fresh & practical ideas for your journey to the summit
Considering adding a campus thru a church merge? Here is your 10 point checklist & more.
Recently, I was doing a podcast on multisite that I have the privilege of doing monthly with Rich Birch from unSeminary along with my friends Natalie Frisk and Ben Stapley. We were talking about 2 things that many of you ask me about regularly so I thought I would feature a little extra resource for you here!
5 lessons for connectors from the movie Free Solo
What Alex Honnold did on El Capitan is too astounding to take in. Alex climbed El Capitan in less than 4 hours….without a rope or any other safety equipment. His documentary Free Solo is up for an Oscar this year and is in IMAX theaters right now. As I watched the movie, the lessons for those of us leading people on the climb to connect with God and our churches became obvious to me.
Help...Our church campuses aren't growing!!
Ideas, tips and encouragement on this reality of multisite ministry is what this latest episode of our All About Multisite podcast is about. This one focuses on lack of growth and what can actually reverse it.
What I learned about your church’s DNA from the set builders of Jurassic World
Like Jurassic Park, is it possible to engineer a living environment that would change the lives of those who enter it (while not eating them alive)? My answer is YES. Because the New Testament describes the church as a Body and as a Family, the DNA of your church culture is as definable as the DNA of your own body and of your own family. Or a dinosaur. That means it is actually possible to alter the DNA of your church and change its culture. Here’s how.
Predictions about Assimilation Ministry for 2019.
What do you see coming next year for connectors like you and I? A written summary is included with the podcast.
You can’t forget to do these 4 things with your volunteers this Christmas
You may not have this on your radar at all this Christmas, but if you don’t, you might forfeit one of your best opportunities to onboard new volunteers next year.
Check out this story to comprehend what is possible for your guests this Christmas
Know for sure: people’s spiritual journeys will begin at your church this Christmas. No kidding. Just watch this 4 minute video of the Hernandez’s story to see how a simple assimilation strategy will help you bring your unchurched guests all the way to the summit of full connection with God and your church.
How will being portable impact assimilation? This and more on All About Multisite podcast
Wondering if you should add another campus for your church? Is being portable an asset or a liability? Wonder what the profile is for a solid and effective Campus Pastor? These were the primary questions we covered with our panel on this month’s edition of unSeminary’s “All About Multisite”
Should you start a new service or a new site?
This question and many more were explored with my friends Ben Stapley, Natalie Frisk and our fearless panel leader Rich Birch during out latest conversation about multisite issues we are all dealing with. Get your coffee, give it a listen and take a few notes to clear the path in front of you and your team.
9 ways to pray that connect guests / The last unexpected benefit of my 5-week Sabbatical
By now you have probably heard that my 5-week Sabbatical did not return me to work re-energized and ready to go as I expected. The final benefit however was in an area that I did expect to see change in, just not in this way.
Three unexpected benefits from my 5-week Sabbatical, # 2.
What role does a Connector’s marriage play in his stamina, focus and persona? More than I ever thought possible when I came back from my Sabbatical. Here’s what I learned and what we brought back with us.
Do you ever have the sick feeling that you're not properly assimilating new staff at your church?
How can we create a robust leadership pipeline across all our campuses as well as genuinely assimilate new staff from various sites into real community? These were 2 of the topics we hit in this most recent edition of the Unseminary podcast "All About Multisite"
Three very unexpected benefits from my 5-week Sabbatical: #1
I justified this perceived luxury with the thought that I would come back with a full sail, chomping at the bit, and ready to dig into ministry with renewed vigor and energy.
The problem was that when I returned, that did not happen.
How do you split up responsibilities between the central and campus staff at your multisite church?
I love talking with Rich, Natalie and Ben about facing this challenge through the lens of programming, children's ministry, and assimilation. If you want to explore this issue with us by listening in.
You can't connect people like this.
Most people know the Pantheon as an architectural masterpiece. What most people don't know is that the Pantheon has been a church since 609 AD. While we waited for their Pentecost service, I noticed that they were letting people into the Pantheon 10 at a time. What I didn't know was that the church was already full. That’s when I discovered one of the biggest enemies of connection for all the guests at our churches.
Showing new love for guests in Hawaii in a game changing way
This gift underscored 2 important factors in implementing a church wide assimilation strategy and program that i think every church staff should keep in mind
Host an Experience — Not a Class
I want to take the next four posts to share some creative things that 4 different churches have done in creating environments and processes that connect guests to God and their church.
Are you asking these 3 questions about multi-site?
We got some great questions this week on the latest Unseminary "All About Multi-site" podcast. Questions dealing with: Centralizing or Decentralizing your budgets for your campuses, pros and cons of church planting versus multi-site venues, the role of social media and technology in reaching people, and more.
How to connect new people to churches under 200.
I shared what this looks like for small churches in this podcast I did with Jeff Keady and Jonny Craig of 200 Churches, a ministry specifically targeted at encouraging and resourcing churches under 200 in attendance (which is 90% of the church in America!).
Hit a growth barrier in your multisite strategy?
We (unseminary's All About Multisite podcast team) had a very interesting conversation on growth barriers on our campuses. In this podcast, I function as our guest connections and assimilation resource. We address outreach, children's ministry, and assimilation barriers in this discussion with Rich Birch, Become part of the conversation on this second All About Multisite podcast.