MYTH: Memorial Day is right around the corner. You know what that means… Low attendance. People head for the beach, the lake, or the kiddie pool in the backyard and leave you preaching to empty rows. Oh well, that’s the way the summer goes. Just hold on and count the days until fall. There’s not much you can do.

REALITY: Memorial Day is right around the corner. This is the perfect time to grow your church to the next level!

You have one week until summer (unofficially) begins. Are you ready?

At The Journey, we have grown every summer since our start in 2002. How? By choosing to take advantage of the freedom summer gives us to be creative! We have come to understand that summer is the perfect time to connect new attenders with the church, through creative outreach, creative messages, and creative small groups. So, while all of our regulars do their summer sunning, we are keeping our attendance consistent.

Just think about the effects of this approach when fall hits – All of your regular attenders will get back on track and all of the new people you started assimilating over the summer will be truly connected and ready to go deeper… That means a huge fall growth spurt! That means momentum! That means more people headed towards becoming fully developing followers of Jesus!

Or you can sit by the pool and wait for the leaves to start turning… The choice is yours, but here is my suggestion:

Plant this summer so you can reap the harvest in the fall!

– Nelson

P.S. – To learn more about how to creatively connect newcomers this summer, download our Maximizing Summer MP3 – use this code to get it for FREE: maxsummer
(Note: Coupon Expires 6/15/08)

© 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.