Neither Rain nor Snow….

Last weekend we had a huge snow. Now, it might not be huge for folks in the north but for us southerners it was a biggie. We had anywhere from 6 to 10 inches in the Memphis area. With the snow came church cancellations scrolling across TV screens. But you did not see Hope listed there. We have an “always open” policy.  This commitment refects deeply into some of our core values.  We are open because:

• We are committed to positively outrageous service.
• We achieve the unexpected.
• We do whatever it takes.
• We sacrifice our wants for other’s needs.

Here is an excecerpt from an email to the staff from our senior management team:

“Do you know that even with the snow, and most churches closing, we had well over 2500 folks to chose to come to church.  That is huge! We had a full choir, all the worship team here, even when that means coming at 7. We had staff who stepped in and made coffee ( including our Sr. Pastor)  others who shoveled snow, and we made it all work.  Since it’s been some time, I have been asked to update you all, and let’s see if we can put together some action steps to make sure we are “super ready” for the next time.

· In case you don’t know, Hope doesn’t cancel worship services. We’ll have them even with 5 people, so if you ever wake up and  it’s snowy, or  such, WE ARE ON”

So, like our nation’s postal service, we deliver the love of Christ no matter what the weather!

Customer Service Surprise

Last week I was at the dentist and that is usally a pretty painful experience for me, my bad teeth and my wallet.  But this time is was not so bad.  As I was checking out, the receptionist handed me this Starbucks card and said, “This is just a little thank you from us because we had to cancel your appointment last week.  So, thanks for your patience!!”

I was blown away.  I have had some doctor and dentist appointments canceled in the past but have NEVER had anyone give me anything in appreciation for my patience.  And it is not like I was a new patient who they were trying to impress or keep their business.  No, I have been going there for years and have always had great service there.  This just took that service to another level.  I appreciate the thoughtfulness and care that this little card communicates.  What a great idea.

I’m off to Starbucks to get a tasty, sugary, frappuccino that will rot my teeth out… wait a minute… this might be part of an evil plan to get me back in the chair for some drilling….

But if you are in Memphis looking for a great dentist, check out Avery & Meadows Dentistry

Greeting Not Freaking

This past weekend we received this comment regarding one of our zealous greeters:

“I love his passion and energy, but the greeter that wants to shake everyone’s hand kind of freaks me out a little. I keep thinking about the germs! I know some of that is my problem, ha. Maybe he can just smile and say hello?“

It is a great comment. This is a great example of why we do comment cards in the first place. We learned something that we were not aware of. These comments are our eyes.

But how do we respond? Do we say, “Sorry, but we are a friendly church. Deal with it!!!” Or “Just shake his hand and carry some hand sanitizer in your pocket!!” That is not exactly our response. Here is what I said:

“I read your comment from the weekend regarding an aggressive greeting issue. I want to say that I agree with you and am sorry that we made you feel uncomfortable. I think it is an issue of training, and I am going to work on that. As you know, we try to make Hope as welcoming a place as possible without making people feel uncomfortable. We do not slap name tags on folks. We do not make visitors stand up during the service. We do want people to feel welcome and yet, be as anonymous as they want to be.

With that in mind, our shaking hands policy has always been to shake the hand of someone who reaches out to shake your hand but to not initiate the hand shake.

Thanks for pointing this out. We are going to spread the word so we don’t freak people out”

Each church has to come to their own conclusion as to what best fits their culture when it comes to welcoming and greeting people who walk through their doors. As for me and my church, no shaking unless shaken upon — or something like that….

Over 700 Volunteers Poised for Christmas Eve Services

We have guests coming tonight through Christmas Eve — upwards to 20,000 depending on the weather.  It is so exciting to see folks come together to pull this off.  The above gifts represent a huge commitment taken on by numerous volunteers and staff to wrapping all these little presents .  We wrapped some 20,000 of them to be handed out as people arrive and used as an illustration during the sermon.  It is going to be wonderful.

And I am so grateful for the over 700 volunteers who will greet, make coffee, direct traffic, usher people around, sing, hang out with Children, rock babies….  They are awesome!!!

Yes, we have guest coming and we want them to feel comfortable and welcome as they hear and experience the love of God wrapped in this baby who became the Saviour of the world.

Observation 101

A couple of weeks ago I was pulled aside by one of our members and walked to this location — the place where we usually have a Small Groups table.  I died laughing a this creative placement prank.

The sad thing is that I had walked past this trash can at least three times and never noticed that anything was out of place.

Don’t we do this all the time?  At home I walk past that same pile of junk on the floor that has been there for months.  I become oblivious of the cracked window pane or walk down the hallway and step over the large sack of dog food in stead of putting it away.

After a week I quit noticing my missing hubcap.

The list can go on and on.

We need to open our eyes around the church.  It should become second nature for all of us to look around with purpose — a ministry of observation.  Leaders should be trained to observe people and keep an eye out for out of place stuff.  How many times have we seen a wadded up piece of paper on the floor but stepped right over it and walked on.    Visitors not only notice that trash but they also notice the culture of people picking up trash instead of just walking past it.

Look for people to reach out to but as you look also notice the metaphorical garbage can trashing your small group ministry.  Let’s get it moved!

Welcoming Environments

“What are you doing to create an environment that says to people, We KNEW you were coming and we were EXPECTING you!”

                 

This is a quote from a post by Scott Hodge.  He does a great job of relating a bad experience at a restaurant and seeing what we can learn about being churches that are truly welcoming.  One thing I have commented on is that coffee ministers to our sense of smell. (See First Impressions & Coffee) but Scott takes it to a different level when he says this:

“There’s no reason that churches should smell like Ben-gay and mothballs.  So we use Henri Bendel Scentports scattered throughout our auditorium using a scent called Firewood – which is a mix of birch, cedar, sandalwood with a slight hint of tobacco.  This fits the wood-beamed architecture of our auditorium perfectly.  (On a side note – please leave the flowery smelling potpourri at home.  And DON’T spray Lysol before starting a service.  That makes the room smell like someone just threw up minutes before people arrived.)”

Someone spilt one of those cheep flowery scent canisters in the office last week and it was smelling like the bathroom on a Greyhound Bus!!!!

Read the full post here.

First Impressions & Coffee

                    

This past week I had another church contact me about our philosophy of coffee at Hope.  They had visited last week and saw that we had three coffee bars located throughout our campus serving free coffee. (Picture above of Hope’s South Foyer Coffee Bar) I told them that yes, it was free, but we have some jars out to accept any donations folks might want to give.  We serve over 350 gallons a weekend and have over 150 volunteers to pull this ministry off.  It is a huge priority and commitment for us.  Here is what I emailed this church as to why we do the coffee at Hope:

1. OUR MISSION:  Bottom line is that our mission is to be a church for the unchurched. Therefore, we are looking for ways to have the environment as positive as possible for folks who walk in our facility. We know that some people are entering the building with some preconceived ideas about church and can be coming in with some real painful experiences in their past. We want them to walk in and be touched by the positive experience.
2. CORE VALUE:  We want to achieve the unexpected. That is one of our core values here at Hope. We want them to walk away telling others what a great place Hope is. The first week they might not go back to work and tell others about the sermon — hopefully they will!! — but they might go and tell their friends about the coffee. “Man, you will not believe this but I went to church this weekend. Yes, I went to church, but the cool thing was this coffee bar. Right there in the lobby they had this coffee bar with all kinds of flavors — Dark Blend, Hazelnut, Vanilla, even a Southern Pecan! And to top it all off, you could take the coffee into the sanctuary!!!” (We have lids for the coffee that we encourage people to use. This cuts down on the spills.)
3. MINISTRY TO THE SENSES:  We are touching the senses. They drive in and see our Coneheads (parking lot attendants) welcoming them with a smile. They see how clean and inviting our facility is. They are touched by the friendliness of our greeters at the door. They walk in the door and immediately smell the freshly brewed coffee. They step up to the coffee kiosk and pour a cup of coffee and taste how good it is. They enter into the sanctuary and hear some great music and a message from God’s Word.
4. COFFEE CULTURE:  Coffee says many things in our culture today. Look at the impact of Starbucks. Here is what they say, “Starbucks Coffee Company provides an uplifting experience that enriches people’s lives one moment, one human being, one extraordinary cup of coffee at a time.” It is about the experience. It speaks of community. It helps people feel comfortable in an environment.
5. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:  What a great place to have people serve. Some of my best greeters are there making the coffee and interacting with folks who come up for a cup.

Those are some of my thoughts in why we do coffee at Hope.  Anyone have other ideas? 

 

By the way, we proudly use Memphis roasted Ugly Mug Coffee.  Click on the bag to learn more.

Christmas Eve at Hope – WOW!

Just finished our 9th Christmas Eve Service at Hope Church and what a wonderful last few days it was. I just heard that we had 18,000 people come through our doors!!!

Having the chance to share Christ with all those folks in our new sanctuary was just amazing. Everyone from Craig preaching all services to Bruce leading the worship to the hundreds of volunteers really made all these services work. I am worn out but joyful over this season and for the opportunity to minister at this incredible place.

Volunteer Evangelist

I just received this brief article from Group Publishing, and it points to the importance of the positive buzz that can come from your excited volunteers.  We need to tap into that excitement and encourage them to be evangelists for recruiting other volunteers.  Also, check out an earlier post on the Power of the People.

Volunteer ‘Evangelists’

Amy Dolan

Recently I read Creating Customer Evangelists by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. The authors describe how great companies have found success by creating customer evangelists.

What if volunteers in your ministry loved the experience so much that they told all their friends—who then wanted to serve? Volunteer evangelists hear the buzz about your ministry, sign up, then pass on their awesome experience to friends and encourage them to sign up too. The friends trust your volunteer and want to share in this amazing experience. And a volunteer evangelist is born.

Create Buzz
If you want volunteers to talk about your ministry, you’ve got to create a great volunteer experience. Here are two key components:
• Give volunteers a voice. Volunteers need to be heard. Ask weekly about their experiences and how to improve. Let them know when their suggestion or request makes a difference.
• Honor your volunteers. Invest in them through training and recognition. Empower volunteers to do their very best, and when they’re successful, celebrate them like crazy!

Identify Volunteer Evangelists
Find your ministry’s biggest fans and enlist their help by asking them to share what they love about your ministry. Here are suggestions for finding people with the greatest impact.
• I’ve done it. Key volunteer evangelists are already recruiting and talking up your ministry. Ask them to tell friends, family, and colleagues about your program. No fancy presentation necessary: The volunteer’s role is simply to share great experiences.
• My kids love it. Parents with kids who’ve had a great experience on your team will be very quick to tell other parents. Encourage parents to think about other parents who might be interested in serving.
• I love what you do. Other leaders who support your ministry make great cheerleaders. Ask these leaders to consider serving once in your ministry. Then ask them to share their experience with the people in their ministries.

This article is adapted from Children’s Ministry Magazine, the leading resource for those who minister to children. The complete article is available to CVC members in our Idea Depot.

FedEx Delivers Christmas

Thanks to one of our dear friends , Lisa, who works for FedEx, Laurie’s Multi-National Ministry kids will have a very fun Christmas.  Laurie received a check for $2100 from this Memphis based company.  FedEx made this check out  to Target so she could go and buy Christmas presents for the refuge and immigrant children with whom she works. 

I had the wonderful privilege of going with her to purchase the gifts.  What a blast it was!!!!  As you can see, we filled up three shopping carts full of presents, and we did not even spend the whole wad!!  Target was gracious enough to put the balance on a gift card so that we can strategize and then come back tomorrow to finish our gift buying. 

I could not believe all the toy choices.  I was completely out of touch with all the options out there and somewhat overwhelmed.  We had fun, but we found ourselves being very self conscious of what it looked like for us to be stuffing carts with all these toys.  While standing in line with our overflowing carts, I heard someone say, “Their kids must have been very good this year.”  Well, they have.  Laurie has had a great year with these Children, but life is usually pretty lean for these families.  They struggle to pay the bills much less give many gifts at this holiday season. 

For more about Multi-National Ministries click here.