When I was at the Catalyst Conference last month, Dave Ramsey gave a talk about momentum. His thesis was that focused intensity over time multiplied by God equaled unstoppable momentum. You know how it is when you hear someone say something, and you know you have always believed it, just never had the words for it? That's how it was for me during Dave's talk.
And that's how it is for us now at Church Requel. I hesitate to even stop for the time it takes to write this down for fear that somehow I'll jinx the momentum that is going our way. Last weekend we had 69 people at Church Requel. I say 69 because one guy counted 66 and another guy counted 69, so me being a pastor, I took the higher of the two numbers! (I like to laugh at my own ridiculousness.) Now I know that for many churches, the number of attendees at our place may seem small. But for us, after the fourth week... we're stoked!
The thing of it is, I didn't even know many of these folks a month ago. Now I'm thinking about them all the time, praying for them, writing them, encouraging them, talking with them. And I'm watching them talking to one another and to their friends about Church Requel. Needless to say, when I see this I think a little extra hard about what we're doing and how we're doing it.
I've been impressed with how God has given me just what I've needed just as I've needed it. The industrial world has a phrase called JIT delivery - just in time delivery. I'm convinced this is how God works. He gives me just what I need just when I need it. This past Monday He directed me to a book named Fusion: Turning First Time Guests Into Fully Engaged Members of Your Church by Nelson Searcy.
Nelson founded The Journey Church in New York City in 2002. I love the way Nelson writes. He tells the story that after their kickoff Sunday, when they had 100 people show up, that with his great leadership the church grew to 35 people over the following months! Fortunately, Nelson learned how to assimilate first time guests into active members of his church. Now The Journey regularly has 1200 people show up every weekend. In looking at their website, they now have 5 locations - 4 in NY and one in San Francisco!
In Fusion, Searcy explains the nuts and bolts of their follow up. I really appreciate the practical guide. I'm realizing that for the new people of Church Requel to stick around, it's not enough for them to form a bond with me. Even if that were successful, there's not enough of me to go around. The really important issue is for new people to connect with other people and to also help serve the mission of the church.
This is such an important issue for us right now, I think I'll pick up a copy of this book for each of our board members. If you're reading this right now and say to yourself: I'd really like to be a part of getting new people connected, please call me or write me (or comment below.) I've learned that some folks just have a natural knack for bringing people together. If you're such a person, I really want to talk with you!
Momentum and Fusion are the two watchwords for Church Requel, now in it's fourth week as a public church. My prayer is that the momentum continues generating fusion of new people connecting to other new people, which in turn continues the momentum we're enjoying right now.
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