Like Jurassic Park, is it possible to engineer a living environment that would change the lives of those who enter it (while not eating them alive)? My answer is YES. Because the New Testament describes the church as a Body and as a Family, the DNA of your church culture is as definable as the DNA of your own body and of your own family. Or a dinosaur. That means it is actually possible to alter the DNA of your church and change its culture. Here’s how.

I want to recap the top 5 most popular posts on Climbing the Assimilayas in 2018. Hopefully it will give you an edge on something you’re working on this new year.

What do you see coming next year for connectors like you and I? A written summary is included with the podcast.

You may not have this on your radar at all this Christmas, but if you don’t, you might forfeit one of your best opportunities to onboard new volunteers next year.

Know for sure: people’s spiritual journeys will begin at your church this Christmas. No kidding. Just watch this 4 minute video of the Hernandez’s story to see how a simple assimilation strategy will help you bring your unchurched guests all the way to the summit of full connection with God and your church.

Wondering if you should add another campus for your church? Is being portable an asset or a liability? Wonder what the profile is for a solid and effective Campus Pastor? These were the primary questions we covered with our panel on this month’s edition of unSeminary’s “All About Multisite”

This question and many more were explored with my friends Ben Stapley, Natalie Frisk and our fearless panel leader Rich Birch during out latest conversation about multisite issues we are all dealing with. Get your coffee, give it a listen and take a few notes to clear the path in front of you and your team.

By now you have probably heard that my 5-week Sabbatical did not return me to work re-energized and ready to go as I expected. The final benefit however was in an area that I did expect to see change in, just not in this way.

What role does a Connector’s marriage play in his stamina, focus and persona? More than I ever thought possible when I came back from my Sabbatical. Here’s what I learned and what we brought back with us.

How can we create a robust leadership pipeline across all our campuses as well as genuinely assimilate new staff from various sites into real community? These were 2 of the topics we hit in this most recent edition of the Unseminary podcast "All About Multisite"

 I justified this perceived luxury with the thought that I would come back with a full sail, chomping at the bit, and ready to dig into ministry with renewed vigor and energy. 

The problem was that when I returned, that did not happen. 

I love talking with Rich, Natalie and Ben about facing this challenge through the lens of programming, children's ministry, and assimilation. If you want to explore this issue with us by listening in.

Most people know the Pantheon as an architectural masterpiece. What most people don't know is that the Pantheon has been a church since 609 AD. While we waited for their Pentecost service, I noticed that they were letting people into the Pantheon 10 at a time. What I didn't know was that the church was already full. That’s when I discovered one of the biggest enemies of connection for all the guests at our churches.

This gift underscored 2 important factors in implementing a church wide assimilation strategy and program that i think every church staff should keep in mind

I want to take the next four posts to share some creative things that 4 different churches have done in creating environments and processes that connect guests to God and their church.

We got some great questions this week on the latest Unseminary "All About Multi-site" podcast. Questions dealing with: Centralizing or Decentralizing your budgets for your campuses, pros and cons of church planting versus multi-site venues, the role of social media and technology in reaching people, and more.

If you have been unsure about how to get your team on the same page about first impressions, here is the most easily accessible and power packed resource I have heard of. I am so looking forward to being a part of this unique event. Here is why I am so excited to recommend it to you:

I shared what this looks like for small churches in this podcast I did with Jeff Keady and Jonny Craig of 200 Churches, a ministry specifically targeted at encouraging and resourcing churches under 200 in attendance (which is 90% of the church in America!).

We (unseminary's All About Multisite podcast team) had a very interesting conversation on growth barriers on our campuses. In this podcast, I  function as our guest connections and assimilation resource. We address outreach, children's ministry, and assimilation barriers in this discussion with Rich Birch,  Become part of the conversation on this second All About Multisite podcast.

There’s a person on our staff team at church who helps volunteers provide WOW experiences for guests during our Easter services each year. Her name is Shelly Hall, she oversees Guest Services and she is the most dedicated, hospitable, above and beyond WOW-Factor provider I know. When I asked her in passing this week what she and her team were planning to do for guests this Easter, this is what she told me.