by Greg Curtis: I just realized…this is my last post of the decade.

It got me thinking: What do I want to close the 2000 teens with as we move into the 3rd decade of the 21st century together?

Over that last few years I have been attempting to consistently share 2 things with Sherpa-type leaders like yourself,

1st thing: Spiritual “truth dots” that once connected, can change the game of connecting others forever.

2nd thing: Practical strategies for connecting those people once they become guests at your church.

So as we close a decade of connecting people to God and each other, I have two things to share, one from each category above:

Be radically and unreasonably inclusive of others

After pondering some thoughts from Mike Breaux our teaching pastor last weekend, let me put it this way…

Let’s say you ran across a group of people who wanted to help at your church. Once you get to know them, you discover that they are from a country now dominated by radical Islam and teach others to follow astrology and practice magic to find the best way to live. Question: would you welcome them in? Give them a place in your church’s story and community?

God did.

God even used the stars the Magi followed to lead them to a house in Bethlehem so they could bring indispensable and prophetic gifts that would be used to get Mary, Jospeh and their toddler son out of the country before Jesus got killed by a paranoid dictator. There is even evidence from these gifts that they may have understood Jesus’ mission and its importance in a way that Jesus’ parents did not.

Either way, God spoke to them through the stars and led them roughly a thousand miles to Jesus. They are now a permanent part of the story of God becoming one of us, told every Christmas all over the world. Dare to believe that people different from you both culturally and spiritually are loved by God in such a way that he will be drawing them to your church in this coming decade….and be ready for them. Which is my second point.

Be ready for these people when they show up as guests to your church.

I have filled your inbox with strategies for being ready as a Sherpa to make ways for guests to ascend to new heights spiritually by belonging to your church family. With Christmas coming next week, let me introduce 2 of our Assimilation Interns-Ruby and Erik-who will show you a tip for greeting guests at your One Place after holiday services. This 2-minute video was just shared with our teams here at Eastside and I wanted to give you a chance to see it as well:

So, I’m signing off till 2020, when i will have much to share with you about…

My trip to Israel.that my wife Michelle and I get to help lead with our pastor Gene Appel. You can bet my insights in category 1 are going to be fueled by walking where Jesus walked for a good time to come.

Your church’s enneagram number and what it means for different types of guests when they encounter it.

How to be a part of a new Mastermind group with me this spring for Sherpa-types who want to reach specific goals in guest connection.

Some new attrition-busting measures we are experimenting with at my church in our Next Steps Experience (that’s our One Program for guests at Eastside).

I love our tribe of Sherpas. Safe climbing and guiding to you all this Christmas. See you in the 3rd decade of the 21st century!

PS-some hosting changes are resulting in my increasing the price of the Climbing the Assimilayas Video Course beginning January 1. Heads up for those whose budgets end Dec 31st and have wanted to get in on it at the old price.

If you want to get in on all of the above and more in 2020, let me know a little about yourself and I’ll send it straight to your inbox as soon as I post it:

Name *
Name

First Name

Last Name

Email *

Church Name *

Church Website *

Thank you!

Source: A challenge from the Christmas story and a tip on video for connecting well with your holiday guests

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by Patrick Bradley: Before your new church makes a splash with its Grand Opening, you need to run at least 3 church plant preview services.

I started learning about preview services before I even got into church planting ministry.

Many years ago, I was on staff at a bank as we opened a brand-new branch on the other side of town. We hung out a big banner that said something like, “Grand Opening on Feb 15!” But 2 weeks before the grand opening, we quietly unlocked the doors and our (very nearly) fully-trained staff served anyone brave enough to wander in.

There are lots of complex systems at a bank, and they have to work every time. The stakes are pretty high. So we practiced in a low-pressure environment with real customers and real money.

In the same way, a church plant preview service is a real worship gathering. Nelson Searcy writes, “[Preview] services give you the invaluable opportunity to test-drive your systems, your staff, and even your service style. At the same time, you are doing real ministry with the people who attend. These services should look as much like your weekly services will look as possible.”1

You generally don’t advertise the Preview Services to the general public. At least not with the same kind of dollars you’ll spend announcing the Grand Opening. But they are open the public, so encourage your Launch Team to invite everyone they know.

What a Church Plant Preview Service Accomplishes

There are lots of benefits to holding preview services:

ministry teams get to practicetests your systems to see what breaks or is missingyour people get to taste what it’s going to be like (and get excited)it’s a handy reason/event for your Launch Team to invite people tobuilds momentum and spreads word-of-mouth

Strategic Timing for Church Plant Preview Services

I’m not sure there’s a magic formula for how many and how frequently to hold your church plant preview services. But you need to plan several.

Searcy recommends 4 to 6 monthly preview services2. Stephen Gray’s research from 2007 showed that, “Almost 70 percent of struggling church plants held three or fewer preview services prior to public launch.”3

Here are some some common approaches leading up to the Grand Opening Sunday:

Monthly Every 3 weeksEvery-other week

Doing your church plant preview services every 2 weeks gives almost no time for comeback events. You have to simultaneously plan and make changes for the next preview. But sometimes a facility issue or other difficulty forces your hand.

Landmine Dates

There are some dates that pepper your pre-launch calendar that have to be navigated.

If you’re launching in the spring, watch out for:

your local schools’ spring break2nd Sunday in March (daylight savings, the one where people come late)Super Bowl Sunday (though some argue this is a great day to preview or even launch a church gathering)3-day weekends like President’s Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

If you’re launching in the fall, watch out for:

your local school calendar if it’s year-round or modified traditional (there may be a week-long break in early October)Labor DayIndependence DayFather’s Daylocal high school graduations and onset of vacation season

Fall 2019 Church Plant Preview Service Dates

If you’ve already decided on a fall launch, let’s get super-practical and look at real calendar dates based on the 2 most common Launch Sundays:

September 8 Grand Opening

Monthly previews might look like: Aug 11, July 14, June 23, May 19

Tri-weekly previews might look like: Aug 18, July 28, July 7 (caution!), June 16 (caution!)

Bi-weekly previews (caution!) might look like: Aug 25, Aug 11, July 28, July 14

October 6 Grand Opening

Monthly previews might look like: Sep 8, Aug 11, July 14, June 23

Tri-weekly previews might look like: Sep 15, Aug 25, Aug 4, July 14

Bi-weekly previews (caution!) might look like: Sep 22, Sep 8, Aug 25, Aug 11

1 Searcy, Nelson. Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch (p. 128). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.2 Searcy, Nelson. Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch (p. 127). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.3 Gray, Stephen. Planting Fast-Growing Churches (p. 114). ChurchSmart Resources, 2007.

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Source: What is a Church Plant Preview Service?

The post What is a Church Plant Preview Service? appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Patrick Bradley: Having your team post online church ratings could make the difference between whether someone decides to visit your church gatherings or not.

Have you ever looked up ratings for restaurants or contractors online? I have. I want to know something about the reputation and track record of that establishment before I go any further.

Why to Post Online Church Ratings

If you’re someone with little or no church background and something ignites your spiritual curiosity enough to visit a church, wouldn’t you check out the church first? And in today’s social media & democracy-of-the-internet world, the public’s reviews and ratings carry more weight than an institution proclaiming its own greatness.

But there’s an added bonus to having your people post online church ratings – it will increase the church’s website page rank when people are searching online for churches in your area. Your team’s reviews help legitimize the church plant’s new website and your church’s listings on important directories that people use to find stuff.

Lastly, you need to load up the positive ratings to offset the inevitable bad review. As much as possible, respond promptly to negative reviews with grace and love. Those reviews can’t be removed, but it goes a long way to let people know you’re listening and that you care.

I recently heard of an established church that have never though to post online church ratings. They discovered that on Yelp there was already (and only) one review that had been posted at least 2 years prior. And it was a nasty thrashing of a review. How many people decided not to come to their worship gatherings because of that review?

Where to Post Online Church Ratings

There are probably dozens to choose from, but I’d concentrate on the following review/rating sites. You’ll get the most bang for your buck:

Google Maps
Bing Maps
Yelp
Your church’s Facebook Page
ChurchFinder

Is your church plant not already listed on these sites? Stay tuned for some tips on how to get that done quickly and painlessly!

What to Post

When you invite people from your Launch Team to post online church reviews, encourage them to rate the church and leave a brief, honest story about their experience so far.

But also encourage them to focus on the relational dimension: friendships, welcoming environment, felt right at home, etc. By and large, people considering visiting a new church are looking for human connection and community.

Be cautious about having the same 5 reviews by the same people on each of the sites above. That would appear obviously stacked. And a little creepy.

Keep leaning on this until you have at least 5-6 reviews on each site above. It could make all the difference in the world to someone who’s on the fence about coming to your church worship gathering!

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Source: Get Your People to Post Online Church Ratings

The post Get Your People to Post Online Church Ratings appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Patrick Bradley: Planting a church is about building relationships, and many friendships start online these days. Here are 3 online ideas for connecting in your community.

So many of us are living in ever-growing metros and densely-populated areas, and yet we seem to have never felt so isolated and alone. Use all the tools at your disposal to meet people where they’re at and be good news in your community.

1. Community-Based Facebook Groups

Start exploring Facebook for local groups where you might be able to strike up a conversation or friendship. In my small suburb on the fringe of a big metro, there are groups for:

good neighbors of [name of town]
[name of town] 411
[name of town] neighborhood watch
[name of town] community discussion
[name of metro] beer enthusiasts club
[local river] fishing page
[name of town] moms and kids
…and too many more to list

2. Meetup

Find interest or cause-based groups on Meetup.com to get together with people either online or in person. I found everything I could think of and then a bunch more:

outdoors & adventure
cooking
food sensitivities
music
software coding
learning languages
…again, too many to list

Do what you love and make friends along the way!

3. NextDoor

I’m surprised more of us haven’t heard of this one yet. NextDoor.com is billed as “the private social network for your neighborhood”. When you join, you get connected with other users within a certain distance of your address.

You have to verify your address and use your real name to lower the threat of trolls and stalkers. If you’re an early adopter in your neighborhood, they send actual snail mail invitations to your neighbors with an invitation code.

But this may create the opportunity to learn that one neighbor’s name & story, you know the one that rolls right into the garage when they get home and never provide a chance to bump into them? Those online introductions could turn into real-life neighborhood connections, block parties, whatever.

What are the ways you’ve made new friends starting online? Share a story or tool over on social media!:

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Source: 3 Online Ideas for Connecting in Your Community

The post 3 Online Ideas for Connecting in Your Community appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Church sub-calendars are a great way to keep everything organized at your church. Setting them up is relatively easy and it solves the following 3 problems.

Whether or not you’re a program-driven church, there are things that happen in the life of your church each year. Keeping them all straight is important.

If you use your church management software for the master church calendar, you’ll probably accomplish creating church sub-calendars by using different admin groups.

If you use a Google calendar, simply click the dropdown arrow next to My calendars in the left-hand column and choose create new calendar for each one of the church sub-calendars below.

Other calendar systems typically have similar functionality.

Consider Your Audience

The main reason for creating church sub-calendars is to ‘control’ who sees what. A church admin or senior leader needs to see everything, but that can be totally overwhelming for someone checking out the website.

Or seeing everything could be totally inappropriate – the date & time of the next staff performance review for your worship leader isn’t really everybody’s business.

Create these 12 church sub-calendars so that every church event rolls up into one master church calendar:

Prayer Team: prayer events; reminders to send updates
Fundraising: appointments; desserts or other events; reminders to send thank yous, etc
Finances & Governance: annual budget preparation season; quarterly and annual Board meetings; annual report filing deadlines
Discipleship/Small Groups: dates & times of small group meetings; leader training events
Networking: appointments with civic leaders; reminders to follow up
Community Service: events; planning meetings
Marketing & Outreach: events/festivals; design & publication deadlines; online campaign run dates; etc
Staffing: performance reviews; job interview dates
Leadership & Training: retreats; leadership meetings; conferences
Communications (Internal): newsletters; social media posts;  serving schedule publication dates
Preaching & Creative Team: sermon calendar; production deadlines; planning meetings
Assimilation & Membership: discovery classes; membership classes; etc

As your people create each calendar event, they just have to decide which church sub-calendar it belongs to.

You as the leader should be able to turn the sub-calendars on or off in your master calendar view so that you can see one, some or all of the sub-calendars at once. That way you can focus on just one, or see them all so you can…

Prevent Double-Booking

Once your church is up and running, it’s crazy how many times different teams will book events at the exact same time. It’s tough for a guitar-playing dad to be at band practice and the youth group parent meeting at the same time.

This becomes even more important for churches that have a 24/7 facility and have to manage who’s using which room which night.

Having sub-calendars roll up to one master calendar also helps you…

Prevent Over-Booking

Maybe you think you haven’t created an event-driven church. But once you overlay all the church sub-calendars above, what does that tell you about how busy you’re asking people to be? Setting a reasonable pace for your leaders and your congregation is easier if you have the raw data in front of you.

Use church sub-calendars as a handy tool to keep the goings-on at your church well-organized and available to the right audience.

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Source: 12 Church Sub-Calendars You Need Today

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