Assimilation: Who comes to your church?

90% of first time guests decide against staying at your church – this should be a concern for us.

Before we move onto some tactics that we working on around Liquid . . . first we need to figure how deep the hole is.

Do you know how many visitors arrive at your church each week?  Do you know how many of those stick?

You can’t build a bridge if you don’t know how wide the river valley is.  Getting “first time guests” to identify themselves is vital!

You need to give first time guests . . . something . . . in order to trigger the ability to count that interaction.  Things that we’ve given away in the churches I’ve led:

• Welcome DVD – Don’t overkill on content . . . think quick, lighthearted interactions!
• Gift Bag – Grab a great message that really represents the church well, put together a quick brochure about the church, a pen and voila!  A gift.
• Chocolate – Need I say more . . . chocolate is memorable and almost universally loved.
• Movie Passes – A great tie in if your church meets at a theater!
• iTunes Gift Cards – We’re doing this for a series this fall.

We’ll talk later in the week about what to match with the gift . . . but first you need a reason for people to want to identify themselves as new.

What can you give away?  What have you seen that works great?  Let’s share some great first time gift ideas!

Dirty Secret: Assimilation

Most churches have a pretty significant dirty secret that they don’t like talking about . . .

For every 10 new people that arrive at church . . . 9 of them don’t “stick”.

Is that true at your church?  Do you know what that number looks like?

I’d be willing to bet that it’s something like that.

It’s really too bad.  We spend a lot of time jumping up and down trying to convince our people to invite their friends.  When they finally do get them to show up to church . . . the chance of them staying is really low.  (Which means our people are “rewarded” with their friends being connected to church . . . which in turn means it’s hard to motivate people to invite.  A nasty cycle.)

This assimilation stat is a dirty secret and it stinks.

Imagine if you ran a theme park and 50,000 people showed up in the parking lot in the morning but only 5,000 actually came in and enjoyed the rides!

What if you had a restaurant where 100 people came in to get some of those great free samples but only 10 actually stayed for a meal?

This seems like the kind of thing that we should probably do something about?

I know at the churches that I’ve worked . . . that 90% of people not staying is pretty close.

This week I’m going to write about some tactics that we are working on here at Liquid Church to try to move to one in three people staying.  Not a bunch of rocket science but a few little things we are working on that might stir the conversation.

I would love to hear what you are doing to help keep people that arrive at your church!  Leave some comments now!

Tension: Emotive vs. Cool

Tension: 1) The act or process of stretching something tight. 2) The interplay of conflicting elements.

Some bad news for church leadership wonks out there: church is not cool.

Really.

We try to play it all cool because we know that “sells” in our culture.  We’re concerned about stage presence or the way our graphics look or the language we use to communicate.  We meet in “cool” places, play “cool” music, and talk about “cool” stuff. We attempt to project coolness at every turn.

We trick ourselves into thinking that it’s cool when the church is big . . . or if our church has a great band . . . or if we do really cool video stuff . . . or if the relationships are really genuine.

But’s really not cool.

To the broad culture – church is about as cool as Sci-Fi convention.  The fact that we are big, have great music, do cool video stuff or have close relationships just underscores the not-so-coolness.  Imagine someone from the local Klingon Klub using the same words to describe their deal as you use to describe your church.

It’s about that cool to people.

The message of Jesus is an emotional one.  At it’s core it takes a far amount of inner passion to keep your faith alive.

People do run the ramp of reason but there is still a leap of faith.  And that leap is an emotional one.  It moves beyond style and content to the realm of passion to make that sort of decision.

To recap . . . we try to play it cool in our churches because cool communicates “ok-ness” while at the same moment we know it takes emotions at some level to make the connection.

Seems like a tension to me.  What about you?  How do you see that tension working in your church this weekend?

Tension: Focused vs. Flexible

Tension: 1) The act or process of stretching something tight. 2) The interplay of conflicting elements.

“Realize that change is here, and embrace it. Don’t just try to survive. Take the challenge to thrive.” – Melanie Sojourner

“Keep focused on the substantive issues. To make a decision means having to go through one door and closing all others.” – Abraham Zaleznik

Churches that don’t focus on a few things flounder in sideways energy.  They end up adding so many different things to their ministry that no individual effort gets the resources or attention it requires.  The light of the church is dispersed to the point where the it hardly appears to be reflecting at all.  Focus is good.

If a church isn’t reinventing itself all the time it becomes stale and stagnant. Stuck in the rut of a “known strategy and approach” it quickly drifts towards mediocrity. Rather than being a vibrant and relevant force the church becomes stuck in it’s ways and mired in blandness.  Flexibility is good.

Is there a path for the extremely focused church that is open and flexible to new approaches all the time?

How do you focus your team on what the church is becoming while at the same time push for reinvention all the time?

I feel like I live this in tension all the time.  I want to stay focused on a few things because I feel like we need to improve our game so much.  However, I see new approaches all the time and wonder if we could be modifying that for our environment.

What about you? How do you live out this tension?  Let the conversation begin!

Tension: Raw vs. Refined

Tension: 1) The act or process of stretching something tight. 2) The interplay of conflicting elements.

Is it possible to package authenticity?

Can you manufacture a sense of honesty?

Do excellence and realness ever really happen at the same time?

Why do so many church leader types seem so plastic?

Ever been to one of those churches with the “shiny happy singers”?  You know the ones . . . at the beginning of the service they come walking from backstage and sing some upbeat ditty about how life is so much easier with Jesus.  They are wearing coordinated outfits and nail every line of the song perfectly . . . as they reference the video monitors on the floor with the lyrics.

Why does that make me want to throw up just a little bit in my mouth?

Have you ever been to a church service where the pastor dude walks up at the appointed time for his message . . . glances from one side to the other . . . put’s down his notes and says “I’m not going to use the message that I prepared this week because I think I need to say something else.”

Why is it in those moments I’m kinda fearful of what happens next?

There is an inherent tension that we live in between being raw and authentic while at the same time wanting to maximize the gifts God has given us.  Holding these two tensions is not easy.  Raw vs. Refined.  Authentic vs. Polished.  Real vs. Idealized Vision.  Now vs. Not Yet.

Jumping head long in either direction and not feeling this tension is a disaster.

How are you living in this tension?  What side of this equation do you feel that your community naturally errs on? Leave some comments now!

Tension: Tech vs. Touch

Tension: 1) The act or process of stretching something tight. 2) The interplay of conflicting elements.

Tech: Video screens, websites, email, social media, kids check in systems, lighting, sound reinforcement, podcasts, web streams, efficient systems, evites, invites, devices . . . everywhere we look the modern church is permeated with technology at a significant level.

Touch: Small groups discussions, hand written notes, knowing peoples names, shaking hands, visiting people’s homes, freshly baked cookies, team meetings, personal greetings, potluck eatings . . .  personal interaction is a vital part of the “business” of church.

Two things I’ve observed while working in churches over the last number of years:

1. People don’t come to a church because of the amazing light show we put on every weekend.
2. When people leave big churches they don’t go to the “big church down the road” with better intro videos . . . they go to smaller churches where they have a better shot at being known.

At Liquid Church, we are feeling the Tech vs. Touch tension big time.

We want to use every tool at our disposal to the present the timeless message of Jesus in a compelling and exciting manner.  We know our time is short on the planet and technology can be a great short cut to reaching more people.

At the same time . . . we value high touch as well.  We know that people invite friends to church.   We are aware that if second time guests are going to have a shot making our church a home they need to make a human connect with some people.

We feel like we do the high tech thing pretty well.  At this point we need to find a way to up the tension on the high touch side of the equation.  We are challenging our teams to find ways to increase touch with every interaction.

I’d love to learn from you.  What are some ways that you balance out this tension?  Leave some feedback now.

Thanking: System? Spontaneous?

So this week we’ve been chatting about the value of saying thanks. Make sure to drop by the other posts to see the discussion so far!

Phil Thurman from Lifebridge Church in Madison, MS does some great stuff when it comes to thanking his team.  During their quarterly leadership development event they take time out to make sure that people know they are valued.  They give away gift cards (pedicures for ladies, bass pro shop for dudes)  They also use Land’s End to make some pretty sweet custom embroidery stuff.

You need to figure out your system of thanking people like Lifebridge has.  You are going to have people to thank week in and week out.  What is your regular thanking system look like?

The problem with a regular thanking system is the law of diminishing returns.  The first time a volunteer goes to the quarterly volunteer event and gets a gift card they love it!  The third time they begin to see it as a normal thing that happens.  By the time they’ve served for a couple years – they are budgeting around the gift cards and using them for Christmas gifts.  Get the idea?

So you need to plan for some spontaneity! A regular thank you system is important but is only the start.  You need to build in something totally unexpected to make a real impact:

• What if you had a registered massage therapist come and serve in the volunteer suite?
• If you are a portable church – what if a live band played as they set up?
• Is it possible to give your entire team the morning off?  (Think about it.)

What about you?  I’m sure you have great ideas when it comes to thanking your team in both a systematic and spontaneous way?  Share your thoughts now!

The Unthanked.

The paradox is real.  There is a group of people who are vitally important to the weekly operation of your ministry but often are over looked when it comes to thanking.  I think if we all took 5 minutes this week and reached out this group of people to simply say “thank you” for their important contribution we’d see a shift in the ministry almost overnight.

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?”” – William Arthur Ward

When was the last time you took time out to thank the spouses of the people on your team?

If you’re a portable church . . . have you ever sent a note to the wife of that guy that shows up first thing – week after week?

If you have a new drummer coming on your team . . . when was the last time you grabbed her husband in the foyer just to say “thanks” for support her learning all the new stuff to be in the band?

If you have some staff on your team that are married . . . what can you do today to make them know that their support of their spouse is noticed?

I know in my family . . . my wife’s voice sounds strangely like the voice of God.  ( . . . when she speaks . . . I listen . . . her opinion on my work counts . . . ) My leadership changes when she supports my work.  Her support makes me better at what I do.  The church is benefiting from that.

Whadda think?  Is it a “thank you overkill” to start expressing thanks to the spouses and significant others of your team?  Drop some comments now!

Thanking Donors.

So this week we are talking about the lost art of thanking. How are you taking time to foster a culture of saying “thank you” to people in your ministry?

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern

How do you thank the people who donate to your ministry? What do you do make sure that they know how important they are to the mission?

When people give to your ministry it’s a personal decision for them. They are deciding against something else in their life because they believe in what your mission is all about.  ( . . . the new tv . . . or the church staff salary . . .)

Do we take time to give them a personal response or simply treat them like a potential cash machine that we need to prepare to give to us?

What if for every person that donated to your ministry for the first time you sent a hand written note?  What if instead of the cleverly crafted form letter you blocked out time to sit down and write a note to them personally . . . use that clever database of yours to attempt to personalize it as much as possible.  (Do they have kids? Ask them if their kidlets are enjoying your church . . . )

Meet their personal decision with a personal response.

I know . . . you don’t have time for this.  Too many other important things to do than to write notes to people you barely know.  Really?  My experience has been these take about 2-3 minutes to do per card . . . do the math.  I can assure you that over the long haul the “value” of that donor to your ministry out weighs the 3 minutes.

What about you?  How do you thank your donors? Take some time to comment right now!

Saying thank you.

How do you take time to thank people in your ministry?

Or are you of the school of thought that your people should be thanking you for allowing them to be in the ministry? (admit it … we all know people like that!)

Taking time to simply say thank you can be a game changer in your ministry. It can draw in people from the fringe. Thanking can build the foundation for strong relationships.

This week we’re going to be taking time to look at thanking people. The lost art of simply saying “thank you” is a tool we all can work on. Join in the conversation … how do you thank the people in your ministry?