Winning Teams...

... start with winning players!

A winning Guest Services team begins with making sure the right people are on the team. As Jim Collins said:

The old adage "People are you most important asset" turns out to be wrong. People are not your most important asset. The right people are.

Guest Services team members are the first face of your church - and as such, need to be chosen with care. They need to know how to connect with people, and they need to enjoy doing so. They need to be wow-makers.

Mark Waltz, Connections Pastor at Granger Community Church, uses the acronym SHAPE (developed by Saddleback Church) to discover and deploy Guest Services team members:

Spiritual Gifts - Spiritual gifts are divine enablements given by the Holy Spirit to equip each believer for significance and purpose and to be a witness of God's grace to the world. The gifts of hospitality, encouragement, administration, and leadership can be invaluable assets on your Guest Services team.

Heart - The H in the acronym is for heart, or passion. Every member of your Guest Services team should be passionate about relating to and connecting with people.

Abilities - There are literally dozens of skills that contribute to a successful Guest Services team: listening, communicating, question asking, counting, guiding, directing, and perceiving are all helpful abilities.

Personality - While an extrovert may seem to be a natural choice for a Guest Services team, that might not always be the case. Your team probably has a wide range of tasks, and the team member's personality needs to match the task.

Experience - Work experiences, former church ministry experiences - even painful experiences - all are helpful when encouraging people to serve on a Guest Services team.

When you help each person find the right place in which to serve, everyone wins.

Want to know more about the Guest Services team at Granger? Check out these resources by Mark Waltz: First Impressions and Lasting Impressions.

Closing Your Church's Back Door...

...starts at your church's front door!

Andy Stanley once said "The Church is a family expecting guests." I believe that is true. This Sunday is Easter, one of the highest attended Sundays of the year. Is your "family" ready?

Have you prepared for the arrival of guests and all that is to follow?

Your staff and congregation need to know how to:

• Serve guests with grace and hospitality
• Internalize the importance of being welcoming to everyone
• Reflect God's character in the way you treat guests
• Encourage the continual return of guests

Nelson Searcy, pastor of Journey Church in New York City, and Mark Waltz, Connections Pastor at Granger Community Church in South Bend IN, have both authored books that will help church leaders understand the importance of creating Guest Services practices that will not only welcome guests to your church but help them become regular participants.

This week I will be looking at their books - Searcy's "Fusion" and Waltz's "First Impressions" - to help your church understand and apply key principles in welcoming guests and members.

Family's coming - let's get ready!