Monthly Archive for March, 2009

iMAX tool launches at Christ Fellowship this weekend. GREAT next step tool for assimilating new folks into small group community leveraging the weekend experience and teaching time as a springboard for community/belonging.

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on March 15, 2009
in Community
. 0 Comments

You want to talk about tools for building Community.  Check out the new tool we launched this weekend at Christ Fellowship.  The iMAX Guide is a great next step tool.

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Maximize the Message (iMax)

The IMAX Guide is designed to bring your faith to life! You can use it individually, as a family devotional, or in a group with your friends. It’s up to you! These guides will help you take the message to the max so you can Grow to Go!

Each week, there will be a new guide based on the most recent weekend message. You can download your copy or pick it up at Life Group Central right after the service you attend.

Ways you can use this tool:

  • Meet with friends after the service you attend to unpack the message together
  • Gather with a friend or family at a local café to talk about how the message impacted you
  • Use during your personal devotional times throughout the week • Initiate spiritual conversations with your family about the message
  • Use the guides as the curriculum in your life group
  • Ask a couple friends to go through a message series with you so you can discover, develop, and deploy God’s Word in your lives
  • Tips for Life Group Discussion

Share Your Story

How has God touched your life during your time spent using these guides? We’d love to know so that we can pray for you and encourage others in their faith. Let us know how has helped you in your group by using our online contact form.

Intentional Assimilation

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on March 12, 2009
in Communication, Community, Connection and Contribution
. 0 Comments

I was dialoging several thoughts with my Rockbridge Seminary class in the past few days when someone asked if I’d give them a thirty thousand foot view of how I might see “intentional assimilation”.  I wrote this little ‘ditty’ in 10 minutes so I’m sure it has room for improvement; however, see what you might learn from it that will help your church.

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Intentional Assimilation begins long before the weekend experience and goes on for days, weeks, and months after the initial encounter.  Consider what it might mean to your church if you looked at the following areas of assimilation and how would it change what you currently do.

1.    Communication

Assimilation for new comers begins with a communication strategy that includes oral, print, broadcast, and digital media.  Rex Miller writes a great book on Millennium Matrix.  A must read for leverage every platform available to communicate who we are and how you can belong here.  This begins with members of the congregation engaging their community personally telling life-changing stories.

2.    Connection

Touch points are huge!  These are the “street to the seat” type issues from signage packages around your campuses to, traffic volunteers, greeters, Welcome Center hosts, ushers, EMS teams, Security, etc…  Leveraging every opportunity to take someone by the hand through his or her entire first impression experience.

This might also include welcome packets, new believer kits, brochures about ministries, coffees, luncheons, etc…

3.    Contribution

Although not talked about enough the key to retention of guests is retention of good volunteers (ministry partners) in strategic touch points.  John C. Maxwell reminded me the other day of one of his old sayings, “make sure you have people with the ‘gift of ush’… ushering”.  What he means is make sure you have your best people on the front lines of engaging your folks from the curb to the cushion, the parking lot to the pew, the street to the seat…

4.    Community

Building a “Grow to Go” discipleship platform will produce huge dividends in the long term.  Develop a plan to have crawl, walk, and run steps for people.  I call this “discover, develop, deploy”.  People need to see that you have a plan for them and their families.  More to come on “Grow to Go”… a life work in the making.

Here are some ideas:
•    Response Card – ‘guest card’
o    Ask persons to complete during every service
o    Provide cards at every Welcome Center
•    Next Step Process
o    Follow-up, say the same thing and direct consistently… if multi-site, be ALIGNED…
•    101 – 2 hr orientation on fellowship (membership class – HUGE)
•    201 – 2 hr orientation on becoming like Christ – “Grow to Go”
•    301 – 2 hr orientation on how God has SHAPEd you to serve the church (Only U Can B U)
•    401 – 2 hr orientation telling your story personally, locally, and globally
•    501 – 2 hr orientation on full life surrender.
•    Small Groups – intentional growth groups meeting throughout the week
o    Truly where long term care happens

“Single most influential change in my spiritual journey 12 years ago with Daryl Eldridge.”

•    Studies – centralized and decentralized discipleship classes (life studies) that meet one of the five purposes and meet one of the three levels of learning (discover, develop, deploy)

Toss some of these ideas around in discussion and see what else you can dream up.

They know “everything” about you…

Published
by
Kerry Mackey
on March 9, 2009
in Communication
. 1 Comment

Or at least they think they know everything about you.  The truth is they only know the perception of you and your church.

For the most part the people I interview on the street use the following terms about the local church… hear them out.

  • they are so closed minded, why would I go there
  • they are a bunch of stuck up people who think they have the answer to everyone’s problems
  • it’s all about what I can do for them
  • the church is always asking for my money
  • they think they know people like me, but they don’t
  • why do they need all those buildings anyway
  • they never ask me about me, only about what they want from me
  • I tried, but no one helped me when I showed up
  • I can’t find my way around that place
  • I wouldn’t know where to park even if I showed up
  • it’s too big
  • I have tattoos, and you know what church people think about those of us with tattoos
  • church is too corporate these days, what happen to the church I once knew when I was a kid
  • if I come they will hammer me with people coming to my door, phone calls, and emails

I know that none of us want to hear these things about ourselves nor our churches, but these are the things I am hearing on the street when I ask people if they have tried church and/or their experience with a church.

You and I know that this is not the expression of Christ that He would want those He misses most to have about His church… now would He !?

Just a thought!