In this post, I am going to create a short photo scrapbook from a location in Israel to demonstrate something I call The Power of Place which I believe can make or break your engagement efforts with people at church.

I have learned something about entertaining in my home: people don't always sit where you want them to. But when I dragged 2 $17 chairs to the edge of the lawn, my guests started to bee-line for the best view in the house—the one they would consistently forfeit before.

That’s when I learned that the key to changing behavior is actually changing your environment—and I see 2 principles we need to keep in mind when it comes to the guests of our church.

Really?! Wine tasting?

Yep. My wife and I love to go wine tasting, especially up the Central Coast of California not far from where we live. The best part? You don't have to buy a single bottle. This is how a lot of people select and enjoy wine today. It's also how many people select and enjoy churches.

This idea is based on our biggest assimilation learning from 2015. This idea...

📈 Almost doubled the amount of connection cards we received from guests.

🐣 Lowered the average age of those who attend our First Step events by 20+ years.

🎉 Began lowering the average age of those who signed up to volunteer by about the same.

🚀 Helped increased the attendance of our 7 week First Step Experience by 38% this Winter.

I am embarrassed to tell you what it is because it is so painfully obvious and we missed it for the first 2.5 years at our new facility.