to coincide with a brief period known as the "summit window."
This summit window typically occurs in May and lasts only a few days each year. It's characterized by:
Weather: A brief period of relative calm between the harsh winter storms and the onset of the summer monsoon season.
Temperature: Slightly warmer conditions that make survival at extreme altitudes more feasible.
Jet Stream: A temporary shift in the jet stream that reduces the fierce winds at the summit.
The consequences of missing this window are severe:
Attempt too early: Climbers face extreme cold and winter storms, increasing the risk of frostbite and avalanches.
Attempt too late: The monsoon brings heavy snow, making the ascent treacherous and visibility poor.
Overcrowding: Because the window is so brief, many expeditions aim for the same few days, leading to dangerous "traffic jams" on the mountain.
As leaders who serve in Guest Engagement ministries, we are Sherpas who don’t just manage an assimilation strategy—we manage the speed at which connection and assimilation take place.
Why?
Because like climbing Everest, the lack of appropriate speed can create a cold or even hostile environment for guests. High attendance weekends require even more attention to guests as they can get lost in the crowd.
In part one of this post, I shared…
why we need to increase the speed of connection at our churches in a post-COVID world
why we changed our 4-week program for guests (we called it Next Steps) to our one-week program we now fall First Step.
If you have not read part one, click here and read it first. These reasons are too compelling to not understand as a spiritual leader right now.
If you feel the need for speed on this issue and are considering reducing the length of your One Program like many others have, keep these two things in mind:
➊ If you only have one week, you can only have one ask for guests. Make it count.
I often say, “If you offer guests multiple choice, they will choose D —none of the above.”
We live in an information-inundated culture, and everyone has decision fatigue. People want to say yes or no to one thing when they go somewhere new.
As spiritual leaders, we get to choose what that thing is.
So if the need for speed is leading you to reduce the amount of weeks in your One Program like we have, then choose the ASK wisely and strategically.
➋ Make the one ask serving on a team, versus joining a small group.
Before COVID, a small group was the easier first Ask for a guest to get connected.
Post-COVID, every church I have talked to (from 150 in attendance to 35,000) has seen the Ask to serve become the one more people are saying yes to.
The first reason to seriously consider serving as your first ASK is STRATEGIC.
Just imagine with me which of these two is the easier ask to a guest:
Come to a house you’ve never been to, to meet people you’ve never met, who have a history you’re not a part of, and study the Bible with them.
Come to the campus you’ve been to and use one of your gifts to bless other people while making some new friends at the same time.
Hands down post-COVID, the ask to serve is the easier way to connect guests.
The second reason to seriously consider serving as your first ask is BIBLICAL.
What Jesus called the 12 to join looked a lot more like a serve team than a small group Bible Study.
As such, I am beginning to believe something I never have before:
Ministry Team Leaders are our churches’ discipleship arm, more so than our small group leaders.
What small group leaders create in their groups is a super-effective pastoral care unit and a place for Bible knowledge to grow.
The Ministry Team Leader can apply that knowledge in real time, holding people accountable for their behavior and challenging them to grow in ministry like Jesus did.
Small group just don’t do that—and that’s ok! They are fantastic pastoral care units.
So if increasing the need for speed of connection at your church is a priority, you may want to consider the length of many things—including your One Program for connecting guests.
If you choose to make an adaptation, here is what I am learning and recommending to other churches regarding their One Program:
➊ Offer it at least once a month.
We try and do it the first weekend of the month on all campuses. If you want to reach more and you have the critical mass necessary, have it twice monthly.
➋ Serve a meal.
I would suggest lunch at your 2 service campuses, and brunch at your 3 service campuses (scheduling it during the middle service of the 3).
(Fun Fact: Brunch can be less expensive than a lunch if you serve a breakfast sandwich and coffee rather than a complete lunch.)
Remember that even though you can have it after church so your lead pastor can be there in person, child care then becomes an issue and requires effort to arrange.
Child care is a must if you want young families present at your One Program, no matter when it is.
➌ Give meaningful questions for guests to discuss with each other.
Led by Table Hosts over lunch (or brunch), have them share how they found your church and what was it that made them want to come back. Everyone has that in common, and it’s not too personal to ask.
➍ Open with something high impact.
We have a campus pastor come in at the beginning of the program (which would be the beginning of the worship so they are not needed in the service yet).
They take 5 minutes to share the story of how they came to your church as this is something they have in common with all the guests attending.
Some churches I am working with are using the Community Ball illustration here to engage those attending in a fun way and set the vision for living life in community.
➎ Use video to present your Lead Pastor’s content.
If you are a single campus church, having your Lead Pastor in-person is always a plus.
If you have their content also on video though, you can use this when your Lead Pastor falls sick or is out of town.
It also helps the program stay on time. This presentation should be concise and cover their personal story, the church’s vision, and why serving on a team is their best step of growth and connection to the church.
Consider splitting these topics into two videos and inserting a discussion question in between them to help guests process this content well.
➏ Provide a a way for guests to assess what they have to give.
At my church, we have developed a short assessment on Rock RMS (our church management software) that attendees take on their smart phones.
I see churches using a variety of tools. Some use basic personality tests (think “Otter, Lion, Beaver, Retriever”) and then attach these profiles to certain volunteer positions to consider and explore.
Whatever you have that can match people’s abilities and interests to the opportunities to serve at your church will work.
➐ Wrap with a personal on-location encounter with a Ministry Rep.
A Ministry Rep is a staff person or key volunteer who can represent the features of serving in a specific ministry area at your church.
Offering an opportunity to observe that area in operation at the end of your program can create a compelling vision (Q&A).
➑ Don’t let guests leave without giving them a clear way for them to express their interest in a team.
The key is having them fill out an interest form on the spot — but not a commitment form. This is a chance to get their feet wet in a ministry team, not cast them in cement.
I am shooting for 80% of those present filling out a form, and 50% getting placed on a team.
• • • • •
Once someone is on a team, they are connected to the people and culture of the church in a very real way.
Once they feel comfortable with the people of the church through this team experience, jumping into a small group will be way easier and might possibly happen through the relationships they develop on their team.
Two things emerge as necessary if you adopt this faster path to connection.
One is having well-trained and resourced Sherpas as Table Hosts (we now call the Table “Coaches”) who can connect those who need a small group (or another form of connection) other than a team.
Second, the leaders of any ministry team at your church need to see themselves as making disciples of team members—not just getting a tasks done.
These are huge shifts for some of us. Stayed tuned for future posts on how to do this.
In the meantime, we’ve got a few coaching opportunities that will help you skip the trial and error and jump straight to the need for speed you’re looking for:
THE NEED FOR SPEED COHORT: Jump into this 4-week advanced cohort for churches that want to fine-tune their Assimilation System and start solving for 20+ “speed bumps” that are slowing down your guests. [Get Info]
ONE PROGRAM UPGRADE: Gain complete confidence in the effectiveness of your One Program from top to bottom, especially if you’re making some of these big changes.
[Get Info]VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT PROCESS RAPID REDESIGN: Be sure that interested volunteers aren’t falling through the cracks, and end with a fully operationalized placement process that your staff actually loves. [Get Info]
And finally, use the questions below to start a conversation with your team about increasing the speed of connection at your church ↓
TO CHEW ON WHILE WE CLIMB
Name 3 people or families who have become a vital part of your churches ministry over the last 5 years. How long did it take them to get involved on a team or with a small group from the time they first came? Use your database to see the date they’re profile was created, and the date they were added to a team and/or a group.
If you do not have access to that kind of data, just contact these families and ask them when they came and when they got involved on a team. Ask them what worked and what didn’t.
Note the length of time each person/family took to connect. Was it a similar length of time or different? If different, why? If the same , what are two to three dialturns that could eliminate steps and increase the speed of connection for new people at your church?
