Assimilation System

1
Assimilation System

• The Assimilation system controls how many and who
  can connect to the church
• With the emphasis on connecting to the church

2
Assimilating Guests into the Church

• Examining the 7 steps
• Community awareness strategy
• 1st visit strategy
• 1st week strategy (after 1st visit)
• 2nd week to 3 month strategy
• Church orientation strategy
• Service strategy (get them involved)
• Friendship strategy
• People will stay in an awful church if they have
  6 friends and a good job

3
Increased Visitor Retention

• Folsom EFC 16 - 93
• Palmdale EFC 23 - 83
• Unfriendly EFC 6 - 20

4
Community Awareness Strategy

• 60 of the visitors to your church have little
  understanding of your church
• 6-10 of members leave each year
• 16 of your guests need to stay to experience
  minimal growth
• Only 16 of the first time visitors will come
  back, but 85 of visitors who return to the next
  Sunday will stay

5
Community Awareness Strategy

• It takes 7 impressions
• Community awareness philosophy
• Shout it from the roof tops
• Money, style, frequency, target
• FRANS
• Friends, relatives, associates, neighbors
• Business cards, printed invitations, postcards,
  door hangers, brochures
• Teach networking for evangelism. Their network
  not their neighborhood

6
Community Awareness Strategy

• Mass media
• Web, radio, TV, newspaper, phone, flyers, direct
  mail, etc.
• Quality paper, picture, shading, 3 words
• Worthy of expense
• Promote events that meet needs
• Romance, child care, boredom, relationships,
  supernatural.

7
Community Awareness Strategy

• Special events
• 40 of new peoples first contact with a church
  is attending a big event at the church facilities
• 5 traditional big days
• Invent big events
• Camps, training, fun, concert
• Signage
• First impressions
• Can be read in 2-3 seconds
• Avoid Christianeze combative
• Meet or exceed community standards

8
Community Awareness Strategy

• Newsletter
• Web cast, e-mail, printed positive news,
  interesting, new
• Building, grounds, and parking
• Physical proximity within accepted distance,
  social proximity, right direction, area, etc.
• Accessibility cleanliness, color, schemes,
• 3 crucial areas foyer, nursery, ladies restroom

9
Community Awareness Strategy

• Parking
• 80 full parking lot becomes unfriendly 15
• Guest parking area
• Signage in the lot and on the buildings
• Traffic flow enough exits for 2 minute escape

10
1st Visit Strategy

• 6 zones of warmth
• Parking lot, front door, foyer, childrens
  classes, main auditorium, exiting campus
• Answers
• Parking lot attendants, signs, greeters, ushers,
  runners, information booth, host hostesses,
  monitors, greeters lounge, etc.

11
1st Visit Strategy

• 2 kinds of information
• Giving information
• Bulletins, brochures, videos, audios, books,
  flyers, pamphlets, etc.
• Receiving information
• Cards, sign ins, parental permission, person to
  person, presentation
• Warmth and friendliness
• Invitations to lunch, invitations to participate,
  smiles, food, invitations to conversation, gift
  and welcome

12
1st Visit Strategy

• Personal sovereignty
• Invitations to participate, approved detachment,
  financial statement, menu of choices, time
  sensitivity, clarity in direction and
  involvement, make them feel warm but in control

13
1st Week Strategy

• Gift in service
• Gift drop by team within 48 hrs
• Phone call by pastor or volunteer
• Pastors letter
• Visit

14
2nd Week 3 Month Strategy

• Staff/ministry phone call
• Specific ministry brochures
• Invitations to CO groups
• Church Orientation groups
• 4-6 different short classes
• No more than 15 participants

15
2nd Week 3 Month Strategy

• Monthly invitations small group life
• Relational groups
• Group talks
• Content groups
• Teacher talks
• Ministry groups
• Get together to serve the Lord
• Small group leaders contact
• Small group
• Brunch or desert invitation
• Brunch or desert gathering at Pastors residence

16
New Comers Desert

• Informal setting
• Sharing why they started coming to church
• Hear from staff
• Philosophy of the church
• Evangelism
• Facts about heaven and eternal life
• Time to seek out staff of their interest
• Food

17
Church Orientation Strategy

• Orient to the Lord and to the church
• Multiple classes on Sunday morning
• Foundations
• Christian maturity
• Baptism
• Getting involved
• Membership
• Life stage/gender orientation
• Need orientation

18
Foundations Classes

• Small group of people 8-20 max
• Sharing info with each other
• New life in Christ
• Understanding the Bible
• Understanding God
• Understanding the Church
• Service opportunities shared
• Prayer requests

19
Christian Maturity Class

• Small group of 8-20 max
• Sharing info with each other
• Evangelistic presentation
• Service opportunities shared
• Orthodoxy overview of 9 doctrines
• Orthopraxy overview of 9 relationships
• Take prayer requests
• 1 per person
• Close in prayer

20
Shape Class Getting Involved

• Spiritual gifts
• Heart or passion
• Abilities
• Personality
• Experiences

21
Baptism Class

• Small group 8-20 max
• Sharing info with each other
• The Gospel presentation and invitation
• 3 New Testament pictures of baptism
• Written declaration of surrender to Christ
• Commitment involved in baptism
• Written personal testimony
• The operational procedures of baptism

22
Membership Class

• Sharing common info about each other
• Evangelistic presentation and call
• Declaration of surrender to Christ church
• Doctrine and constitution of this church
• Philosophy of this church
• Serving in this churchstaff, recruiters
• Giving to this church

23
Evangelism Styles
24
Service Strategy

• Opportunities for service presented
• Brochures
• Every area, ministry specific, etc.
• Every class
• Ministry fair
• Constant recruiting of new people
• Announcements
• Recruitment personal and specific
• Automatic sign-ups
• Gift, passion and interest matching

25
Service Strategy

• Reward orientation
• Friendship fellowship
• Appreciation
• Training
• Tangible encouragement
• T-shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads
• Success steps for each position
• 4-8 keys for each job

26
Service Strategy

• Seeker responsibilities
• Significant jobs for pre-Christians
• Greeters, inviters, ushers, counsel, etc.
• Increase monitoring and mentoring
• You did great
• How did you like it?
• One thing for improvement
• Allow and encourage movement across ministry lines

27
Friendliness strategy

• Organize intentional friendliness
• Small groups ministry
• Church orientation classes
• New groups for new people
• Fellowship oriented programs QUESTIONS
• Felt needs groups
• Life stage groups
• Common interest groups