Here’s a recent question I answered from a church planter:

Q: Nelson, thanks so much for all you do. I came across some of your resources recently and have really learned a lot from them.

Our new church has just launched and I’m wanting to start implementing the systems, where do I start?

It’s a little overwhelming and any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

A: Thanks for your kind words and congratulations on launching a new church!

As far as systems go, the first thing I would recommend is for you to download my Free Church Systems 2.0 Report (PDF). Reading that should give you a good primer on church systems and a better “big picture” of how they all work together.

After that, I encourage you to start with your Assimilation System. In many ways it’s one of the easier systems to implement and it yields results quickly (in more people getting plugged in to your church). You’ll want to implement the full Assimilation process before moving on.

Next, move on to Evangelism (my next book Ignite can help with this). The Evangelism System is all about getting people from your community to attend your church for the first time. This flow of new people is essential to the health and growth of your church.

Following Evangelism, you can then move on to the Worship Planning System. This is about how your church plans, executes, evaluates and improves the weekly worship service.

So, basically, strengthen your guest experience, outreach and worship services first. Those three should be your priority for now.

Then, as you grow beyond about 110 average adults in attendance, you can implement Small Groups.

The most important thing for you right now is to get started. By breaking it down in this order you should be able to immediately move forward step by step without allowing yourself to be overwhelmed.

I hope that makes sense.

P.S. Ready to jump start your systems implementation?  Check out my Systems Seminar Package and save more than $325.00!

© 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.