If you read my very personal post last month, you may be interested to know 3 new beliefs that are keeping my head above water as of late. They are truly transforming me post-COVID and have helped me move from a winter season in my life and ministry and into a full blown spring. I know that if you buy into them, they will do that for you too.

Do you ever feel like you’re dropping the ball when it comes to connecting people who are making new decisions to follow Jesus at your church? Even if you don’t, few of us would say we couldn’t do better. If you want to see these people pursuing God and building community with you, here are 3 things we are doing right now that are yielding new results.

Here is a last minute resource for your staff, leaders and volunteer teams prior to Easter services.

Let’s face it. 2020 has taken a huge bite out of our volunteer apple. Now is the time for a fresh group of people to be invited into the game at your church by establishing a way of letting an overlooked group of people taste what it means to serve God and others. These are individuals who would not be allowed to serve in many churches. Find out who they are and how to recruit them now.

I was cohosting our first ever Next Steps Online. As we let in the guests from our zoom waiting room, all the squares with real people inhabiting them populated the screen of my laptop. That’s when Lynette’s face appeared. I was about to get schooled on what becomes possible when you create an online space to connect guests at your church.

Are you wondering how to convert those who watch you online into volunteers? What if you have more moderators than attenders in your live chat? What if the quarantine is an opportunity for your church, not just a disruption? This and more in this summary of my FB Live from the 1st week of May.

At my last Facebook Live last Tuesday, we talked about 2 things: One, the importance of creating a clear engagement pathway for your online services and two, the need to have a plan for problem people and their comments on live chat. Here is the summary of that discussion and a preview of topics we’ll cover together tomorrow at my weekly Facebook Live 8am (PST) Tuesdays at Facebook.com/gregcurtis63.

These days we are helping guests climb the “Cyberssimilayas” because the summit of full connection for them has become a virtual destination during this extended quarantine. The learnings from Easter weekend fell into 3 categories: Your overall online experience, live chat hacks, and using text to share their decision to follow Jesus. Explore it all here.

I loved spending 25 minutes on Facebook Live with many of you, sharing what we are learning right now about engaging guests online at my church. I promised a written summary of that discussion with linked resources so here it is!

When on a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee last month, I reflected on my time walking down the road Jesus took into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. I thought of 2 principles from that experience that will help all of us connect people better this year at our churches. Here they are.

Do you ever approach a new opportunity and feel the need for one more run through of the basics before you start? 2020 is your church’s new opportunity and my youtube conversation with David Hopper is your run through before jumping in!

The trouble with churches when it comes to atheists is when you only have a hammer (sound arguments for having faith), everyone starts looking like a nail. Arguments to people without faith now are about the most non-sensical and least effective thing you can do in many cases. Learn 5 different approaches to respond to 5 different kinds of people who don’t believe.

There is nothing that can deflate a Sherpa leader (one who leads guest on the climb to connect with your church) quite like these 2 things:

1. An empty room.

2. A full room missing guests who attended last week.

That’s why when I am talking to leaders who want to see their guests go the distance and get connected to their church, I always share these 8 attrition busting practices I have learned over the years.

Recently, my daughter Carly and I climbed Castle Rock above Big Bear Lake California. As we hiked, bouldered and climbed, 5 discoveries came to me for those who connect people in local churches. Click here to look at our photo journal to see what I learned.

If you have three children like I do, you have had the concern for the emotional landscape of your child in the middle. My so-called “middle child” is Kendra. She is now 24 and she has taught me all about connecting Nines at your church.

Charles likes to challenge us. Questions like “Why are we…”, “Why did we…”, and “How will we…” are often asked by him in a polite but direct and courageous way. Why does Charles relentlessly ask the hard questions and make the tough statements? Because Charles is an Eight and you have to know how to connect Eights well to your church.

When she was done, she was surrounded by a group of guests connecting with her and our compassion opportunities in animated conversation. That’s because Ariel is a Seven. Discover a Seven’s superpower and how to connect them to your church.

There are some fun Do’s and some definite Don’ts when connecting Sixes to your church. Learn them here along with two outstanding superpowers they have as volunteers.

I actually thought all this was possible because she is MY daughter. I know now it was largely because Carly is a Five on the Enneagram.

Did you know that Van Gogh was…

• A pastor’s son

• He went to Bible College to become a pastor

• He served as a missionary

  He was also a Four and Fours are visiting your church right now. Here’s how to reach and connect them.