I’m confessing this to you in hopes that you will avoid making a similar mistake and take action today in evaluating your own Assimilation system.

One Sunday not too long ago, at one of our Journey early services, we had zero first-time guests.

It is very rare for us to have zero anything! We always have first-time guests, new believers and first-time givers. So the first call I made was to the campus pastor of that service. He couldn’t believe it either.

Using our systems of measurement, we began to drill down and answer this question: why were there no first-time guests identified at this service?

Our first thought was that maybe this was a Connection Card issue. Did we do our presentation right? Did we have an issue in collecting the cards? Our percentage collected was a bit lower (we usually have 70–75% of our regular attenders fill this out each week), but that didn’t seem like the issue.

The other zero in the report related to the number of free gifts picked up after the service. At first glance, this seemed correct, since our numbers were showing zero first-time guests. Our first-time guest gift is a book I wrote called Unshakable. I wrote this specifically to meet first-time guests where they are – either in transition, under tension or in trouble. I went through thousands of prayer requests from first-time guests to create a book that meets their needs. We had considered many other types of free gifts in the past, but the book topped the list because if they engage with it, it will move them forward spiritually.

We have a table at the exit doors with about 50 books stacked up. We measure how many books we put out and how many are taken each week. On that particular Sunday in question, zero people identified themselves as first-time guests, and zero took a book. But I thought some regular guests would still take one, even if they didn’t complete a connection card.

This was a huge clue.

Tune in next week when I reveal the big mistake and how it relates The Principle of Spiritual Readiness.

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.