Fusion Chapters 4-6

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:

Chapter 4: Making Contact

• If you want to have any hope of assimilating your guests, you cannot let them leave without knowing how to connect with them.
• Well-organized use of Connection Cards will allow you to gather the pertinent information on roughly 80 percent of your first-time guests.
• First-time guests want to remain anonymous. That's why EVERYONE EVERY WEEK needs to fill out a Connection Card. Regular attenders only need to fill out their name and most current email address. The regulars fill it out each week FOR THE SAKE OF THE FIRST TIMER.
• The Connection Card is important because of the need to follow up with people in a way that will make them want to keep connecting with the church, for their own spiritual development.

Chapter 5: Creating Fans Through Follow-Up

• Not following up...is the same as filling up your bathtub without first putting the stopper in the drain.
• People think the Church is "on the take". Giving a free book at the end of service and mailing them a $5 gift card shows them that the Church is "on the give." Also, growing churches usually spend $400 to $500 dollars on evngelism for each person who walks through teh door as a first-time guest. Talk about an investment! Isn't it worth $5 for the free book and another $5 for the gift card to follow up with your guest in a way that will make him or her much more likely to come again?
• In golf, as in life, it's the follow-through that counts. Same is true in retaining your guests. You've gotten them this far. You've built momentum. Don't stop mid-swing!

Chapter 6: They're Back

• When your guest returns for a secon dlook, you've won 80 percent of teh battle of gaining new regular attenders and have drastically increased the chances that they will begin a journey with Christ.
• With second-time guests you're looking for anything that will get them to take a step toward involvement. Getting your second-time guests involved in situations where they can connect with others is the key to making them stick.
• At this crucial point, it is more than worth your while to meet and exceed your second-time guests' expectations (with another small gift) so that they'll continue the process toward becoming regular attenders.