fresh & practical ideas for your journey to the summit
The easiest way to retain (and disciple) volunteers
10-15 minutes a week can help you recruit, retain, and develop volunteers more than nearly anything else you do regularly.
Here’s how to start ASAP.
8 last minute recommendations for your Christmas services to make guests return in January
If you are wondering this week, “Are we doing everything we can do to reach and connect the new people coming to church for Christmas this weekend?”, then this post is for you.
5 simple but effective hacks for increasing attendance at your Next Step program this Fall
Your “One Program” for guests is always going to require the best kind of invitational promotion you can create to connect the most people possible to your church. Here are 5 hacks for this that we did recently that really made a HUGE difference…
Three new beliefs that are keeping my head above water these days
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.
3 simple ways to better connect people after baptism
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.
Use this for a last minute prayer focus for your staff and volunteers before Easter Services
Here is a last minute resource for your staff, leaders and volunteer teams prior to Easter services.
A way to add new volunteers to your teams this year that you are probably overlooking.
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.
Building community with young families during the COVID spike
There has never been more of a need for community and less of an ability to resist the effects of isolation than now. If you are raising kids, and you’re single or married, times that by ten. Here are the 4 questions to answer for yourself and for young families if you want to experience a sense of community and connection this new year.
Two ways to handle political division like Jesus did (Facebook Live summary session 11).
To say this is a challenging year to be a spiritual leader would be an understatement. After quarantining for months, protests breakout that have polarized the culture we serve so severely that it has politicized whether your church even reopens or remain closed. How can we stay focused on the right thing when forces are pulling us to one extreme or the other, especially when so much is at stake for guests?
What if your online giveaway isn't working with guests anymore? (Facebook Live summary session 10)
For years, most churches offer a welcome gift in exchange for a guest’s contact information so they can start building a relationship with them. But what if that giveaway no longer works in an online service? Here are 3 reasons a guest will share their contact info with you online.
How to connect with guests who are watching your services on demand instead of live (Facebook Live summary session 9)
Amazing. People are now finding a church in the same way they find a show they want to binge on Netflix. This has given me 3 realizations about connecting with them as “on demand viewers”.
5 principals & strategies to make sure you’re reopening right (Facebook Live summary session 8)
When it comes to defining principles and strategies for reopening our churches, I have to say that Gene Appel our Lead Pastor and the Executive Team have led us well. I decided to simply share Gene’s explanation of our strategy on video followed by a bullet point summary.
7 things I just learned for creating an online program that connects guests to your church. (Facebook Live summary session 7)
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.
What the quarantine sets us up for, another live chat hack, & new thoughts about online volunteerism (Facebook Live session 6 summary)
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.
How to deal with inappropriate comments on your live chat, and more (Facebook Live session 5 summary))
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.
Online services, live chat hacks, & new decisions to follow Jesus (Facebook Live session 4 summary)
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.
Creating an online engagement pathway, taking attendance online, and more (Facebook Live session 3 summary)
Here is a useful recap that covers how to take attendance online, how to create an online engagement pathway (instead of a one-time pit stop), and identifying the best ask of your guests and when to ask it.
Connecting Guests to your Church Online during the Quarantine (Facebook Live session 2 summary)
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!
Two principals I learned in Jerusalem that will help you connect new people at your church
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.
Need a quick free assimilation overview for you and your team to jumpstart the new year?
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!