Breaking Attendance Barriers

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com © Nelson Searcy

About Nelson Searcy Lead Pastor, The Journey Church of the City, New York, NY

Nelson Searcy is the founder and lead pastor of The Journey Church of the City, an innovative, multicultural church located in New York City. Founded in 2002, The Journey is a multi-site church with locations across the metro New York City, The Journey continues to grow and innovate and serve the people of NYC.

An experienced strategist, coach and speaker, Searcy serves as a regular consultant to churches across America. He is the author of dozens of articles and training resources on leadership, evangelism, church planting, and church growth. In addition, he is an author of many Christian books on church leadership and numerous resources for pastors and other church leaders. He is also the founder of Church Leader Insights, an organization that provides training and resources for pastors.

Thank you for being here today!

Why this webinar? We are losing the battle in America! The population is growing much faster than our churches.

 Over 50% of the churches in America have less than 100 people!  Over 80% of the churches in America have less than 250 people!

“The Lord isn’t really moving slow about His promise to return as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish. So He is giving more time for everyone to repent.” -- 2 Peter 3:9

COMMON GROWTH BARRIERS:

65 125 250 500

TWO CHALLENGING DECISIONS:

Decision #1: ______wants my church to grow.

Decision #2: ______want my church to grow.

TWO QUESTIONS OF GROWTH

The WRONG question:

How do I ______to grow?

The RIGHT question:

What ______from growing?

DEFINITION OF A BARRIER:

Anything that is keeping my church from reaching its

______!

NINE GROWTH BARRIERS + 3 GROWTH ENGINES

FOR MORE ON ALL THE GROWTH BARRIERS:

The Breaking Growth Barriers Workshop – Live Recording with Nelson Searcy (5 hours for Download or 5 CD’s with complete resource CD) Available at: www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com

THE 8 CHURCH GROWTH SYSTEMS:

 The Worship Planning System (See The Worship Planning Seminar)

 The Evangelism System (See The Evangelism Seminar)

 The Assimilation System (See The Assimilation Seminar)

 The Small Groups System (See The Activate Seminar)

 The Ministry System (See The Ministry Seminar)

 The Stewardship System (See The Stewardship Seminar)

 The Leadership System (See Leadership Skills for a Growing Church)

 The Strategy System (See The Strategy Seminar)

For more information on all 8 Church Systems, download Nelson’s FREE E-Book, “Healthy Systems, Healthy Church” at:

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/systems

# of People in the room in my largest service: ______

What is my current seating capacity in that same service? ______

Barrier Principle: Once a room is ______its full!

 A full service for me is (seating x 70%) = ______

When a room is full, people stop:

 inviting friends

 talking to guests

 attending regularly

Breaking Questions:

What if twice as many people showed up on Sunday?

What would we have to do to accommodate twice as many people?

Related Issues:

Recommended Resources: Breaking the 65, 125, 250 or 500 Barrier (Downloads or CDs) by Nelson Searcy Starting A Second Service (Download or CD) by Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas Breaking Growth Barriers Complete Workshop (Download or CDs) by Nelson Searcy Ignite: Sparking Immediate Growth in My Church (Book) by Nelson Searcy

Self Development: Leadership Ability + Spiritual Maturity

Ken Blanchard states that a leader should develop their:

Heart  Spiritual Maturity

Habits  Personal Growth (i.e., Time management)

Hands  Key Skills

Head  Education / Intelligence

When a pastor isn’t growing:

 the church stops growing

 the sermons are stale

 the passion for ministry wanes

Breaking Questions:

What is my intentional plan for personal growth?  Books  Audio Recordings  Seminars / Conferences  Coaching Networks

Prayer: God make me into the person I need to be to lead the church at twice its size!

Recommended Resources: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Book) by John Maxwell Leading At A Higher Level (Book) by Ken Blanchard Leadership Skills for Growing Church (Download or CDs) by Nelson Searcy The Willow Creek Leadership Summit (August) Tele-Coaching Network for Senior Pastors with Nelson Searcy - More Info at www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

ACTION STEPS:

Space ______

Self Development

______

General Action Steps:

______

Apply within ONE WEEK to receive the Growth Barriers Workshop ($499.95 Value) Absolutely FREE!

The Senior Pastor Tele-Coaching Network is a relationship-based coaching network for pastors seeking to break the 125, 250, 500, 750 & 1000 attendance barriers. The heart of the Network is found in a group of senior pastors meeting together monthly for training, coaching and networking. Space is LIMITED and, unfortunately, we cannot accept everyone who applies.

The Coaching Network will follow the outline of the 9 Growth Barriers and 8 Growth Systems as taught in the workshops led by Nelson Searcy and will be customized according to the specific needs of those accepted.

Nelson Searcy will lead the Tele-Coaching Network. Nelson is the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church of the City in New York City, a multi-site, multicultural church that he started in 2002. With locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, San Francisco and Boca Raton, FL, over 1,000 people have been baptized! He is the author of 6 books and over 60 church growth resources, and has coached over 1,100 pastors since 2004. His coaching networks fill up fast and often have long waiting lists. Prior to coming to NYC, he was the founding director of The Purpose Driven Network at Saddleback Church with Rick Warren.

What You Receive  Monthly hands-on coaching from Nelson Searcy.  A proven coaching process that leads to growth and health.  Over $1687 in FREE resources from Church Leader Insights PLUS special discounts on any new resources.  Unlimited email access to Nelson Searcy and the CLI team.  A monthly coaching environment where everyone is focused on a Kingdom agenda.  MP3s of each session for your review. NOTE: Even if you miss the exact date, you can listen to the network at your leisure.  FREE attendance at all live or web CLI training events during your network.  Private “call-in” times with Nelson Searcy to have your specific questions answered in more detail.  A private day-long meeting with Nelson Searcy, exclusively for tele-coaching participants (location to be determined).  The chance to grow and take your church to the next level.  Plus much, much more!

Learn more or Apply Online: http://www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/telecoaching

Apply within ONE WEEK to receive the Growth Barriers Workshop FREE!

Sharing: Reaching new people

How many salvation commitments do we have on an average week? ______

Barrier Principle: Every person challenged to share with ______

 Teach on relational evangelism.  Use an Influence Card or Impact Card.

An aggressive goal: 20% of weekly attenders doing some type of sharing!

Breaking Questions:

When was the last time you asked someone publicly or privately to commit their lives to Christ?

What would it look like on Sunday if every person in your church invited 3 friends?

Recommended Resources: Fusion: From First Time Guests to Fully Engaged Members by Nelson Searcy The Assimilation Seminar (3 CD set) by Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas Ignite: Sparking Immediate Growth in My Church (Book) by Nelson Searcy The Evangelism Seminar (3 CD set) by Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas Reaching Your Community through Servant Evangelism (CD) by Nelson Searcy Simply Strategic Stuff / Simply Strategic Growth (Books) by Stevens and Morgan The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing (Book) by Trout and Reis

ACTION STEPS:

Sharing ______

NEXT STEPS

 Select the greatest barrier and work on it first.  Develop a team to break each barrier.  Don’t get overwhelmed – trust God!

TWO CHALLENGING DECISIONS:

Decision #1: Decide to break the next growth barrier within ______months.

Decision #2: Decide to make ______week!

What are my next steps after today’s workshop?

When will I re-evaluate? One month, 90 days, 6 months, one year?

How will I hold myself accountable to follow-up on what I learned today?

CONCLUDING THOUGHT

(Jesus) “Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!" -- John 4:35-37