Check out this post from Gary Lamb, on “Thoughts Keeping Him Up”. It contains thoughts that are keeping him awake at night as they prepare to launch their first satellite campus. Here a few good ones.

• What is the bottom line cost we can launch campuses for without compromising our vision, style, and excellence?
• How quickly can I launch campuses?
• How important is the role of campus pastor?
• How do you duplicate the buzz and energy of our main campus?

Check out his post for more of his thoughts and questions about it.

So I forgot to add this book to my recap of reading the other day. here are a few quick hits that I took form this book:

• Everything a church does creates an Impression, good and bad. What Impression are you making?
• If you don’t have a plan for guests they will notice and they will have a plan, to not come back.
• Marketing materials are a first impression. From the Web site on down to every printed piece in your building
• The building itself can leave an impression. Is it clean? Dirty? Cluttered? Full? Empty?
• Plan. Plan some more. Then Plan again. Make sure you are thinking of all the ways guests are going to come and plan for them.
• Put yourself in their shoes.

If you want to see why I was reading this book, check out this First Impressions Manual I put together for my church.
All in all if you are trying to do a better job with your guests this is a great read and will get your brain thinking.

So i have recently been very wrapped up in putting together two very important documents and ministries at church and I wanted to share them here with every one. If they are helpful then please by all means use them to your liking.

The first one is the First Impressions Manual: A Guide to Creating “Wow” Experiences

The Second one is a communications manual that should give some guidance to anyone looking to put one together.

first-impressions-manual.pdf

crossroads-church-communications.pdf

In the next few days I am going to share some of my ideas, some ideas gleaned from others, and some overall just plain good ideas for church blogging, and how to do it successfully, creatively, and effectively.

Idea 4

Get the readers to do it. If you want your church blog to be successful you have to get the reader involved. Post entries that ask readers questions and encourage them to respond, In doing so you will encourage a dialog on your blog. Other ideas are to have your readers tell you what topics they want you to write on, you could do a survey via a polling add-on. Regardless of how you do it, you need to try to encourage visitor participation. In doing this you offer the reader something more then just words to read but you give them a chance to be heard. You will make them want to come back so they can be heard again and again.

So remember just do it, do it regularly, have guests do it, and get your readers to do it.

Is God innovative?

This is a question I see and hear asked a  lot. For some reason or another we as humans can’t seem to get past our own experiences and what we are used to to see that God has always been innovative. He does things today that that 1000 years ago He didn’t do. He is having His message spread in new ways almost every day it seems. I want to share a few verses with you that I think show that our God is an innovative God.

“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. ” Isa 43:18,19

“You have heard My predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it. Now I will tell you new things, secrets you have not yet heard.
They are brand new, not things from the past. So you cannot say, ‘We knew that all the time!’
Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new, things you never heard of before. ” Isa 48:6-8

God says in his own words here that he is constantly doing new things. He even says look I did these great new things and you refused to admit it, so now I am going to tell you some more new things I am going to do so you can’t deny it.

Our God is innovative and creative. He is the God that created all that we see from nothing, if that isn’t innovative and creative I don’t know what is.

He was innovative and creative at the beginning of time, and since He is never changing I must believe that He is innovative and creative now. the only question is how I am i to going to use that His creativity and innovation to reach a world in need.

In the next few days I am going to share some of my ideas, some ideas gleaned from others, and some overall just plain good ideas for church blogging, and how to do it successfully, creatively, and effectively.

Idea 3

Have a guest do it. One of the best ways you can garner interest and lighten your own blogging load is to invite guest bloggers to write posts.  One of the best examples I have seen of this is over at The Swerve Blog. The Guys there at Life Church know a thing or two about successful technology ministry, so why not take a cue from them. Who could you invite to guest blog you ask? How bout another ministry leader, or a church member, or gasp a non member who might have some insight. You could even make guest blogging a part of your regular blog schedule.  To lighten the load even more have a guest blogger do a series  of related posts.

The key to this idea is just getting out there and asking some folks to get involved and share their thoughts.  I am sure that for most any church there are at least a few people other then the pastor whohave something insightful and helpful to share. For example one of LifeChurch.tv guests bloggers was the pastors secretary(administrative assistant), who did a very good 5 part series on how her ministry in helping the lead pastor is so important.(it is!)

So remember, just do it, do it regularly, and have guests do it.