Interestingly enough most of the time we out think ourselves when it comes to first impressions. I’ve been guilty.
Early in my ministry I didn’t spent enough time thinking through the way outsiders saw the church and it truly cost me in helping others take a next step.
Around the ten year mark I probably spent too much time thinking through every possible scenario… probably talked myself out of some really great ideas.
In the past 5 years I’ve come to a place of balance in my approach making good, sound first impressions that have substance…
Remember, don’t out think your common sense when it comes to making a good first impression.
Just a thought !
Too often in the local church we fail to make tough decisions about errors we find in print. It’s late on a Tuesday afternoon. All copy was to be to the printer by 3:00 p.m. to be ready for the upcoming weekend. We deliver it at 2:59:59 p.m. to our Communications Director or whomever is in charge of printing for the weekend. We think our job is done. Then Friday afternoon comes and the bulletins, worship guides, preschool/children’s worksheets, youth handouts… whatever it may be comes back from the printer.
The print is delivered to our office for distribution late on Friday afternoon. We decide to read through it just to see how it reads now that it is back from print. And there it is… a spelling error, a typo, incorrect date, a grammatical error, an indent error, or run on sentence.
What do you do?
Too often I find that most will chalk it up and say, “Oh well, they’ll never see it” or “I’ll correct it when I do announcements”. WRONG… they will see it, and they are not listening to your announcements. If your lucky they will not post it to ever social media outlet on the planet or be seen as a newspaper clipping that Jay Leno reads to the world on late night TV.
If you see it… they see it.
Companies pull last minute print pieces all the time due to errors. They understand the importance of a great impression and the lack of excellence when print goes out with known errors.
Let me encourage you that when you find an error even at the final hour… PULL IT.
Over the past 15 years of being a Pastor I’ve learned a few things (and some the hard way) about having the right tools at ones disposal. And being an old country boy like myself it is also a world of help if you know how to use the tools you have. If you know me then you know my truck carries an array of tools, as you never know what you might need and/or when. If my truck were bigger, so would be my toolbox.
So it is with leading… your toolbox needs to carry in it at least one tool for every situation. And if your toolbox doesn’t, then you had better have access to a buddies toolbox within arms reach.
When you look at this through the lens of “first impressions” it helps to have a toolbox that has 4 compartments to it.
1. Communication - these are the tools you need for effectively communicating with your community and the congregation. Consider a balance approach… oral, print, broadcast, and digital. Have an internal strategy and an external one as well.
2. Connection - these are the tools for making first impressions count… such as touch points from signage, traffic, greeters, welcome centers, hosts, ushers, health care ministry, security, ministry resources, hospitality areas, etc… These provide a warm, inviting environment where people feel safe.
3. Contributors - these are not tools at all, but people and a pool of them that you have developed over time. These are people that you have invested in, loved on, enlisted, trained and are ready and eager to serve Jesus by serving the first impressions team of your church. And never tell someone you don’t need them and/or that the positions on that team are full… Your teams are never full. VALUE your volunteers.
4. Community - these are tools for helping people choosing Christ and take a step of belonging with the church family. It can start with a connection card, a follow-up call, an email, a prayer list, a new believer class, a meet/greet with the pastor, small groups, discipleship class, retreat, conference, etc… These are the tools that help persons take another step in the right direction. This is where we help them Become, Embrace, Live, Offer, Nurture, and Grow…
I love that God has wired me to be a thinker and I enjoy being a communicator, developer, strategist and organizer. I hope that with the bandwidth God is providing me with to help pastors, church leaders, denominations, and associations to impact their community for Jesus that I can be of service to you by providing a Healthy Church Consultation.
I’d love to talk with you about how we can evaluate these 4 keep areas of your church.
I recall a church I was consulting with back a couple of years ago that had a sign above an exterior door that led from their main parking lot to the worship center. It was a white sign with great big black letters that hung above the door and read,
Guest Entrance only
Now I don’t know about you, but if I were a first time guest you wouldn’t find me entering that door. Not to mention the door was solid wood, it was closed, and there was no window in it…. no greeter… nor any traffic moving in and out. If I were someone unfamiliar with church and/or your church the last door you’d see me entering would be a closed, solid wood door at the back of your building… Who knows what’s going on on the other side of that door. There could be holy people wanting to lay hands on me, sprinkle me with water, give me the holy spirit, pray with me, throw a bible my way, weird stuff could be going on behind a solid wood door that only “guest”s can enter.
And if that weren’t enough, everyone else entering from the same parking lot was entering a set of double glass doors about 75 feet away that had greeters, glass, and the doors were open. Through the glass doors you could see the foyer, people laughing, kids playing, etc… You could see life through double glass doors.
You never know how something like this affects others until another set of eyes helps you see it.
We’d love to help your church see more clearly. Please give us a call to set up your consultation.
One of my greatest learning’s in ministry over the past 15 years is to always ask the question, “Why”? If someone is afraid of answering the why questions of leadership for you, then there are other things lying around that they are just as uncomfortable answering.
I heard this poem again this week and I wonder what it would have been like if only one would have asked, “why”?
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1.Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
“Charge for the guns!” he said:
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
2.”Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew Someone had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
3.Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.
4.Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre stroke Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred.
5.Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.
6.When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made! All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred.
Copied from Poems of Alfred Tennyson,
J. E. Tilton and Company, Boston, 1870
I don’t recommend living by the three most famous lines in this poem, “Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die:” If you are to lead and/or follow…. Ask why? It will help you regardless of the situation you find yourself in.
Here is a brief look at how we might be able to serve you. Please do not hesitate to call (949) 682-5887 or email kerry@streettotheseat.com to book a healthy church consultation.
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Many options are available to serve you from phone consultations to on site consultation. We provide communication, coaching, & consulting to pastors, churches, denominations, and associations in the areas of:
1. Evaluation of Systems and Structures for health and balance around the purposes of the Bible.
provision of an in-depth look into how you have organized your staff; as well as, your volunteer personnel. Including how it meets your mission/vision and goals you have set for your church and/or organization
a comprehensive assessment of systems that you have in place, their effectiveness and recommendations for health and growth
2. Leadership development for pastors, staff, and lay leaders
mentoring for senior pastors, individual staff members, and/or entire staffs
addressing the needs of the church and the emerging generation and the leadership required to lead in this culture
3. Small Group Ministry Development
developing a healthy small group ministry
evaluation of current small group health
recommendations for future health
leadership training for small group staff and ministry partners
4. Sunday School & Small Group Development as a both/and strategy
if you have Sunday School and don’t want to give it up…then what? We have experience in launching Small Groups alongside of Sunday School and what you can expect. Learn from our mistakes and determine for yourself if it can work for you
5. First impression evaluations, ministry development and implementation; as well as, enlistment, training, and placement of ministry partners
Traffic, Greeters, Ushers, First Aid Teams, Security, Ministry Promotion, Welcome/Information Centers, Campus Cleaning, Campus Hosts, Response Card Use, and next steps.
Worship, Sunday School, and Small Group evaluation
Communication assessment
6. Follow-up and Assimilation
Response Card follow-up and how to use them most effectively
New Believers ministries – design, development, and implementation
Baptism Ministry development and tools for successful follow through
Communion Teams and how they can be implemented through small groups
Discovery / Membership Class(s) – assessment, design/development, and implementation of a discovery and/or membership class or classes as well as continued training and support for staff and lay leaders who are leading the ministry.
Implementation of an effective C.L.A.S.S. System as foundational steps to a healthy and balanced church (Purpose-Driven).
Jack Welch said, “Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.”
I’ve found that throughout the years of serving in the church we have a tendency to say how it was or how we wished it would be… But how is it really… right now. Are we doing what we know is true and right for the health of the local church.
Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, “19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Discipleship has always been something that I’ve had an interest in and/or have studied over the past 15 years. What I’ve noticed is that we have a tendency to take several surveys, an array of personality tests, go to way to many conference/seminars on the topic, and very seldom do anything about it.
So… how about this week we have a reality check… face reality as it is… If you are not making discipleship, then stop whatever you are doing and do something different. It is the first step in you being healthy as a Christian as well as your church being healthy.
Funny how time flies… I remember tinkering with a system of looking at spiritual growth pathways back in 2000 while serving at Fielder Road in Texas and then putting it on the shelf only to revisit it again in 2005-06 while serving at Saddleback. Then again on the shelf for a year until really beginning to unpack my thoughts on what became known as “Grow to Go” with the Christ Fellowship team in Florida.
The five purposes of scripture combined with 3 levels of learning producing 15 quadrants and 60 sub-quadrants of learning and endless possibilities of spiritual growth for the end user. Using the data from Reveal and Follow Me we were able to work on some really cool insights dialoguing with the guys at My Next Steps that when paired with personality types and spiritual gifted-ness yielded a personalized spiritual growth plan.
It was a ton of fun working with the Christ Fellowship Team, Think Ministry, Big Bad Collab, and Skills Net on a dream I’d had for 9 years. All great people working on a great tool. After leaving Florida in late 2009 it was tabled.
This week I’ve had the opportunity to research and test the beta for Monvee. I am very impressed. It accomplishes everything we were working on with Grow to Go.
Way to go Monvee Team… I love what you’ve created and believe it too will not only revolutionize the way we think about spiritual formations it will create a way of spiritual growth that the church has been needing for decades.
If you haven’t gotten on board with Monvee… The time is now. Be a part of the wave.
Here is a simple first impression most persons never even think about. Who’s answering your phone. Nine times out of ten the person answering your church phone makes or breaks the impression.
Not only who, but how they answer the phone is very important. And if no one answers then the voice message is just as important.
My wife, Stephanie has been the voice for Hope Crossing these past several months. If you call her you’ll hear these words, “HI, this is Stephanie with Hope Crossing Community Church, how may I help you today.”
Couple of tips:
be cheerful
welcoming
courteous
genuinely be helpful
know all your ministries
know the contact information for each ministry
be able to answer basic information about each ministry
know what is happening this week at your church… this month… and over the summer
know who to direct calls to from local media stations
know your service times and what is provided for each age group at each time.
know the numbers of all your local support agencies so you can assist in connecting persons with outside help if your church doesn’t provide a particular need.
know local police and fire station numbers in case of an emergency.
know your church address and how to give basic directions to your facility.
One last thought:
Who answers your phone during service times?
People will want to talk when they think you might be there so having someone available during a service time might be of help.
Half a league onward,
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