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Putting
people first tends to reinforce the desire and commitment of people to
serve each other. Who is our customer?
Granted, most of us are not accustomed to thinking of people who
attend or visit our church as customers.
A customer is someone who buys something from us on a regular
basis. This usage doesn't fit the church well since we are not selling anything.
Our church is in the service business.
We serve others by giving them the free Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The
term customer, however, can also refer to those with whom we have
regular contact. This is an
appropriate usage for the church since we do have dealings with people.
Serving people is what churches are called to do.
To
do the best job of putting people first, we must identify and understand
the people we serve. Every
church has at least two main customers to be served:
people in the church and people outside the church.
How to Put People First
+ Putting people first means treating people the way the
expect to be treated.
+ Putting people first is not just a program, it's
an attitude, a way of life.
+ We put people first when we provide ministry on their
time schedule.
+ We put people first when we provide them a phone number
to call in case of emergencies.
+ Putting people first means we give people a way to get in
touch with someone when they have a need.
+ We put people first when we appreciate them.
+ You put people first when you serve their needs.
+ We put people first when we build our church in a way
that stresses the frontline importance of people and their ministry.
August 13, 1999
The Exodus
Principle by Gary McIntosh. Excerpts:
There
are three kinds of leaders in the church:
risk-takers, caretakers, and undertakers.
The undertakers belong
to churches that show great fear of serving others.
The caretakers risk enough to serve each other but won't
go beyond the people of their own church.
The risk-takers courageously lead their people to serve each
other and those in the community.
The
most challenging risk that leaders often have to take is investing the
ministry in their people. In
a culture of service, ministry is everyone's business - we all become risk-takers.
Unless everyone in the church assumes responsibility for serving
each other, a culture of service dies.
Recruiting People for Service
+ Institutional-based recruiting worked well when the
United States was a churchgoing culture.
Years ago people attended church from a sense of duty.
+ An institution-based recruitment strategy emphasizes the
institution's need more than the need of the individual.
+ An institution-based recruitment strategy doesn't
work well today.
+ Churches in today's world must use a relation-based recruitment
strategy; a strategy that
emphasizes needs of the individual more than the needs of the
institution.
+ The best way to recruit people is to start by serving
them and their interests. You
need to recruit people one-by-one.
+ Churches with a strong culture of service work to find
the right people for the right place for service.
+ The principle of a culture of service is:
Recruit
people for attitude, train people for skills.
Get Ready for Company
If
you were to survey churches and ask them what their strengths are,
almost everyone would include, We're
a friendly church. Being a friendly church apparently is a standard reply of all
churches regardless of the reality of their growth or decline.
+ Friendliness is in the eye of the beholder.
Perception is reality.
+ People who regularly attend a church look at the issue of
friendliness from the inside out.
+ Visitors see the church from the outside in.
+ If visitors do not perceive us as friendly, we are not.
+ Visits are really guests.
> What is the difference?
- Visitors are often unwanted
- Guests are expected
- Visitors just show up
- Guests are invited
- Visitors are expected to leave
- Guests are expected to stay
- Visitors come one time
- Guests return again
+ Getting ready for company requires us to think of
ourselves as hosts and those who visit us as our guests.
+ Hospitality literally means love
of strangers.
+ To understand some of the changes in welcoming guests,
here are some percentages to consider:
> Sixty percent have little understanding of your church
> Fifty percent fewer visitors per car than in the past
> Ten percent of church members leave each year
> Sixteen percent of guests need to stay
> Eighty-five percent of visitors who return the next
Sunday stay
+ Seven Ways to Be a Good Host
> Invite our guests with a personal invitation
> Arrive early to make sure everything is ready for our
guests' arrival
> Greet our guests warmly at the entrance and escort
them to their seats
> Assist guests in understanding what is taking place
> Anticipate and answer as many questions as possible
in advance so guests do not have to ask
> Do something extra to make guests'
visit special
> Walk guests to the door and invite them back
August
20, 1999
The Exodus
Principle by Gary McIntosh. Excerpts:
Forming Impressions
+ A moment of truth (MOT) is any occasion in which a person
comes into contact with, and forms an impression of our church.
+ Four concepts foundational to understanding the power of
MOTS:
- People outside our church do not go around thinking
about us.
- People only think about our church when they come
into direct or contact with us.
- People tend to generalize their experience from a
single MOT to our entire church
- People leave their MOT encounter with a positive or
negative feeling about our church.
+ The accumulated impact of several MOTS is more powerful
than a single one.
+ The first and last MOTS experienced by guests tend to
define their entire impression of our church.
+ There are many potential MOTS, but there are predictable
seasons through which church guests will travel.
There are of course many MOTS. Look
through the eleven listed below and think what happens now and what
should happen when a guest encounters each MOT.
+ Receiving an invitation to church
(Not many people visit a church today without receiving some form
of invitation.)
+ Driving by the church building
(What do they see?)
+ Walking to the front door (People are thinking about what
will happen when they enter the front door.
Some are even wondering if they will be entering the right door.)
+ Entering the front door
(Things contributing to their first impressions are: sounds,
smells, signs, pictures, bulletin boards, colors, lighting, and general
decor.)
+ Meeting people (Are they meet by greeters who are willing
to move from their station? Do
people feel a sense of acceptance?
What is the body language of the people near the entrance?)
+ Experiencing ministries and services (What will people
find in the child care area? How
clean are the restrooms?)
+ Entering the sanctuary (Do people experience smiling,
friendly ushers? Do they
find room to sit on the aisle? Do
they feel like they are not crowded?)
+ Participating in the worship service (Can they follow the
service? Are songs familiar
or easy to learn? Many
guests are hoping for a service that doesn't too long.)
+ Exiting the worship service (Are they greeted by others
around them? Does someone
invite them to refreshments or to Bible class?)
+ Contacting people the first week (Do they receive a
personal phone call? Is there an invitation to return?
Have the met some people that have befriended them?)
+ Contacts in the months ahead (Are they on the mailing
list to receive information about the church?
about events going on? Does
someone continue to befriend them?)
Think
through some of the above! Anything
need adjusting?
Here are some ways to think like a guest.
In you were a guest visiting your church:
+ Would you be impressed by the facility and landscaping?
+ Would you be able to find the rest rooms without asking?
+ Would you feel comfortable leaving your child in the
nursery?
+ Would you understand what takes place during the worship
service?
+ Would you be embarrassed or pressured during your visit?
+ Would you be greeted and accepted as you are?
+ Would you come back next week?
Being
guest
friendly, caring, and inviting is so important in a day and time when
people don't
just flock
through our front door. Take
some time to consider being intentional about your
guests
warmth!
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