Fusion Chapters 7-9

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 7: Sticky Situations

• If newcomers don't connect with someone soon, they'll be gone in four to six months.
• Too many churches fail to recognize the importance of plugging in second-time guests and new attenders.
• The more friends a person has in a congregation, the less likely that person is to become inactive or leave the church. Our need for human connection is undeniable.
• You can't just hope people will make friends in the church. You must encourage it, plan for it, structure for it, and facilitate it.
• If you want your second-timers to stick, you must understand that relationships are the glue.
• Three sticky situations: growth groups, fun events and service teams
• Research shows that new people must make friends within four to six months, or they will not stick.
• Fun activities give people the chance to get to know each other in a more social environment, which leads to deeper connections and relationships.
• Service teams provide an ideal opportunity for your second-time guests to form relationships with other people in the church.
• People's most basic need in life is relationship.
• People connect to a church when they develop meaningful friendships and are trusted with ministry responsibility. Newcomers need something to do and someone to know.

Chapter 8: Taking Ownership

• Responsibility and ownership go hand in hand.
• Responsibility precedes ownership, and ownership precedes membership.
• If your newcomers do not find relationships and take responsibility within the church, they will not stay long.
• The goal we have for each new person at New Day is threefold: 1) We want them to return, 2) We want them to build relationships, 3) We want to give them responsibility
• As your volunteers serve you and the church, you are serving them by providing them with an outlet to take on responsibility and become more deeply connected.
• Allow people to belong before they believe.

Chapter 9: Full Circle

• Membership class is the commencement ceremony for your assimilation system.
• Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. ~Seneca

Conclusion

• The Principle of Spiritual Readiness: God will never give you more than you are prepared to receive.
• God works in conjunction with our level of readiness.
• You are speaking something to your first-time guests already. What are they hearing?
• The Kingdom only grows by one person at a time. So focus on the one, and the one will turn into many.

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.

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.