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	<title>first-time guest Archives - Passion for Planting</title>
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		<title>Increasing First-Time Guests: 3 Questions To Expand The Front Door Of Your Church</title>
		<link>https://church-planting.net/increasing-first-time-guests-3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sean Cronin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Sep 2019 09:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Assimilation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Evangelism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Church Planting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first-time guest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Growing Churches]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guest followup]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[second-time guest]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/carey-nieuwhof.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.careynieuwhof.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" /></div>
<p>Today’s post is written by Tony Morgan, Founder of The Unstuck Group. By Tony Morgan: Nearly every church leader I know is concerned with “closing the back door” at his or her church. But I’ve found the “front door” is usually the bigger issue. A few years ago, Connexus Church invited [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/increasing-first-time-guests-3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/">Increasing First-Time Guests: 3 Questions To Expand The Front Door Of Your Church</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/carey-nieuwhof.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.careynieuwhof.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i2.wp.com/careynieuwhof.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/shutterstock_1030889065.jpg?ssl=1"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-94126" src="https://i2.wp.com/careynieuwhof.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/shutterstock_1030889065.jpg?resize=1000,662&amp;ssl=1" alt="Back door" width="1000" height="662" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<p><em>Today’s post is written by Tony Morgan, Founder of <a href="https://tmlive.us/2PSfXM4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Unstuck Group</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>By Tony Morgan:</em></p>
<p>Nearly every church leader I know is concerned with “closing the back door” at his or her church. But I’ve found the “front door” is usually the bigger issue.</p>
<p>A few years ago, Connexus Church invited me to lead the team through the <a href="https://tmlive.us/2PSfXM4">Unstuck Process</a>.</p>
<p>Carey was in the middle of handing off the lead pastor role to Jeff Brodie, and working through a well-prepared succession plan.</p>
<p>There was a light bulb moment during our time together I can’t get out of my mind. The Connexus team was sharing the number of new guests they were seeing on average, and it became clear:</p>
<p>There weren’t enough.</p>
<p>The church was seeing growth, but not at the pace they wanted.</p>
<p>Jeff said they came into that planning time thinking they had a “back door” problem. One simple metric helped them see it was the opposite:</p>
<p>To see growth, you’ll need <i>more</i> new guests each year than your total average attendance on a Sunday.</p>
<p><em>To see growth, you’ll need more new guests each year than your total average attendance on a Sunday. -@tonymorganlive</em><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://careynieuwhof.com/3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/&amp;text=To see growth, you’ll need more new guests each year than your total average attendance on a Sunday. -@tonymorganlive&amp;via=cnieuwhof&amp;related=cnieuwhof" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></p>
<p>Jeff says they probably needed twice as many new guests as they were seeing.</p>
<p>The reason this interaction sticks with me isn’t about that metric. I’ve had a similar conversation with many pastors.</p>
<p>It’s about what Jeff and the team at Connexus did next.</p>
<p>They went all-in on becoming a church that’s passionate about seeing their friends, neighbors, and colleagues experience the regeneration and redemption Jesus brings.</p>
<p>Few are willing to do the heart work they did to cast a new vision for loving their neighbor—and a few years later, they’ve seen their number of new guests sky-rocket.</p>
<p>(You can listen to a conversation I had with Jeff about everything they did in <a href="https://theunstuckgroup.com/guests">Episode 97 of The Unstuck Church Podcast</a>. I’ll go out on a limb and promise that it will inspire you.)</p>
<p>It takes intentionality to reach people outside the church and outside the faith. The natural tendency of every church is to become inward-focused over time.</p>
<p>Does your church have a front door problem? If so, I’d encourage you to process these three questions together with your leadership team.</p>
<p><em>It takes intentionality to reach people outside the church and outside the faith. -@tonymorganlive</em><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://careynieuwhof.com/3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/&amp;text=It takes intentionality to reach people outside the church and outside the faith. -@tonymorganlive&amp;via=cnieuwhof&amp;related=cnieuwhof" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></p>
<h2>1. Who should we be reaching?</h2>
<p>You need a clear picture in your mind of <i>who</i> in your community God has called you to reach. You may find it helpful to liken this process to becoming an overseas missionary.</p>
<p>Who is in your mission field?</p>
<p>If we entered a foreign land, we would want to determine who is in the region, their needs and then design a ministry strategy to reach those people with the Gospel.</p>
<p>With this in mind, I’d encourage you to engage a conversation with your leadership team to identify who your church should be focused on reaching.</p>
<p>To navigate this conversation, you can ask these key questions:</p>
<p><i>Who is in our community? </i>Use available demographic information to identify who lives in your region and what trends are shaping your community.<br />
<i>Of those people, who are we trying to reach? </i>How old are they? What’s their spiritual background? What’s their current life stage? You can also gain focus by identifying their primary occupation, ethnicity or education level.<br />
<i>What’s important to them? </i>Put yourselves in their shoes. What are the key questions they’re asking? What are their primary needs? What do they value?<br />
<i>How does our strategy approach address what’s most important to them?</i> Does what your church offers help address these priorities?</p>
<p>This is the same exercise any missionary of Jesus would engage. I’m challenging you to become that missionary in your community.</p>
<p>At <a href="https://tmlive.us/2zWqElN">The Unstuck Group</a>, we’ve learned that the more clarity churches have about who they are trying to reach, and the more intentionality in ministry strategy churches have to reach them, the more likely the church is to reach a broad cross-section of their community.</p>
<p>The reverse is not true.</p>
<p>When there’s no intentionality or, in some cases, total disregard for who the church should be reaching, the church struggles to reach its community and very few people are saved.</p>
<p><em>You need a clear picture in your mind of who in your community God has called you to reach. -@tonymorganlive</em><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://careynieuwhof.com/3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/&amp;text=You need a clear picture in your mind of who in your community God has called you to reach. -@tonymorganlive&amp;via=cnieuwhof&amp;related=cnieuwhof" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></p>
<h2>2. How do we reach them?</h2>
<p>I wish there were an easy answer to that question.</p>
<p>What I’ve learned, though, is that you can’t program your way to health and the ability to reach new people. In other words, starting an evangelism program and conducting evangelism training won’t fix this issue.</p>
<p>Instead, the church must focus its entire ministry strategy on reaching people outside the church and then helping people become disciples of Jesus.</p>
<p>If, for example, you want to reach a diverse group of dechurched, millennial, young adults in your community, then everything you do must reflect that focus.</p>
<p>Your worship services must be designed with that person in mind.<br />
Your discipleship strategy must be designed with that person in mind.<br />
Your nursery environment must be designed with that person in mind.<br />
Your physical space and your online strategy have to be designed with that person in mind.</p>
<p>In other words, you have to become a church for diverse, dechurched, millennial young adults to reach diverse, dechurched, millennial young adults.</p>
<p>You can’t create a program or a separate class or separate worship service, especially if it’s not at a prime-time hour, and expect to reach them. Most people don’t like to be segregated like that.</p>
<p>By the way, I do think a compelling weekend service is critical to reaching whoever you identify in your community.</p>
<p>The primary way people will end up connected to your church is if those in your church invite their friends and family members. Creating compelling environments, including worship services, will help fuel those invites.</p>
<p><em>The primary way people will end up connected to your church is if those in your church invite their friends and family members. -@tonymorganlive</em><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://careynieuwhof.com/3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/&amp;text=The primary way people will end up connected to your church is if those in your church invite their friends and family members. -@tonymorganlive&amp;via=cnieuwhof&amp;related=cnieuwhof" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></p>
<h2>3. Are we winning or not?</h2>
<p>Let me share some data from Gary McIntosh and Charles Arn in their book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AHY0XLK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;sr=&amp;qid= &amp;linkCode=sl1&amp;tag=tonymorgan-20&amp;linkId=e5bc86e3a014e31bd0ad58ce26253060"><i>What Every Pastor Should Know: 101 Indispensable Rules of Thumb for Leading Your Church</i></a>. These are some key metrics you can track to determine whether or not you have a healthy front door:</p>
<p>If the church is growing, you’ll need more first-time guests each year than you have people in your total average attendance. In other words, a growing church of 500 will need more than 500 first-time guests in a year.<br />
The typical growing church sees 20% of first-time guests become part of the church.<br />
Growing churches see nearly 40% of second-time guests become part of the church.<br />
Close to 60% of people will become part of the church after their third visit.</p>
<p>As you can see, the odds of someone becoming part of the church increase dramatically if we can encourage them to come back for a second and third visit.</p>
<p>The first thing we should be inviting every first-time guest to do is to come back next Sunday.</p>
<p><em>The first thing we should be inviting every first-time guest to do is to come back next Sunday. -@tonymorganlive</em><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://careynieuwhof.com/3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/&amp;text=The first thing we should be inviting every first-time guest to do is to come back next Sunday. -@tonymorganlive&amp;via=cnieuwhof&amp;related=cnieuwhof" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click To Tweet</a></p>
<p>One of the reasons why you may have a front-door problem is that you’ve never tracked the number of first-time guests to know if you’re winning or not.</p>
<p>Setting a target and then monitoring your progress will challenge your team to become more intentional about developing a comprehensive strategy for reaching people outside the church and outside the faith.</p>
<p>After getting clear about the front door problem at Connexus Church and rolling out a compelling vision and engaging the congregation, Jeff and team have seen the number of new guests grow by 70% several years in a row.</p>
<p>I talked at length with Jeff in <a href="https://theunstuckgroup.com/guests">Episode 97 of The Unstuck Church Podcast</a> about the creative approach Connexus took, and he shared a number of books he read and stories of seeing his church come alive as they began investing in relationships with their neighbors like never before.</p>
<p>I encourage you to listen.</p>
<p>That story re-energized our whole team at <a href="https://tmlive.us/2zWqElN">The Unstuck Group</a>. We love seeing more people encounter the love of Jesus as the Great Commission is carried out through unstuck churches.</p>
<h2><strong>First-time guests are just the start</strong></h2>
<p><a href="https://churchgrowthmasterclass.com/special"><img decoding="async" class="jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled aligncenter wp-image-82083 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/careynieuwhof.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Screen-Shot-2019-04-29-at-10.09.51-AM.png?resize=1582,786&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="1582" height="786" data-lazy-loaded="1" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<p>Getting a church growing or helping a church that’s reaching new people grow even further can seem daunting.</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be.</p>
<p>Whether you’re a church that isn’t growing, has plateaued, or whether you wish your church was growing faster than it is, I’d love to help you break through. That’s why I created the <a href="https://churchgrowthmasterclass.com/evergreen" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://churchgrowthmasterclass.com/special&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1558449358465000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEa7rQ6IWsXJHVA8ldhfBW6wLYLHw">Church Growth Masterclass</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://churchgrowthmasterclass.com/evergreen" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://churchgrowthmasterclass.com/special&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1558449358465000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEa7rQ6IWsXJHVA8ldhfBW6wLYLHw">Church Growth Masterclass </a>is everything I wish I knew about church growth when I got into ministry more than 20 years ago.</p>
<p>The Masterclass includes a complete set of videos that you can play with your team, board or staff, PDF workbooks that will help you tackle the issues you’re facing, and bonus materials that will help you navigate the most pressing issues facing churches that want to reach their cities today.</p>
<p><a href="https://churchgrowthmasterclass.com/evergreen" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://churchgrowthmasterclass.com/special&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1558449358465000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEa7rQ6IWsXJHVA8ldhfBW6wLYLHw">You can learn more and gain instant access to the course today</a>.</p>
<h2><strong>What about your team?</strong></h2>
<p>Are you willing to go all-in on becoming a church that treats your community like your mission field?</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/" rel="nofollow">Increasing First-Time Guests: 3 Questions To Expand The Front Door Of Your Church</a> appeared first on <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com" rel="nofollow">CareyNieuwhof.com</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://careynieuwhof.com/3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-wplink-edit="true">Increasing First-Time Guests: 3 Questions To Expand The Front Door Of Your Church</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/increasing-first-time-guests-3-questions-to-expand-the-front-door-of-your-church/">Increasing First-Time Guests: 3 Questions To Expand The Front Door Of Your Church</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>How a Type 4 on the Enneagram experiences your church and how to connect them</title>
		<link>https://church-planting.net/how-a-type-4-on-the-enneagram-experiences-your-church-and-how-to-connect-them/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sean Cronin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Jun 2019 09:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Assimilation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General Church Planting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[connections team]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[enneagram]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first time experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first-time guest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Van Gogh]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.gregcurtis-assimilation.com/blog/2019/6/17/how-a-type-4-on-the-enneagram-experiences-your-church-and-how-to-connect-them</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<div><img width="400" height="400" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Greg-Curtis.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div>
<p>by Greg Curtis: Can you imagine Van Gogh, one of THE largest influences on Western Art, visiting your church this Sunday? One of his paintings sold recently for over 100 million dollars. His style and story have impacted artistic expression, home decor, and Hollywood film. It’s hard to imagine someone [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/how-a-type-4-on-the-enneagram-experiences-your-church-and-how-to-connect-them/">How a Type 4 on the Enneagram experiences your church and how to connect them</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="400" height="400" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Greg-Curtis.jpg" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div><p class="">by Greg Curtis: Can you imagine Van Gogh, one of THE largest influences on Western Art, visiting your church this Sunday? One of his paintings sold recently for over 100 million dollars. His style and story have impacted artistic expression, home decor, and Hollywood film. It’s hard to imagine someone of his stature walking into your church lobby.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="thumb-image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1561074616532-TKGAMSY7BDWWBW9XCQ66/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGDpvalPb1SqHoCn1hwN0Y57gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QHyNOqBUUEtDDsRWrJLTmQPoRzxSr1hzN-vPBHt7YyLLXgctAyUJRqJUUGWVDK_ZzIgvsybGcZEPqUYiXY8im/van+gogh+self.jpeg?format=1000w" alt="van gogh self.jpeg" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1561074616532-TKGAMSY7BDWWBW9XCQ66/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGDpvalPb1SqHoCn1hwN0Y57gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QHyNOqBUUEtDDsRWrJLTmQPoRzxSr1hzN-vPBHt7YyLLXgctAyUJRqJUUGWVDK_ZzIgvsybGcZEPqUYiXY8im/van+gogh+self.jpeg" data-image-dimensions="1200x1200" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="5d0c1bb65dcdbe0001735eef" data-type="image" /></p>
<p class="">But that’s not as far fetched as you think.</p>
<p class="">In addition to being the artistic icon he is now, you may not have known that…</p>
<p class="">Van Gogh was a pastor’s son</p>
<p class="">Van Gogh went to Bible College to become a pastor</p>
<p class="">Van Gogh served as a missionary</p>
<p class="">Van Gogh was also a Four and Fours are visiting your church right now.</p>
<p class="" data-rte-preserve-empty="true">
<h3>How a Type Four sees their world</h3>
<p class=""><strong>The world is inseparable from the unique way in which they see it. </strong></p>
<p class="">&#8220;Real painters do not paint things as they are&#8230; they paint them as they themselves feel them to be.&#8221;-Vincent Van Gogh</p>
<p class="">The way Van Gogh saw the world has changed the way we see it. His unique take on people, fields, scenes and himself, has altered how we look at things. <a href="http://www.theworldcounts.com/life/potentials/enneagram-number-4-personality-type-four-individualist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fours</a> are introspective and think about their individuality more than any other number on the Enneagram. Their distinctions, values, opinions and ideologies are important to them because it makes them <em>who they are</em>. To appreciate and understand those things is to understand them.</p>
<p class="">Because of this, having assimilation environments that are “Four Friendly” means having opportunities for them to be known in a non-judgmental way. Discussion tables with hosts that know this and can guide discussion with the goal of knowing them rather than analyzing them is key. They see their take on things as a huge part of their contribution to a church. Their biggest fear? To be lost and unknown in the crowd.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="thumb-image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1561067622675-WHDA0HCW0MF4YGQTZ9JB/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kBtRe_O131bI5gtpgTUU9x8UqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYy7Mythp_T-mtop-vrsUOmeInPi9iDjx9w8K4ZfjXt2dsyxuEuMZItEofAjRJsjkXwrME7odoJX1HcdFuVG_olTCjLISwBs8eEdxAxTptZAUg/Van+Gogh+Cottages.png?format=1000w" alt="Van Gogh paints a cottage a few years apart. Note the first one is dark and somber, the second is light and whimsical. This is a window into the life of a Four." data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1561067622675-WHDA0HCW0MF4YGQTZ9JB/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kBtRe_O131bI5gtpgTUU9x8UqsxRUqqbr1mOJYKfIPR7LoDQ9mXPOjoJoqy81S2I8N_N4V1vUb5AoIIIbLZhVYy7Mythp_T-mtop-vrsUOmeInPi9iDjx9w8K4ZfjXt2dsyxuEuMZItEofAjRJsjkXwrME7odoJX1HcdFuVG_olTCjLISwBs8eEdxAxTptZAUg/Van+Gogh+Cottages.png" data-image-dimensions="1544x828" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="5d0c0060772b800001e1013b" data-type="image" /></p>
<p class="">Van Gogh paints a cottage a few years apart. Note the first one is dark and somber, the second is light and whimsical. This is a window into the life of a Four.</p>
<p class=""><strong>Their world can be a tumultuous place</strong></p>
<p class="">You’ve heard of the phrase “tortured artist”? At times, this can describe Fours but this next statement is very important: not all creative people are Fours. Far from it. The truth is, Fours have a higher percentage of creatives in their populace than any other number. Just remember that just because you are a creative or gifted artist that does not mean you are a four. I have 4 very creative artist in my family (3 of them professional artist) but none of them are Fours.</p>
<p class="">That being said, the world of a Four is a world that can have exceptional highs and bitter lows. Van Gogh tried multiple times to pass his Theology Exams to become a pastor but failed each time. When he then chose to serve as a missionary to coal miners in Belgium, he chose to live <em>with</em> them on straw beds in poverty rather than in clergy housing. Those in charge of the ministry saw this as “undignified” and removed him in such a way as he had to walk over 47 miles to Brussels where he eventually committed himself to an Asylum.</p>
<p class="">He is thought to have been bi-polar and his art may betray that. Though Fours to not have a corner on mental illness any more than another number, the roller coaster of their emotional landscape can be a challenge for themselves and those who love them.</p>
<p class="" data-rte-preserve-empty="true">
<p><img decoding="async" class="thumb-image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1561075061937-AERQPGXZ7PY200RQ7TFP/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kM9fcKpFQhZ10fG6inD4cYp7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QHyNOqBUUEtDDsRWrJLTm8CnKHo2wjeO4u63FO9raGGOqlgvMKCHixdgRFXo8tjfqELUAbtGYBEcmGKgblgTe/Van+Gogh_Memory+of+the+Garden+at+Etten.jpg?format=1000w" alt="Van Gogh_Memory of the Garden at Etten.jpg" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1561075061937-AERQPGXZ7PY200RQ7TFP/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kM9fcKpFQhZ10fG6inD4cYp7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QHyNOqBUUEtDDsRWrJLTm8CnKHo2wjeO4u63FO9raGGOqlgvMKCHixdgRFXo8tjfqELUAbtGYBEcmGKgblgTe/Van+Gogh_Memory+of+the+Garden+at+Etten.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1280x1005" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="5d0c1d73e5c55900014366d2" data-type="image" /></p>
<p class=""><strong>They are in search of the ideal</strong></p>
<p class="">Van Gogh would paint the same scene over and over again in an effort to capture the magic of how he saw a subject. Do not be surprised when a Four shows up at your church if they have tried churches over and over again to find the magic of how they want to experience God and themselves as a follower of Jesus.</p>
<p class="">The perceived uniqueness of a Four feeds their search for the ideal, even ideal church. If not church, the ideal vision, theology, concept of spiritual formation, or ideal sense of belonging. Belonging and being understood is huge for a four. Taking the time to get to know and appreciate both them, and their ideals, is essential to connecting them in families of faith.</p>
<h3>How Fours experience your church</h3>
<p class="">Ready for this one? Fours see your church as a <em>buffet</em>. They are looking for the things that they like to use and digest the most, as well as to discover some others that would help them grow as an individual. Another way of saying this inspired by Van Gogh is that Fours see your church as a palette with many colors to choose from that they can paint something new from. This equates to the variety of small groups, ministry teams and even potential friends that your church can offer them.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="thumb-image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1560842715929-MXR1KT10OSAMB5AQZWZ7/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJUlZr2Ql5GtSKWrQpjur5t7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UfNdxJhjhuaNor070w_QAc94zjGLGXCa1tSmDVMXf8RUVhMJRmnnhuU1v2M8fLFyJw/INSTA+POSTS+-+v1.113.jpg?format=1000w" alt="INSTA POSTS - v1.113.jpg" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1560842715929-MXR1KT10OSAMB5AQZWZ7/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJUlZr2Ql5GtSKWrQpjur5t7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UfNdxJhjhuaNor070w_QAc94zjGLGXCa1tSmDVMXf8RUVhMJRmnnhuU1v2M8fLFyJw/INSTA+POSTS+-+v1.113.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1500x1500" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="5d0891dbf52b250001f8581c" data-type="image" /></p>
<p class="">So how to you help connect with and converse with a Four without making them want to remove part of their ear? Here are the Dos and Don’ts.</p>
<h3>Dos and Don’ts for for connecting a Type Four</h3>
<h3><strong>Do:</strong> Let them explore something deeply</h3>
<p class="">They have a heard time coloring between the lines and with staying to a strict stop start date. I can remember people in my church with an artistic Four type leaning that would stay up almost the entire night with some friends decorating our church for Christmas. When I came in the morning, words fail to describe the world they created for us to experience Jesus in.</p>
<p class="">They were really just letting us into what they already saw. That is a privilege and you need to give Fours the ability to go deep and long, not just wide or to “check a box”. Again, this applies to theology, art, tasks, experiences and relationships. Know what ministries and contexts in your church have this flexibility and passion and guide them towards it.</p>
<h3><strong>Don’t:</strong> Make them feel guilty for not finishing something</h3>
<p class="">Passion ebbs and flows and so can the heart and attention of a pure Four. Allowing them to taste the buffet and not finish the meal is important here. Acknowledging their contribution to an endeavor, even though it may seem incomplete, is key. You will figure out how to leverage their contributions over time as well as how “not” to use them.</p>
<p class="">Fours are in the Shame Triad of the Enneagram and guilt along with judgement are particularly painful to them. They may avoid it, avoid church or a specific leader, or even God if it is used to lead them.</p>
<p class="">How do you lead and connect them? By remembering that they are not EGRs (Extra Grace Required). They are just GRs (Grace Required) like the rest of us. While we can getaway with brash criticism with some other types, you do not have that luxury with Fours without doing damage. Van Gogh’s ultimate suicide at age 37 is a cautionary tale not just to his own choices but also to those around him who struggled to love someone who suffered from mental illness as a Four.</p>
<p class="" data-rte-preserve-empty="true">
<h3>What is the “Superpower” of a Four on a volunteer team?</h3>
<p><img decoding="async" class="thumb-image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1561074680441-Z11NJQJBFVTPUH09H802/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJiz0-5RQxyREcUG2X9xr3pZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpxXB25TwofyowEM6_y2S9lvNGHlNQPngrDv5DttLchSN6CijSWCoS1EuT4OnDU_2Pg/vangoghgrave+.jpg?format=1000w" alt="Even though he had a wife and a new born son, Vincent’s brother Theo seemed to have trouble embracing a world without his older brother in it. Theo died at age 34." data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1561074680441-Z11NJQJBFVTPUH09H802/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJiz0-5RQxyREcUG2X9xr3pZw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpxXB25TwofyowEM6_y2S9lvNGHlNQPngrDv5DttLchSN6CijSWCoS1EuT4OnDU_2Pg/vangoghgrave+.jpg" data-image-dimensions="720x540" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="5d0c1bf6e5c5590001434e17" data-type="image" /></p>
<p class="">Even though he had a wife and a new born son, Vincent’s brother Theo seemed to have trouble embracing a world without his older brother in it. Theo died at age 34.</p>
<p class=""><em>Ideas</em>. They have them. These ideas form ideals that become guiding lights or “values” that a ministry can build on. These are common contribution of a four.</p>
<p class="">Their creativity can express itself in art. It can also express itself in creative solutions to long standing problems or even issues with people that your ministry has faced. Give them a go at it.</p>
<p class="">They are also great endorsers of authors and teachers that can become important resources to develop a ministry or a team. Wade through their bibliographies.</p>
<p class="">David Sotelo is a young adult in the photo in my introduction to this series. He is a Four. He has recommended books and that are rocking my world right now. Let Fours do that to you. They will love it and you will benefit.</p>
<p class="">Van Gogh’s life, though tragic was high impact. When he passed away, his brother Theo passed away shortly after. His older brother was a big part of his world. Fours, though unique in their perspectives and sometimes moody, offer a whole new world to the tribe that includes them. So include them. You’ll be glad you did.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="thumb-image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1560843325499-96N78UG75N8UXWS140A7/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJe4EDSGUBmXj0y0_o5vzG1Zw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpyVBK_eZYE_x1mQ00x1byCJm60mMpaSzWArE-PZzPl1KSZhJxWJT-jh7WJNkEEChtY/Cliff+Mojo.png?format=1000w" alt="Cliff Mojo.png" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1560843325499-96N78UG75N8UXWS140A7/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJe4EDSGUBmXj0y0_o5vzG1Zw-zPPgdn4jUwVcJE1ZvWQUxwkmyExglNqGp0IvTJZUJFbgE-7XRK3dMEBRBhUpyVBK_eZYE_x1mQ00x1byCJm60mMpaSzWArE-PZzPl1KSZhJxWJT-jh7WJNkEEChtY/Cliff+Mojo.png" data-image-dimensions="702x272" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="5d08943b23ffb70001a022b8" data-type="image" /></p>
<p class="">Does your assimilation strategy (and church culture for that matter) have the flexibility for someone to not finish something and yet still have opportunities to serve and be valued?</p>
<p class="">Does your church have small groups that could be categorized as “special interest” groups where people who have a passion for a niche area of theology, art, or ways of looking at things (i.e. the Enneagram) can be explored more deeply?</p>
<p class="">Tell a story of someone you suspect is a four that found a meaningful ministry role at your church. Tell a story of a Four that was a challenge to assimilate. What are the “whys and hows” behind each story?</p>
<p class="">It there a place at your church where a Four could share their perspective and ideas without having to be the one to implement them? Where are good brain storming and evaluation opportunities that Fours could share their unique take on things and benefit the development of ministry at your church?</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="thumb-image" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1560843598851-UTZ2R0IXOM2UV9WDCY4F/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJUlZr2Ql5GtSKWrQpjur5t7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UfNdxJhjhuaNor070w_QAc94zjGLGXCa1tSmDVMXf8RUVhMJRmnnhuU1v2M8fLFyJw/INSTA+POSTS+-+v1.14.jpg?format=1000w" alt="INSTA POSTS - v1.14.jpg" data-image="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551d997ee4b0277cf3856ee6/1560843598851-UTZ2R0IXOM2UV9WDCY4F/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kJUlZr2Ql5GtSKWrQpjur5t7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z5QPOohDIaIeljMHgDF5CVlOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1UfNdxJhjhuaNor070w_QAc94zjGLGXCa1tSmDVMXf8RUVhMJRmnnhuU1v2M8fLFyJw/INSTA+POSTS+-+v1.14.jpg" data-image-dimensions="1500x1500" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="5d08954d99ac680001f452fc" data-type="image" /></p>
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<p>Source: <a href="https://www.gregcurtis-assimilation.com/blog/2019/6/17/how-a-type-4-on-the-enneagram-experiences-your-church-and-how-to-connect-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-wplink-edit="true">How a Type 4 on the Enneagram experiences your church and how to connect them</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/how-a-type-4-on-the-enneagram-experiences-your-church-and-how-to-connect-them/">How a Type 4 on the Enneagram experiences your church and how to connect them</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
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		<title>5 Emotions First-time Guests Feel When They Arrive at Your Church</title>
		<link>https://church-planting.net/5-emotions-first-time-guests-feel-when-they-arrive-at-your-church-unseminary/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Patrick Bradley]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Nov 2018 10:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Assimilation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[emotions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first-time guest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[followup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[motivators]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[processes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://unseminary.com/5-emotions-first-time-guests-feel-when-they-arrive-at-your-church/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/unseminary_logo.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.unseminary.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div>
<p>by Rich Birch: Have you ever watched people arrive on Sunday morning at your church and wondered what they’re feeling in that moment? We know that feelings and emotions are incredibly powerful motivators and memory-makers. In fact, studies have proven that we make more decisions based on emotion rather than [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/5-emotions-first-time-guests-feel-when-they-arrive-at-your-church-unseminary/">5 Emotions First-time Guests Feel When They Arrive at Your Church</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/unseminary_logo.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.unseminary.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div><p>by Rich Birch: Have you ever watched people arrive on Sunday morning at your church and wondered what they’re feeling in that moment?</p>
<p>We know that feelings and emotions are incredibly powerful motivators and memory-makers. In fact, <a href="https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?q=emotions+drive+decisions+studies&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0&amp;as_vis=1&amp;oi=scholart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">studies have proven that</a> we make more decisions based on emotion rather than logic.</p>
<p>This is especially true when we think about people’s reactions to discussions of faith and religion. It’s an emotionally charged topic; similarly, people experience a wide variety of emotions when they visit a church for the first time.</p>
<p>It has often been said that polite conversation excludes both religion and politics, although we seem to live in a day that has discarded the idea of avoiding political conversations. The underlying concept of this “polite conversation” rule deals with the fact that people prefer to avoid emotional conversations, and religion certainly brings emotion to the surface. That being said, part of what we need to do is to understand the emotions people feel when they show up on a Sunday morning and to be able to respond by caring for and meeting people where they’re at in life. Our churches need to be first-time guest obsessed.</p>
<p>Here are five emotions first-time guests likely feel when they’re arriving at your church. I’d love to hear your thoughts, observations, and reflections on this topic in the comments below.</p>
<p>&#8230;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://unseminary.com/5-emotions-first-time-guests-feel-when-they-arrive-at-your-church/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5 Emotions First-time Guests Feel When They Arrive at Your Church – unSeminary</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/5-emotions-first-time-guests-feel-when-they-arrive-at-your-church-unseminary/">5 Emotions First-time Guests Feel When They Arrive at Your Church</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
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		<title>7 Best Practices of First-time Guest Gifts at Your Church &#8211; unSeminary</title>
		<link>https://church-planting.net/7-best-practices-of-first-time-guest-gifts-at-your-church-unseminary/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Patrick Bradley]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Nov 2018 09:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Assimilation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ministry Teams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family ministry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first-time guest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[followup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gifts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[guests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[new here]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://unseminary.com/7-best-practices-of-first-time-guest-gifts-at-your-church/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/unseminary_logo.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.unseminary.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div>
<p>by Rich Birch: Are you leveraging your first-time guest gifts effectively enough to move people from being guests to fully connected members of your church? I hope so, because this is an important piece of the connection timeframe; in fact, it’s a critical point in the eight phases of moving [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/7-best-practices-of-first-time-guest-gifts-at-your-church-unseminary/">7 Best Practices of First-time Guest Gifts at Your Church &#8211; unSeminary</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/unseminary_logo.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.unseminary.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div><p>by Rich Birch: Are you leveraging your first-time guest gifts effectively enough to move people from being guests to fully connected members of your church?</p>
<p>I hope so, because this is an important piece of the connection timeframe; in fact, it’s a critical point in the <a href="https://unseminary.com/8-phases-of-moving-guests-from-anonymity-to-community-at-your-church/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eight phases of moving anonymous guests towards full community.</a></p>
<p>Everyone loves getting gifts upon arrival somewhere, whether it’s at a home or when visiting somewhere new. These guest gifts are not solely a gesture of kindness; they also help us collect vital contact information so that we can follow up with those that visit our church for the first time. At the most basic level, we should follow this approach:</p>
<p>We introduce the offer of a gift during our services (maybe we post it on the screens or in the bulletins).<br />
We offer the gift as a way to thank first-time guests for their visit, and we ask them to fill out a contact card when they accept their gift so we can stay connected with them.</p>
<p>When done well, this is a way to both acknowledge and thank the guests who come. Think about it this way: we can all remember a time when we went over to a friend’s house when we thought we were supposed to show up, and while our friend invited us in, it was obvious that they didn’t expect us at all. As a church, we don’t ever want our guests to feel as if they are unexpected. The first-time guest gifts are a way to show people that we both expected them and that we’re thankful they’re with us.</p>
<p>&#8230;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://unseminary.com/7-best-practices-of-first-time-guest-gifts-at-your-church/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7 Best Practices of First-time Guest Gifts at Your Church – unSeminary</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/7-best-practices-of-first-time-guest-gifts-at-your-church-unseminary/">7 Best Practices of First-time Guest Gifts at Your Church &#8211; unSeminary</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
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		<title>7 Other Weekend Metrics Church Leaders Should Study Regularly</title>
		<link>https://church-planting.net/7-other-weekend-metrics-church-leaders-should-study-regularly-unseminary/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Patrick Bradley]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Oct 2018 09:00:05 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Assimilation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Children]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Launch Team]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leadership]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ministry Teams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Worship Planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church dashboard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church metrics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coffee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first-time guest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kids to adults ratio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[next steps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[volunteers]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://unseminary.com/7-other-weekend-metrics-church-leaders-should-study-regularly/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/unseminary_logo.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.unseminary.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div>
<p>by Rich Birch: Too often, church leaders only pay attention to weekend attendance and revenue patterns at their churches. Sometimes these numbers are referred to as “nickels and noses” or maybe the slightly more vulgar “butts and bucks.” However, there are many other factors to consider if we’re trying to [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/7-other-weekend-metrics-church-leaders-should-study-regularly-unseminary/">7 Other Weekend Metrics Church Leaders Should Study Regularly</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/unseminary_logo.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.unseminary.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div><p>by Rich Birch: Too often, church leaders only pay attention to weekend attendance and revenue patterns at their churches. Sometimes these numbers are referred to as “nickels and noses” or maybe the slightly more vulgar “butts and bucks.” However, there are many other factors to consider if we’re trying to understand what’s really happening inside our churches.</p>
<p>Attendance and revenue numbers are limited indicators; they are simply the result of other things taking place. To have a true understanding of how our churches are growing, we need to dive into leading indicators.</p>
<p>Leading indicators are numbers that demonstrate what’s happening under the hood of your church and reveal the direction it’s heading.</p>
<p>We measure and study those numbers because we believe that if we focus on measuring, we will see a greater difference in the lives of the people in our church and in the community that we serve. It’s been said that what we measure is what really matters to us. If we consistently only report on attendance and revenue numbers, then we send a subtle message to our leadership team that at the end of the day the only thing we care about are bigger numbers and more money.</p>
<p>We also need to move beyond how we <i>feel </i>about what’s happening at our church and look at the <i>truth</i> of the situation. Part of being a leader is defining reality, and numbers have a way of both doing that and sobering leaders in the process. Too many times I’ve heard church leaders talk about how they feel about what’s happening in their churches, but those feelings aren’t connected to reality in any way. Instead, we should be looking at numbers that reflect the truth about what’s actually happening at church.</p>
<p>An executive pastor or key team member should undertake the important practice of examining these numbers on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis. Keeping these metrics in front of your people can help the church develop strategies and approaches that drive your church to be more effective. Prevailing churches often have dashboards that they generate internally and distribute (via email or through other reporting mechanisms) that present these numbers graphically in order to keep people who aren’t interested in spreadsheets keyed in on what’s happening at the church.</p>
<p>The question for us is what numbers should we be looking at outside of attendance and revenue? Here are seven other areas that you can regularly study to help you understand what’s taking place in your ministry.</p>
<h2>New-here Guests</h2>
<p>When a church leader talks to me about growth, I frequently find myself asking them about their new guest numbers. Understanding the ratio of new-here guests to your total average attendance can provide a clearer picture of what’s happening from an evangelistic perspective. This important indicator demonstrates whether or not the church is drawing in new people on a regular basis.</p>
<p>A good rule of thumb to follow is this: The yearly average number of new-here guests should be equal to the average number of regular attendees on a single Sunday at your church.</p>
<p>Example 1: If your church averages 200 people on a Sunday, then every weekend you should be averaging about four guests per weekend.</p>
<p>Example 2: If your church has 500 people in attendance on a regular basis, then every weekend it would be reasonable for you to see 10 new guests.</p>
<p>If your church typically averages less than that ratio, it could be that your new-here process isn’t robust enough or you’re not effectively gathering information from your new-here guests to get them connected. Likewise, it could be that <a href="https://unseminary.com/7-early-warning-signs-that-your-church-has-a-front-door-problem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">your front door simply isn’t wide enough</a> and that you need to spend more time reaching out to your community.</p>
<h2>Year-to-year Growth</h2>
<p>I’m constantly surprised that many church leadership teams fail to reflect on what their regular attendance was a year ago in comparison to today. This is a relatively simple way to see what’s happening in the life of your church. By comparing numbers from year to year, you can quickly get a sense of the momentum that has been gained or lost in your church over the last year.</p>
<p>I suspect many churches don’t report their year-to-year attendance numbers because they’re concerned that it will show that their church has flatlined or is in decline. However, keeping that number in front of leaders will force people to ask, what are we doing to reach more people this year than we did last year? If, in a worst case scenario, your church is in decline, ask yourself, “why aren’t we growing, and why aren’t we impacting more people than we did at this point last year?”</p>
<h2>Percentage of Volunteers</h2>
<p>This is an important health metric for the church. In fact, I see this number as a core reflection of growth and potential for the future of a church. Oftentimes, churches that have plateaued or are in decline see somewhere around 20% of their people serving on a regular basis. You’ve heard the old adage that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Well, that’s not a good percentage ratio for your church.</p>
<p>Engagement is critically important to a growing church and ensuring that your community has a high percentage of people serving regularly is an important factor that ensures engagement is possible. <a href="https://theunstuckgroup.com/2017/02/church-volunteers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tony Morgan states that 45% of your adults</a> need to be serving in one way or another. This percentage is relatively consistent with numbers I’ve seen in growing churches; on any given weekend, 30% of the adults are volunteering in one way or another.</p>
<p>Let’s do the math: if your church had 300 people in attendance last weekend, it would be reasonable and appropriate to see 100 people serving next weekend.</p>
<p>What that number of volunteers does is provide a high level of service for your guests by aiding and driving growth. Volunteer percentage is a critically important piece of the puzzle that is necessary for us to understand what’s happening in the lives of our churches.</p>
<h2>First-time Volunteers</h2>
<p>An even more granular number to look at is the inflow of volunteers that serve on a regular basis. If you are not seeing a consistent increase in the number of people volunteering, it is clear something is happening to stunt engagement and the future health of your church.</p>
<p>If your volunteer influx reaches zero, you have a pipeline problem that you will not necessarily feel the pain of today but certainly will in six months to a year. In fact, by the time you feel that zero new volunteers are serving, it’s too late, and you’ve already entered into a volunteer engagement crisis that is difficult to recover from.</p>
<p>Ask yourself this question: how many first-time volunteers have we had in the past, how many do we have today, and is that number growing? If you’re averaging one new first-time volunteer every weekend, the question becomes how can you increase that percentage in the coming year? The trajectory of this number is more important than the absolute number.</p>
<h2>Next-steps Indicators</h2>
<p>Are people responding to what’s happening in the life of your church? Is there tangible evidence that the ministry is making a difference in people’s lives? Are people taking steps closer to Jesus? Where in the life of your church can you see new spiritual development? Are people signing up for your new believers’ class? What are the baptism numbers this year?</p>
<p>Finding a way to track next-steps indicators is an important way to examine the softer side of our ministry. Again, if these numbers atrophy, it’s an indicator that we need to change and adjust what we’re doing. We won’t feel the pain right away, but a year or two down the road our ministry will stall and begin to recede.</p>
<h2>Gallons of Coffee Drank</h2>
<p>This one’s a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but I do think there’s something important about trying to quantify and track community that’s taking place at your church. I know for us, offering coffee after our services provides a quantifiable number that shows how many people slowed down to talk to each other on a Sunday morning. If people aren’t taking the time to interact with one another, it indicates that we have a larger community problem.</p>
<p>While I understand that gathering in small groups develops a greater sense of community than a Sunday morning gathering, we don’t want our Sunday mornings to feel like a show. We don’t want people to arrive and feel so rushed to leave that they can’t slow down, grab a coffee, and talk with members of their church family. So, while gallons of coffee drank may seem like a funny metric to keep an eye on, the question I would have for you is what are some other ways that you could quantify community happening within your church on a Sunday morning?</p>
<h2>Kids to Adults Ratio</h2>
<p>Looking at the broader impact of your church, we need to consider how we’re reaching the next generation. Churches that are impacting their community are obsessed with reaching the next generation. They spend a lot of time, effort, and energy on reaching young people and getting them connected to the church. They spend resources to ensure these ministries are led and funded well and that should translate into regular interactions with the kids.</p>
<p>I’ve spoken with a number of church leaders whose churches are in the final gasps of death, and one commonality between all those conversations is an expressed sadness over the fact that there are no kids left in the church, that the Sunday school or kids’ ministry is sitting empty. Keeping a close eye on this ratio over time will give you a sense of the long-term trajectory of your church.</p>
<p><a href="https://tonymorganlive.com/2013/07/24/measuring-church-health-how-many-kids-will-attend/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tony Morgan states that 20% of your community needs to be reflected in your kids’ ministry</a>. I’ve seen these numbers grow as high as 30%, or even close to 40% in some churches, which (to me) represents a healthy future. It says that this church is attracting young families and people who are in some of the most important decision-making times of their lives. In fact, 50% of all people who make decisions for Christ do so before the age of 13; as such, our churches need to think clearly about how we’re reaching and affecting the next generation.</p>
<h2>What are some other numbers you’re tracking?</h2>
<p>Looking just at “nickels and noses” gives you a flat indication of what’s happening in the life of your church. Taking a step back and looking at these other indicators gives you a fuller picture of what’s happening in the life of your church. It’s the difference between a black and white picture and a 3-D image.</p>
<p>What other metrics are you tracking in your church? How are you getting these metrics in front of people? What ways should you be presenting these numbers so that they tell the story about what God is doing in the life of your church? Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God. Tracking numbers is ultimately about getting a clear picture of what God is doing in the life of people in our community.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://unseminary.com/wp-content/uploads/7_Other_Weekend_Metrics_Church_Leaders_Should_Study_Regularly-compressed.pdf"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9597" src="https://i1.wp.com/unseminary.com/wp-content/uploads/7_Other_Weekend_Metrics_Church_Leaders_Should_Study_Regularly.jpg?resize=273,300&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="273" height="300" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://unseminary.com/wp-content/uploads/7_Other_Weekend_Metrics_Church_Leaders_Should_Study_Regularly-compressed.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Download PDF Article</strong></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://unseminary.com/7-other-weekend-metrics-church-leaders-should-study-regularly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7 Other Weekend Metrics Church Leaders Should Study Regularly – unSeminary</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/7-other-weekend-metrics-church-leaders-should-study-regularly-unseminary/">7 Other Weekend Metrics Church Leaders Should Study Regularly</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
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		<title>7 Early Warning Signs That Your Church Has A “Front Door” Problem</title>
		<link>https://church-planting.net/7-early-warning-signs-that-your-church-has-a-front-door-problem-unseminary/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Patrick Bradley]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Oct 2018 09:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Assimilation]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://unseminary.com/7-early-warning-signs-that-your-church-has-a-front-door-problem/</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/unseminary_logo.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.unseminary.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div>
<p>by Rich Birch: How do you know if you aren’t attracting enough people to your church? If your church has plateaued or is in decline, is the problem that you’re not attracting enough visitors or that you aren’t keeping those who are already attending? What signs will lead you to [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/7-early-warning-signs-that-your-church-has-a-front-door-problem-unseminary/">7 Early Warning Signs That Your Church Has A “Front Door” Problem</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="250" height="250" src="https://church-planting.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/unseminary_logo.png" class="attachment-full size-full wp-post-image" alt="www.unseminary.com" id="featured-image" style="margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /></div><p>by Rich Birch: How do you know if you aren’t attracting enough people to your church?</p>
<p>If your church has plateaued or is in decline, is the problem that you’re not attracting enough visitors or that you aren’t keeping those who are already attending? What signs will lead you to discover the problem?</p>
<p>The debate between front door problems and back door problems in church leadership has raged for years. Before we move ahead, let’s set some working definitions for what we mean by front door and back door:</p>
<p>The front door: Our ability to attract new visitors to our church.</p>
<p>Every growing church needs to attract a healthy flow of new visitors on a consistent basis.</p>
<p>The back door: Our systems, approaches, and community that enable people to stay at churches long term.</p>
<p>Growing, healthy churches have consistent methods for helping first-time guests become active parts of the community; however, how does one diagnose the problem between the front door and the back door?</p>
<p>Over the years of talking to vast numbers of church leaders, I’m convinced that we all naturally consider growth problems at our churches as back door problems. We got into ministry because we wanted to care for others, and we are typically community-minded individuals. Therefore, we think that if we just get more people plugged in, our churches will grow.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">&#8230;</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://unseminary.com/7-early-warning-signs-that-your-church-has-a-front-door-problem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7 Early Warning Signs That Your Church Has A “Front Door” Problem – unSeminary</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://church-planting.net/7-early-warning-signs-that-your-church-has-a-front-door-problem-unseminary/">7 Early Warning Signs That Your Church Has A “Front Door” Problem</a> appeared first on <a href="https://church-planting.net">Passion for Planting</a>.</p>
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