Plantation Notes for 4/23/08

 

Worship & Prayer

–        Great is thy Faithfulness

–        Presentation of awards to Pioneer Club (3rd – 5th graders)

–        Cry Out to Jesus

 

Share peace, sit with small groups

 

Testimony – Young Life as a “church plant” at Tucson High – Jonathan Robbeloth

Jonathan and a group of about 10 other youth are starting a church plant of Young Life at Tucson High.  They are in the early planning stages.  The hope is to start with Matthew parties this spring and through the summer.  The goal is to start the new Young Life group at Tucson High this fall.

 

Teaching/application

 

1)      Video: “MeChurch” – Igniter Videos, vol. 3.  Negative example of the need for hospitality.  The MeChurch is a church where it is all about ‘me’ and my wants and needs.  This is a church that will bend and twist to meet everyone’s expectations.

2)      Testimony of the positive results from hospitality - a family from the neighborhood who contacted Pastor Dave about a wedding.  They attended COH two weeks ago with her teenage daughter, who had an incredibly powerful spiritual experience that she was unable to put into words.  The whole visit was such a wonderful and welcoming experience that they have decided that COH is their new church home.

3)      Theology of hospitality

·         Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

·         2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

·         1 John 4:18-21 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

·         Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

·         The unchurched, and especially the pre-Christian, might come to church out of a general sense of spiritual hunger, or a need for community.  Unconditional, surprising love transcends all language barriers.

·         Val shared that her first exposure to Christianity was at a Spanish-speaking church not far from here when she was in the 5th grade.  The services were entirely in Spanish, but if Val came with her friends, they would do the entire service in English just for her.  That is hospitality.

·         The wounded, the unsure, those coming out of obligation to others, will all be extremely cautious, maybe even looking for a reason not to come back.  We want to make it hard for them to find a reason not to return.

·         You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.  If the first impression is poor, many will have ruled out returning well before the service begins, and especially before the sermon hits.  This is especially true with those that are cautious.  What happens in the Welcome Center for these people is probably more important than what goes on in the Sanctuary.  By the time they sit down, they may have already made up their mind.  Many statistics show that their first impression starts before they even come in the front the door.  Richard shared that in the retail business, they have 7 seconds to make a first impression.  Pastor Dave reiterated that church impressions are much the same. 

·         The main thing we want to do in the ministry of hospitality is let people know, “You matter.  You are loved.  Both by God, and by us.”

·         To what extent would we be willing to go to be an ambassador of a Romans 5:8 kind of love to those who’ve been willing to cross the international border known as the church?

·         At least a third of those present (about ten people) shared that their first experience visiting a church felt like crossing an international border, and was very scary/intimidating.

4)      Index card visual: Pastor Dave writes down names of guests on index cards in order to remember, and shared his index card stacks for comparison.  The stack of people that have visited in the past year and maintained some contact is about one inch thick.  The COH member stack is 2-3 inches thick, and the stack of those that have never come back or have left is about 5-6 times a thick as the COH member stack.  Probably represents over a thousand people.

5)      Statistics:

1.      Healthy churches retain 25% of first visit, 50% of second visit, 75% of third visit.

2.      Church shoppers will only visit once, and on average, will visit 3-4 different churches.

3.      First question visitors typically will be wondering is, “Is there anybody here like me?”

4.      Other questions visitors are wondering: “Do they want me here?  Am I needed here?  What are the advantages?  What are the expectations?”

5.      34% of first-time guests who get a call from pastor within first 36 hours return.

6.      68% of first-time guests who get a call from a lay person within first 36 hours return.

6)      Top Ten ways to make sure visitors don’t return

1.      10 degrees too hot, too cold, hard seats

2.      Bulletin with code words, funny labels, surprise actions, insider announcements

3.      No ushers, front row vacancy, middle seat vacancy

4.      Completely ignored, or put in the spotlight

5.      Entrance hard to find, permanently locked, no signage, front door isn’t always the front door

6.      Parking spaces hard to find

7.      Confusing, missing, outdated, or too small signage

8.      No directions on web site

9.      Keep changing worship time, don’t publish times

10.  If you do these, you won’t have to endure guests

7)      Hospitality program goals/ideas:

·                                                                                             Gina’s experience – The first time Gina Wallen came to COH.  She was warmly welcomed and Pastor Dave called her, but she said that she would not have come back based on these things alone.  It was someone coming to her door and delivering homemade bread that brought her back.

·                                                                                             Members sit in front rows leaving room for guests to sit in the back

·                                                                                             Parking lot greeters – pray for people as they drive in and as they drive out, and be ready to greet them on their way in

·                                                                                             Share your name with people when you meet them & be willing to introduce them to your friends

·                                                                                             Step our of circle of comfort

·                                                                                             Pass the peace with someone you don’t know first, and then greet others

·                                                                                             Sensitivity during sharing of the peace?  One guest shared how intimidating that time was her first time here.

·                                                                                             People set aside each Sunday with the sole purpose of greeting all people

·                                                                                             Greet them, but be gentle.  Don’t push.  If they have something to say, then listen.

·                                                                                             No name tags identifying greeters as greeters – we don’t want people to think we’re greeting them and being nice to them just because we have to.

·                                                                                             Update picture board

·                                                                                             Welcoming space – are there some things we can change to help people feel more welcome?

·                                                                                             1st visit: Welcome call from lay person and a personal visit no later than Monday; pastor – letter no later than Tuesday

·                                                                                             2nd visit: call from pastor

·                                                                                             “Missed you” call after 3rd or 4th visit

 

A few people started signing up for specific hospitality ministries, and the conversation will continue next week.