Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Seven Critical Activities For Growth: A Culture of Invitation

Activity Based New Church Growth: Invite To Worship and Events (Set Appointments)

Great churches and great network marketing businesses are built by focusing on activities rather than outcomes. This series takes a look at the 7 Critical Activities of successful network marketing and draws the corresponding activity in the new church start world.

Activity Two: Set Appointments (Invite): The purpose of a contact list is to “invite” everyone to a “presentation” of your product or service. Belief in your product increases your confidence and desire to expose your contacts to a quality presentation designed to lead them to becoming a customer. Great network marketers believe “virtually everyone should be their customer — they just don’t know it yet.” Most prospects will not agree to hearing or attending a presentation the first time you ask but network marketers are trained to follow up on their list periodically and ask all of their contacts for referrals to others who might be interested in what they are offering.

A Culture of Invitation

It is critical that the “launch” team in a new church start to reach out to its “warm” market first to maximize the opportunity for success. The goal is to build these activities into the DNA of the church. I call this having a “culture of invitation” where every leader and member immediately becomes a missionary who intentionally seeks out people to expose to the gospel each week. This culture turns every Sunday into “Family and Friends” day where every guest is greeted like a VIP returning home. The acknowledgement of guests, and the resulting celebration, becomes one of the most anticipated parts of the worship experience. It’s like an explosion of love and appreciation for the privilege of sharing Christ’s love with the world.

One church I visited actually reinforced the habit of inviting at the end of every worship service. The service closed with the declaration “Lord bless me to meet someone to invite to church this week!” The benediction was said aloud by all in attendance and with great enthusiasm. Inviting is a valued element of their culture.

Here’s an action step. What are 10 ways to build a culture of invitation?

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