I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron …
3 days ago
Worthy of the Saints
5 days ago
Creating a Hospitable Culture
You just landed on an every-once-in-a-while series called Primer Posts, a curated collection of my favorite articles and books on one particular topic. These are the resources I usually point to when people ask about getting started on or getting better at the topic in question. …
1 week ago
Shades Mountain Baptist Church (Birmingham, Alabama)
Each month, we revisit a series of posts called Guest Services Road Trip. We’ll travel the country from the comforts of our couches, interviewing leaders who are in the trenches of ministry. Do you have an idea for GSRT destination? Have a leader I need to talk to? …
2 weeks ago
Q&A: How Do I Get Beyond the Guest Services Silo?
Q: How do you create a guest services ministry that’s not a silo ministry, but rather leads to an all-encompassing church culture? [from the 2019 Blog Survey] A: Every church will eventually deal with “silo ministries,” stand-alone teams whose influence never gets beyond the artificially-crafted borders that have been created over time. In one sense, it makes sense: when a group of people gather …
2 weeks ago
Guest Services Philosophy
Today marks the beginning of an every-once-in-a-while series called Primer Posts, a curated collection of my favorite articles and books on one particular topic. These are the resources I usually point to when people ask about getting started on or getting better at the topic in …
3 weeks ago
Fix It Before You’re Asked to Fix It.
I’m an unabashed fan of Southwest Airlines. They take customer service seriously without taking themselves too seriously. The cheap fares, the creative announcements, and the flight attendants’ repartee have created a loyal customer on my part. Last week, I had my first Southwest snag …
3 weeks ago
Should You Give Your Volunteers a Job Description?
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do next.” “Is there anything else you need from me?” “What are you asking of me, exactly?” “Just tell me what to do.” I’ve had a long-running battle over the issue of job descriptions for volunteers. Early in my time here at the Summit, I was the job description ninja. Every team and sub team and sub-sub team role had an obsessively-drafted, finely-tuned, …
4 weeks ago
2019 Blog Survey
The 2019 survey is now closed. Congratulations to Jason Starrett of Belmar Church in Lakewood, CO, winner of the $25 Amazon gift card! Want a chance at a $25 Amazon gift card? Read on. Blog-reading friends, it’s that time of year again, and I need your help. You come from all parts of the country and from all walks of …
1 month ago
Multi-Site: Guest Services and Launching a New Campus
Last Sunday saw the public launch of our tenth Summit campus (twelve, if you count our prison campuses). As you know, there are roughly a billion moving parts that go into a campus launch, give or take a half-million. Entire books have been written …
1 month ago
8 Things I Learned As A Church Guest
A few weeks ago I attended church with my niece. She has started going to a brand-new campus of an eighty-year-old church, their first foray into multi-site. The campus has been live for four months, so I was excited to put on my guest …