Fusion Chapters 1-3

Fusion is a book on turning first time guests into members at your church. Here are a couple of things that stood out to me:

Introduction

• God is consistently blessing His church with regular guests. Are we doing all we can to accept and honor His blessing?
• If we have only 2 first time guests a week, that's still 104 FIRST TIME GUESTS EACH WEEK!
• What are you doing with the gifts (the first time guests) God sends your way each week?
• If you're not keeping your first time guests, you must change something! Insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results.

Chapter 1: The Power of Assimilation

• A gift always demands some form of reciprocity and that my response, or lack thereof, speaks volumes to the giver.
• How you respond when you've been given a gift - and what you do with the gift itself - proves just how much you really appreciate it.
• First time guests are gifts from God.
• Encouraging people to stick around our churches ins not about making our auditoriums look full and our numbers impressive; it's about leading them to faith in Jesus.
• Assimilation moves people from the "crowd" to the "congregation" (see diagram below)

• Before the bridge can be crossed, it has to be built.
• The average church is experiencing about a 1/20 assimilation rate (New Day is currently experiencing a 1/6 assimilation rate - praise the Lord!)
• Just because you have a strong rate doesn't mean you are doing all you can do. Your rate can always get better.

Chapter 2: Biblical Hospitality

• The church is a family expecting guests.
• Assimilation is simply well-planned biblical hospitality through service.
• We ought to serve our guests better than a business would serve its guests. They are in it for dollars, we are in it for destinies!
• The more prepared a church is to receive guests, the more guests it receives. Why would God send new people to a church that is not ready to welcome and nurture them? He will never give us more than we are prepared to handle.

Chapter 3: Seven Minutes and Counting

• Impressions are based upon instrinct and emotion, not on rational thought or in-depth investigation.
• Seven minutes is all you get to make a positive first impression. In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first-time guests will know whether or not they are coming back. That's before a single worship song is sung and before a single word of the message is uttered.
• Every first time guest needs to be greeted, directed (told where things are), treated (given refreshments) and seated (led to open seats).
• Greeters should practically radiate the underlying message you want to send to your guests: "We are nice people, and we are glad you are here!"
• A smile can be picked up at 30 meters away. But a smile that doesn't engage the eyes is automatically interpreted as false.
• When a guest asks for directions, your staff person or greeter should not just point out the way. Instead, they should provide a personal escort.
• Food is our common ground, a universal experience (that's why we provide some for our guests). It also provides a welcome, comforting treat in any situation.