June 4, 2009

The Future of The Brook (Impressions & Connections)

One thing we are prayerfully working on here at The Brook is the experience someone has the first (and hopefully second or third) time they are a guest or visitor on our campus. Another way of looking at it is the first "Impressions" people walk away with and the "Connections" we help them make with the body.

Impressions & Connections.

Just this week I read an article by Casey Ross called "The Importance of a Statement". He talked about the power of honing in on a simple statement that gives everyone involved a shot of clarified motivation. In thinking in these terms in regards to the Impressions & Connections people make - and in borrowing from the train of thought mentioned in Ross's article - I find a simple statement I think we can make to corporately articulate our aim:

We make sure every person is glad they came to church today.

In the weeks and months to come we will be taking our Impressions & Connections to the next level. With some very passionate key leaders in place, working together to build this team, there will be an opportunity for more people within The Brook family to get involved: parking team, greeters, connection team - lots of avenues for YOU to join us in "making sure every person is glad they came to church" that day. What a rewarding and worthy use of our time & energy!

In asking you to think and pray about this, I encourage you to go out of your way this summer to put yourself in this position - the position of being a guest. I release you, encourage you, and admonish to take a Sunday and go to a service somewhere that you're fairly confident you won't know anyone. Allow yourself to remember what it feels like to be on the outside looking in - to get re-acquainted with the feelings of knowing no one. Take note and consideration of your first impressions - in the parking lot, at the door, in the service - the whole experience. See if it doesn't ignite a fire in you to come back to The Brook and see to it personally that "every person is glad they came to church today"!

3 comments:

Preston N said...

Maybe our aim should be a little higher:

"We make sure that God is glad we came to church today"

To try and make every person "glad" that graces the doors of a church is one that seems to hint of seeker friendly and that is our intent is to satisfy the visitors expectations, rather than God's expectations of us. Besides, how does one really know what a visitors expectations are and if those expectations are filled with right motives? If our central focus is to satisfy God and not man, then everything will find its proper place.

Unknown said...

Hey Brian! Thanks for the mention. I love what you're thinking about and challenging your leaders to think about. You're going down the right road. I trust you are doing everything you do through the lens of bringing God the highest attention and glory. With that lens in place, it is okay to think about each person's individual experience with your church. It shows them that they are cared about. It "sets them up" (maybe that's not the best wording) to experience God and open themselves to His desire for their life.

Unknown said...
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