I recently met with a church that was having consistent baptisms but not experiencing net growth. They asked me to help them plan some strategies that would keep those they reached. About the same time I read Tom Rainer’s blog on “closing the back door.” How does a church keep…
Today, as I wrap up this series of posts, I will discuss the “G” in C.L.O.S.I.N.G. the Back Door. The “G” stands for Give Them A Place to Serve. See the links at the end of this post for the entire series. The series is designed to help churches with…
Today, as we near the end of this series of posts, let’s discuss the “N” in C.L.O.S.I.N.G. the Back Door. The “N” stands for Notice What’s Happening with People. Every church needs a way to keep up with people and to track their progress toward successful assimilation. Several affordable, customizable…
Okay, let’s look at the “I” in C.L.O.S.I.N.G. the Back Door which stands for Invite People to Lunch. Andy Stanley says, “we are a culture craving relationship.” Oscar Thompson said, “The most important word in the English language, apart from proper nouns, is the word relationship.” Inviting someone to lunch is…
In this post, I will focus on the “S” in C.L.O.S.I.N.G. the Back Door. “S” stands for Start A Membership Class. See The Importance of a Membership Class for more information. A membership class can play a vital role in member retention. The class should be taught by the senior pastor and he…
In this series, we’ve been looking at ways to help our churches grow by assimilating newcomers and new members into the life of the church. In this post we will look at the “O” in C.L.O.S.I.N.G. the Back Door. For most churches, the Sunday School classes or the small groups serve as…
In my last post, I pointed out that the “C” in C.L.O.S.I.N.G. the Back Door stands for Creating A Welcoming Environment. Creating a welcoming environment involves OPENING the front door of your church in order to increase the number of first-time guests. A church cannot grow without visitors. The “L” in C.L.O.S.I.N.G. the…
The “C” in C.L.O.S.I.N.G. the Back Door stands for Creating A Welcoming Environment. Two of the keys to church growth is getting more people to visit and then keeping them once they do. In order to keep them long-term, they must be assimilated through relationship-building and church involvement. As a pastor, take the necessary…
Tomorrow evening, some of my buddies and I are kicking off an eight-stop assimilation tour across the state of Kentucky. The tour spreads through March – May of this year. Joining me on the tour will be Darryl Wilson from The Sunday School Revolutionary along with our Kentucky Baptist Strategists, Glen Cummins, Mike James,…
Two encounters are critical. First, the leader encounters God in His Word and is changed. Second, the leader guides the group to have a life-changing encounter.