PastorMentor.com

Seven Questions for Measuring Your Church's Success

I don’t know where we got the idea that church success should be measured in nickels and noses (or attendance and dollars). I affirm that large numbers in church is better than small and more money for ministry is better than less. But if Jesus’ goal is to build his church, I believe there are better questions than, “How many were here last week? And How much did they give?”  

Here are a few suggestions for better ways to measure great ministry: 

1. Salvations.

How many have come to Christ in our church?

Jesus asked us to make disciples. The first step in that process is moving from unbelief to belief. 

2. Baptisms.

How many have been baptized?

Public proclamation is a great second step of faith. 

3. Faith-sharing.

How many members of our church have shared their faith in the last few years?

The Great Commission was given to all believers, not just pastors and evangelists. The actual work of conversion belongs to God, but he asks every believer to share their faith. 

4. Community transformation.

How have we influenced our city?

This question doesn’t measure qualitative or quantitative growth directly, but caring for the needy and rectifying injustice is an important by-product of a vibrant faith. 

5. Kingdom ministry.

What are we doing to help the wider body of Christ?

During Spurgeon’s ministry, the Metropolitan Tabernacle developed sixty ministries to help other churches and the poor. Life Church’s development of the YouVersion Bible is a modern example. How well are we participating in God’s work outside our church?  

6. Church Planting.

How many new churches have we started or helped start?

The true fruit of an apple tree isn’t an apple. It’s another apple tree. The more apple trees, the more fruit. This is why church planting is the most effective means to reach people for Christ. Ministry is accelerated when it’s multiplied. 

7. Movement Planting.

How are we helping with world-changing movements?

Movements aren’t limited to one church; they spread from one to another. If it’s good to launch a Bible reading movement in your church, isn’t better to launch a Bible reading movement in several churches? Other movements might focus on prayer, fasting, a social cause, or the like. 

Since church planting is the most effective means to reach people for Christ, the ultimate movement is a church planting movement. If planting a church is like adding a second apple tree, developing or supporting a movement of church planting is like adding an entire orchard. 

Hal is the Founding Pastor of New Song Church in Oceanside, CA. New Song has helped launch a church planting movement that has planted 163,000 churches in the past fifteen years. His latest book The Bible Questions is designed to launch a Bible Reading Revolution in our churches and cities. To get the book, or the Campaign Kit, or find out how to participate in the movement, go to www.pastormentor.com.

3 Ways a Church Can Change the World

You’ve heard it said “We over-estimate what can get done in one year and under-estimate what’s possible in five.” We celebrated New Song’s 20th Anniversary last month, and when we tabulated all that had happened, I was shocked. I now know it really is possible to change the world. In fact, I think I've had a front-row seat in watching it happen: 

• We’ve planted 163,000 churches worldwide, leading over 7,000,000 to Christ.
• We’ve helped 90,000 American churches to reach their communities for Christ.
• We’ve helped 2,400 churches in 17 countries with database management systems.
• Over the last twenty years, we’ve seen 12,923 people pray to receive Christ here.
• Over the last seven years, we’ve seen gang violence in our city decrease by 35%.
• Over the last four years, we’ve fed, clothed and educated 85 children in Africa, and 100 in Honduras.
• Over the last three years, we’ve helped prevent a suicide a day.  

A friend asked me how this all happened. My initial answer was, "God did it." That was too spiritual for him, so this is my attempt to "quantify a miracle," if that’s even possible.  

Actions that Change the World:

1. Thinking entrepreneurially.

A church planter's resources are always limited, and always limitless. We've never had the money necessary to do world-changing ministry. But the task is so urgent, we can't afford to let money hold us back. So we look for ways to start and sustain ministries like a new business-owner would look to start and sustain his or her business.  

Seventeen years ago we set the goal of impacting the planting of 1,000 churches. Few churches could do that alone, so Paul Becker raised support, started a mission and began partnering with every orthodox Christian group on the planet. Today he has over 10,000 leaders training church planters in 86 countries of the world. (Our goal now is five million churches – so if you’re reading this, we want to partner with you!) 

Fifteen years ago we discovered that mailing postcard invitations was effective in reaching our neighbors. So Scott Evans started offering to help other churches do the same. To date, the organization he started has helped 90,000 local churches with a half a billion mailers.

Ten years ago we couldn't afford to purchase a database to keep New Song's records. So Chris Fowler and Free Grafton built a database from scratch. They started offering it to other churches. So far, 2,400 of them have benefitted. 

Seven years ago, Roy Vallez got a heart to reach gang members. He started hanging out with them, playing football and feeding them pizza. He's earned their trust, leading them to Christ, placing them in educational programs, and bringing others in the city together. As a result, gang violence has decreased. 

Five years ago, San Diego was hit with major fires. The relief center near us was overwhelmed, so we offered to house evacuees in our building. We had no food to feed them, no beds to sleep them, and no money to pay for all the repairs we'd need to make once the disaster was over. We called on 125 local churches and businesses and for help. At the end of the week, we had fed and clothed 790 evacuees, led 94 of them to Christ, and our congressman wrote us a personal check to cover the repairs to our building. 

Right now, we're trying to figure out how to put a New Song location in all sixteen quadrants of our city. We don't know how yet, but we believe it must be done. So we're thinking entrepreneurially again.

2. Setting leaders free.

Four years ago, Steve Foster (our Executive Pastor) and Jim Britts (our Next Generation Pastor) came to me with the idea of creating a movie to reach teens. The theme was teen suicide, and the goal was to stop it. God had clearly put this idea in their hearts. Who was I to withhold the church’s support? So in 2010, we produced To Save A Life. So far, the movie has saved hundreds of teens in dozens of countries.  Jim put prodigious amounts of time into the movie, for over a year. Steve Foster decided he could have a greater impact making more movies and  leading more outreach efforts. He no longer works for us.  

Paul Becker was one of our Board Members. Now he's the President of Dynamic Church Planting International. Scott Evans was our Associate Pastor. Now he's CEO of Outreach, Inc. Free Grafton was our Music Pastor. He now owns Church Community Builders Online. If you don't think losing those guys was painful, try giving birth with no epidural! But how dare we hold on, when the Great Commission is so great? I've actually come to believe that part of my ministry is supporting and blowing on others' kingdom visions. I'm cheering on five new kingdom-initiatives developing in our church right now. 

3. Staying long term.

Some pastors are catalytic. They like to start things and move on. I've learned that if I can start new things or help others start new things, I can be catalytic and stay. For most pastors, staying is better. Trust is built over time. Understanding a city takes time. Lessons are learned over time. Most pastors hit their stride around year ten and become city-statesmen around year twenty.  

Lori and I once visited Ireland. One of its downtown churches has been around almost since the days of St. Patrick. It's full of monuments and tombs. One of the church’s walls had plaques and dates of their pastors going back several hundred years. As I read down the wall, I came across a pastor who had come to the church at age 44 and left at age 86. (I assume his reason for leaving was death, but the plaque didn’t say.) This guy had led his church for 42 years!  

Whenever I think of quitting or moving on, I think of that guy. Four decades. Half his life. I hope to interview him in heaven one day. I'll bet he can tell a story or two about changing the world. 

Hal is Founding Pastor of New Song Community Church in Oceanside, CA. His most recent book, The Bible Questions is designed to launch a Bible reading revolution in your church and city. The book, and other resources, can be found at www.pastormentor.com.

 

The Great Commission is Our Commission

The Great Commission was Jesus’ last command to his disciples. Just before his ascension into heaven he said to them: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” Matthew 28:18-20.

I believe Jesus thought very carefully before he delivered these words.

   What do my disciples need to hear?

   What’s the ONE THING I want them to pass on to every generation of Christ-followers?

   When they hear these words, how will they be received?

Knowing the size of the Commission, Jesus starts by assuring them that he has the authority to issue it. “All authority has been given to me,” he says. – All authority. All authority. That’s a lot of authority!

Once he finishing giving the Commission, he assures them that they will never have to fulfill the Commission on their own. “Rest assured, I will be with you always,” he concludes. – Always. Always!  That’s a long time.

From that day to this, Jesus has been with his followers, guiding them to fulfill his Great Commission. We’ve done a pretty good job so far. Christianity has become the largest movement in the world. It’s invaded every nation, and almost every people group. Just a few are left. 

You want to know what’s frustrating about the Great Commission? 

It’s this: the number of Christians who are not willing to acknowledge that the Great Commission is their Great Commission. – That when Jesus addressed his disciples, he was expecting that every disciple would be a disciple-maker.

“Go,” he said. “Make disciples.” If this is my Commission, then my first question is, “Lord, where should I go?”

His answer is, “Where I have currently sent you.” The word “go,” in this passage is a Greek participle, meaning, “having gone your way.” In other words, wherever you are, make disciples.

So, where are you today?

Who are you near? Who are you in relationship with?

Summertime presents unique opportunities to build new friendships: outdoor block parties, backyard barbecues, trips to the beach. The nights are longer and the weather invites us outdoors.

Who are you near that you could take a first Great Commission step with?

This is how great churches become great. Their members build intentional friendships and step by step, love people to Christ.

According to Jesus, “making disciples” is only the first step for us. Step two is to baptize them. The word, “baptizo” in Greek means “to immerse, or plunge into.” Jesus’ idea of baptism wasn’t a safe sprinkling of water on one’s forehead. It was all the way down and all the way back up again – enabling us to demonstrate with our bodies, “I died, he now lives in me.” It’s a manly statement. It’s a mini-resurrection. 

Paul says it this way, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).

That’s what believer’s baptism demonstrated. You go down into the water like you’re being buried. You come up out of the water like you’ve been raised to new life. 

   Step one of the Great Commission: make a disciple.

   Step two: baptism them.

   Step three: teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded. 

Jesus is full of superlatives in this passage, isn’t he? ALL authority. With us ALWAYS. And, teach them EVERYTHING he commanded us. 

There can’t be a taller order.

I’ll never understand the man who thinks that Christian leadership is soft or easy. Not only does Jesus ask for dedication to his cause of making saints out of sinners, all the forces of hell are unleashed to keep us from doing so.

I defy anyone to come up with a more challenging assignment. 

I also defy anyone to come up with a more rewarding one. 

The first night I led someone to Christ, I barely slept. God has used me to usher someone into relationship with him. How incredible is that? Someone Christ died for now has a relationship with him, in part, because of me! I had been used by God for the purpose that was and is most precious to God: his reunion with one of his wayward sons. 

If I could wish only one thing for every believer I know, it’s that they would have a chance at least once in their life to be the person God used to change other’s eternity. 

That’s my wish for you.

The Great Commission was like a military briefing: short, clear, to the point. This is what I’m tasking you with:

   1. Wherever you are, make disciples.

   2. Whenever you do, baptize them.

   3. Whatever you do, teach them to be like Jesus.

And surely he will be with you always: in every prayer, every attempt, and every conversation you have in your efforts to make his last command your first concern.

Leading Chreasters To Christ

I ate dinner the other night with a couple who first came to church at Christmas. After hearing their story, the wife looked at me sheepishly and said, “We were Chreasters.”

“For years we’ve attend church on Christmas and Easter,” she continued. “Then, on Christmas Eve, you said we should start attending every week, so we are.”

I couldn’t help but smile. This is what we pray for twice a year!

The Chreaster Mindset

Chreasters are easy to reach and hard to keep. The easy part is getting them to one of your holiday services. They’re actually out there looking for a place to attend on those days. The difficult part is getting them to return on a regular Sunday. How do you persuade someone to come back to church who has no intention of doing so?

You don’t. But God can. I’ve found that if you line up grace, truth, and prayer, God can work miracles at Christmas and Easter.

1. Concentrated Prayer

At New Song, we spend two weeks in 24/7 prayer for our Christmas and Easter guests. We set up stations in our Prayer Room and ask members to fill one hour prayer five minutes at a time for the names of lost people submitted by other members, for the city, and for the other churches in town. We pray that people will be drawn to the churches of our city on Easter, but our bigger prayer is that they’ll be drawn back in the weeks following.

2. A Confident Invitation to Receive Christ

My message on Christmas Eve and Easter is always pointed towards an invitation to receive Christ. If you’re not going to present the gospel on the two days when your greatest number of lost people are in church, what’s the point in being a church?

This Christmas I went old school. Instead of asking people to respond to the Lord by raising their hands, I went a step further. While hands were up, I asked each one, “Are you serious about this?” After they each nodded in agreement, I said, “Then I’m going to invite you to come up here so I can pray with you.” What could they do? They had to come forward. Before praying with them, I got their names. After praying with them, I introduced them to someone who would take them through their first steps of faith.

3. An Immediate Follow-Up

The person I introduced them to was holding a packet. It contained a copy of the New Testament, a Spiritual Birth Certificate, and the first lesson in a follow-up course called, “Foundations.” Before returning to their seats, follow up was begun.

4. A Free Book

At the end of the service, I asked everyone to stand for the Benediction. Before praying I said, “I know some of you couldn’t pray that prayer with me a few minutes ago because you still have a lot of questions you need answered. I have a book here called, The God Questions, which I’ll gladly give you if you’ll read it. I’ll be up here in front after the service if you’d like a copy.” Then I prayed, grabbed a stack of books, and waited, pen in hand.

I asked each person in my line, “So you have questions about God?”

They always say, “I do.”

After finding out their name, I handed them the book and said, “I hope we’ll see you back here next week.”

5. A Volunteer Phone Call

Those who came forward to receive Christ that night began one-on-one discipleship within a few days. But what about the Chreasters who didn’t register a decision with us? We asked them all to fill out a Commitment Card and place it in the offering. Those who did were called by a volunteer the next day. We have found that Chreaster contacts grow cold quickly, so we make a huge effort to call within 24 hours. The call never lasts more than five minute. (In fact, surveys show that the longer the call lasts, the less likely your visitor is to return.) Our callers thank the guest for attending and invite them our next “R.U. New Café,” where they can meet the staff and learn more about the church.

6. A Personal Email

Also within 24 hours, I send a brief email to each guest, telling them how great it was to have them visit and asking how we can pray for them. I time my email for mid-morning. I don’t want it to get lost in the beginning of the day load of emails everyone gets first thing in the morning. I’m hoping they check their email at break time and find my note there.

7. A Personal Note

Within 48 hours, I also send all guests a handwritten note, with a coupon in it. The coupon is for a free copy of a movie we made a few years ago. In 2010, New Song partnered with Sony Pictures to produce, “To Save A Life.” The coupon is a pleasant surprise, and since they have to stop by our bookstore to pick up their copy, it’s an additional incentive to return soon.

8. A Reason to Return

Every year we try to offer a reason for the unchurched to return. One year it was to hear a comedian the following Friday night. Another year it was to be part of a family series. The year we released our movie, we held a movie showing. This year, we’re hosting a high profile guest (Bethany Hamilton) two weeks after Easter.

I know from Jesus’ attempts that not even he reached everyone he spoke to. But God is not willing that any should perish, and neither am I. So right now I’m mobilizing every resource at my disposal to attract and connect Chreasters to my church. And the day after Easter, I’ll write my knuckles white with notes inviting them to return.

What are you doing to lead Chreasters to Christ? I’d love to hear about it.

Would you like a deeper heart for your community? Hal has developed a free course called, "Momentum Bootcamp," designed to infect you with love your the lost and tools to reach them. You can sign up for it at www.pastormentor.com.

Hal’s newest book The Bible Questions comes out this September. He’s praying it will launch a Bible reading revolution among seekers and believers alike, and is hoping you and your church will join New Song for this six-week Church-Wide Campaign. Go to http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Questions-Shedding-Important/dp/0830856129/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332286835&sr=1-2 to pre-order, or visit www.pastormentor.com in July for quantity discounts and Campaign materials.

Why I'm Changing My Easter Plans

Last week my friend Scott Evans came to me with an idea that has changed my Easter plans.

As President of Outreach, Inc., Scott keeps his hand on the pulse of our society better than anyone I know. He asked me a simple question over lunch: “Hal, Outreach is thinking about creating an invitation card to an “End Times” series for churches after Easter. Do you think this would be useful to New Song?”

As we talked about the earthquakes in Japan and revolutions in the Middle East, it occurred to me that we’ve been selling an increased number of Future History books lately. (Future History is my book on Daniel and End Times Prophecy.) I should have spotted the trend myself: people are thinking about the end times!

Easter is the biggest event on our church calendar. Tons of guests visit us, and we try to encourage them to return by launching a need-oriented sermon series the following week. Up to the minute Scott mentioned end times, we’d been planning a marriage series. With his one question, he changed our direction.

Now I’ll be preaching how “When the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4) and ending with a forecast that, once the time had fully come, the time of the Gentiles had begun. Romans 11:25 speaks of a transition that will take place, when “the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” What will that time look like?  A lot like the time we’re in! Before I close, I’ll invite our guests back to find out more about the end times.

I believe we are in one of those “chiros moments” when people will listen to God’s Word to find out their immediate and future destiny. So we’ll be changing our series. The day after Easter, we’ll mail an invitation to our neighborhoods, inviting them to come find out about the end times. Pray with me that many eternities are changed as a result of our change in plans.

 

Bad News/Good News

It will soon be official. In less than three days, the 2010 calendar will be in the drawer and we will have entered into the second decade of the 21st century.

Economically, this decade was a bust. Stock values ended the decade almost where they began.  While our population has grown by 27,000,000, the number of employed Americans is virtually unchanged. And adjusted for inflation, the average American earns 5% less than 10 years ago. 

The good news is that America has never had two down decades in a row, so this one ought to be better. (Though I'm not making any predictions.)

Physically, a decade ago we were downsizing our military because of peace. Few of us had heard of the Taliban, even less of Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. Today, members of our own church are in a fistfight on the ground in the country of Afghanistan, and we're all wondering just how close Iran is to having a nuclear weapon, and what that might mean to Israel and end times prophecies.

The good news is, the Bible predicted that there would be a rise in wars and earthquakes before the return of Christ. So who knows, we might be getting close!

Spiritually, to God's sorrow, millions died this decade without knowing Christ. And 1,700,000 Christians were martyred.

The good news is, Christianity (in all its expressions) is growing by 8.9% annually, worldwide. At the current rate, every person on the planet will be a Christ-follower by 2032. And here at New Song, we've helped by training 100,000 church planters through DCPI throughout the world, and seen 6,100 receive Christ locally.

My friend Walt Wilson (president of Global Media Outreach) tells me that 85% of the world now has access to the worldwide web either by computer or mobile phone, and that the whole world will be connected by 2015. Jesus predicted that his gospel would be preached in the whole world and then the end would come. So we may be entering the most strategic period in human history!

Personally, I'm listening for God's voice and hearing him call his church to a greater focus and intensity level. The people of this world need Jesus, and our chances may soon be passing away. I'm praying that 50% of the city I serve comes to Christ before my death, or his return. It may be soon, so we must pray, sacrifice and engage! May this new decade begin a whole new era of fervency for Christ. Amen?

A Dangerous Prayer

Twenty-one years ago I prayed a prayer that has changed me more than any other. It changed my vocation, location, orientation, and just about every other “ation” in my life.

 The prayer? “God, I don’t ask you for much today. I just ask that you give me your heart for lost people.”

Nineteen words. Twenty-one syllables. Seventy letters. One request.

I prayed that prayer every day for ninety days. By the end of it, I was a new man. I was no longer content to serve the church. I was compelled to serve God and his purposes in the world. At the time, I was an associate pastor in a nice, safe church in rural Colorado. I was content with that. I planned to stay there for a long, long time.

But the prayer (or, the Lord) wouldn’t let me. The prayer moved me to San Diego County, where I founded New Song Community Church, a church focused on reaching the lost. To date, just a few less than 8,000 people have received Christ through New Song’s ministries. Last year we released a movie that we believe is saving lives daily. (The movie is aptly named, “To Save A Life.”) We’ve helped start seven churches and seven parachurch ministries or outreach-focused companies, one of which has planted 104,000 churches. I am in awe of what God has done.

Here’s what I know:

1. A simple prayer really can change you.

 2. God’s great desire is that all people come to know him.

 3. God uses ordinary people who are willing to take extraordinary risks.

 4. The community you live in will only be reached if people like you pray dangerous prayers and get about the business of building Christ’s church.

 5. Churches that reach out are led by pastors who are compelled by God to reach their communities. Most of these pastors don’t see themselves as overly impressive. They’re just convicted to their core that they must mobilize people to reach out because they are convinced that this is God’s primary purpose for them, and for their people. 

I’ve written an eight-week adventure designed to infect pastors and churches with a love for the lost. If you’d like to become infected, email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you a lesson a week for the next eight weeks. If all goes well, you and your community will be changed more than you’ve ever imagined.

How to Grow your Church with a Great Guest Speaker

Last weekend we hosted Michael Franzese as a guest speaker. Michael is a former Mob Captain with the Colombo crime family who now travels the country sharing the story of how he came to Christ. It was an amazing weekend for us. Thanks to God’s blessing and Outreach, Inc’s marketing expertise, we had 1,000 guests join us for the weekend. Every service was filled to capacity, including our overflow room. In each service, people came to Christ. Michael ministered and prayed with people at his booktable for over an hour after each service.

 We’ve had other guest speakers, but never one with such wide appeal. The weekend was such a success, it has forced us to think at a new level. Our Management Team debriefed afterwards. Here’s what we learned.

What this did for us:

1. It gave us an opportunity to raise the value of evangelism and lower the bar of fear.

 For several weeks leading up to his coming, I mentioned Michael and played preview videos in each service. For four weeks running, one of our sermon applications was to write down 4-6 names of people we would pray for and invite to hear Michael. We’ve done this before; and people have responded fairly well to the opportunities, but Michael’s story was so unusual that it lowered all the barriers. Instead of hoping to turn conversations to an invitation to church, I and many others found ourselves able to start conversations with an invitation to church. With people I barely know, I would say, “Hey, have you ever thought about going to church? Because two weeks from now we have a guy coming that I think you’d like to hear.”

With the manager of my gym, I said, “Chris, we’ve talked about you coming to church someday. I think I found the day.” I handed him an invitation and told him about Michael. Then I said, “In fact, I’ve got a whole stack of these cards. Would you mind if I put them on your front desk?”

 He responded, “No, the corporate office wouldn’t allow me to do that, but if you give them to me, I’ll pass them out.”  And he did. I met a guy who came because of an invitation at the gym!

 Our staff all agreed that our Michael Franzese weekend was a win even if very few of our guests return because of what it did for our members: it raised the value of evangelistic invitations for them, while lowering the threshold on their fear of inviting friends.

2. It built momentum for the next big event.

The weekend was such a success that we are now set up for a second one. Currently, we’re looking for another unique speaker with wide appeal to come for a weekend in January. I’m confident our people will rise to the occasion again because this was such a good experience for them.

 3. It put us on people’s maps.

After 18 years of mailing invitations, you’d think everyone would know who and where we are. But they don’t. Hundreds of our guests had never heard of New Song before.  And hundreds more had heard of us but never thought about checking us out. The cool part is, many of these people will return. Maybe even cooler is the number of people who didn’t attend last weekend, but now know we exist. If 1,000 newcomers attended, we believe there are potentially tens of thousands who now know of us and may attend in the future.

 4. It gave us new volunteers.

Every Easter we ask all our people to step forward and serve somewhere. Some of them do it just that one time, but many first time volunteers get permanently assimilated into teams. Because of the size of this event, we were able to make the “big ask” of our whole congregation. Dozens volunteered for the first time. We believe many of them will continue serving, taking the size of our serving core to a new level.

 5. It increased our leaders’ status.

Following the event, dozens of our people posted on Facebook how proud they were of their church and leaders. The truth is, we didn’t do all that much. God, Outreach, and our inviters get the credit for the number of our guests. But the overspray of a great event has put a new shine on the status of every pastor and leader in our church. With it, we’ll be able to leverage more change, advancement, and growth.

 As you can imagine, with every upside, there’s a downside. Some of the things we prayed about didn’t happen. We experienced a miracle, but the miracle didn’t change too many every day realities for us.

 What it didn’t do for us

1. It didn’t make life easier.

Before the event, our staff was stretched with all their weekly responsibilities. Those responsibilities weren’t eased by our success, they were compounded.

 Normally, I write a few dozen first-time guest letters. This week, I didn’t finish the letters until Wednesday at midnight.

 Normally, our weekly Management Team meeting lasts an hour. This week we went two hours working on solutions to new problems our growth has created.

 2. It didn’t help us financially.

We spent about $8,000 on postcards, doorhangers, a newspaper ad, and Michael’s speaking fee. We figure our 1,000 guests contributed about $1 per person to our offering, so it will take months of faithful giving to recoup the cost of this event. The cost was more than worth it, but it’s a cost we will have to absorb until our newcomers grow and  learn about stewardship.

 3. It didn’t endear us to our neighbors.

New Song sits at the end of a commercial parking lot. One hundred yards from us is another, smaller church. We were careful to ask our regular attendees to park past that church, so as not to take their spaces, but even with an active parking team, some of our guests couldn’t imagine one church not letting them park to attend another church a few yards away. Some fence-mending will need to be done before this nearby church counts our “win” as a kingdom win.

 What we learned

1. Think through every system ahead of time.

Our ushers were primed for a larger group. They performed stellarly. So did our children’s, tech, and music teams. Our office staff printed plenty of extra programs. But, we forgot to order extra donuts. And even a beefed-up parking team wasn’t able to handle the additional cars as well as we’d hoped.

 2. Think bigger.

Our normal video feed works well for a small group in our overflow room. We found that a bigger crowd creates the expectation of a better video presentation. To accommodate a bigger crowd, we need to think bigger. The upside of this is that we now have a vision of what we need to do as New Song grows into its new size. The downside is, we wish we’d thought bigger ahead of time, since you only get one chance to make a great first impression.

 3. Forget normal.

Michael spoke for us on the first weekend of the month. Our normal pattern is to celebrate communion on the first weekend of the month, so we did. It didn’t work well at all. Lesson: when you’re doing exceptional things, do away with the normal things. In our case, we’ll move communion to another weekend next time.

 4. Keep the core.

On the other hand, my participation was as “normal” as possible without doing the preaching. I spent a few minutes welcoming the crowd. I emceed the service and “preached” for three minutes during communion. Along with me, our worship band did their “normal” part of the service. We think these were crucial for us. If we are going to persuade visitors to return, they need to sample the preacher and the music of a “normal” weekend so they can see if they like it.

 5. Expect your guest to speak long.

Every guest we’ve ever had has struggled to stay within the time limits of our 35 minute speaking slot. Fortunately, our children’s team anticipated this, so our kids were okay. Still, the strain of going twenty minutes long stretched our transitions between services. Our rule of thumb from now on is, whenever we have a guest, we’ll expect him or her to speak long and adjust accordingly.

 6. Celebrate the victory.

Michael spoke for us on Labor Day weekend. Monday was a holiday for us. Not only did we have more to do as a result of the great turn-out, we had less time to do it. Fortunately, years ago I learned from Bill Hybels and Nehemiah about the value of celebration. So we took an hour Wednesday morning to share victory stories as a staff, an hour Wednesday night to share victories with our Board, and we made lots of posts on Facebook to let our people know what God had done.

 It’s funny how stories can become more precious than the event itself, but that’s what we’ve found. A story told is a distillation of the event into its poignant essence. I will remember the feeling of God’s Spirit in our packed auditorium for years, but I suspect the memory of hearing how our Video Coordinator led her neighbor to Christ after the service will be as sweet and strong, and maybe sweeter and stronger, as the years go by.

 7. Share the victory.

I recently began mentoring a group of nearby pastors. Admittedly, I’m passionate about New Song’s growth, but I’m also passionate about seeing their churches reach their communities as well. So this week I spent some time encouraging them to think about hosting Michael and others like him. I wrote this article for the very same reason.

 I hope you’ll take the risk of thinking bigger than you’ve ever thought before. I’m not saying you have to host Michael Franzese, although I do recommend him to you. Try something outrageously beyond what you’ve done before. Take a risk. Think outside your box.

 Jesus wants to reach your community more than you do. Give him a chance to use you and your church to do it. Even if you don’t succeed, you’ll learn a ton. And the Lord looks on the heart more than on the result. He’ll be as honored by your efforts as he is by your victories. Try something ridiculous and then share the victory with the rest of us so we can imitate it too.

 8. Find a speaker with wide appeal.

Years ago, we hosted a former Misses United States in our services. Dozens of tweenage girls showed up and mobbed her. A few months later we hosted a retired NFL quarterback. Several jocks showed up with memorabilia to autograph. Once we hosted an aging former rock-star. Aged hippies attended.

 All of that was fruitful, but what we learned from hosting Michael Franzese is that there are a few special packages out there that can appeal to a very wide audience. A reformed Mob boss appeals to men. A former Mob boss who left a life of crime because of his love for a beautiful woman appeals to women. Couple that with a first class communication gift and a story of redemption straight from heaven, and you’ve got a volatile mixture for explosive growth.

 Years ago Gatorade did a Michael Jordan commercial whose punchline was, “I wanna be like Mike.” My greatest lesson learned from our big weekend is that I want to find more unique speakers like Mike because I want to see more people become like Jesus.

 Hal Seed is the founding pastor of New Song Community Church, and a mentor for pastors around the country. To learn more about Hal’s books and resources for church leaders, visit www.pastormentor.com.