An Organized Appproach

My wife and I have recently started attending a new church.  This church, like many others, has an introductory series of "starting points" for new attenders to find out more about the church and plug in to fellowship and service.  These starting points are arranged in four consecutive 40 minute sessions, one per week, which repeat each month.  At this church they hold these sessions after a lunch provided by the church each Sunday, following the morning worship service.  New attenders are can start in any week as they are not dependent on each other.  Not only are new attenders encouraged to stay and each lunch but others from the church's leadership also stay so they can build relationships.  When speaking with the Pastor he has shared that since they have started this process the church has shown steady growth.  Of course the growth could be related to other factors but I think the thing that is relevant is the purposeful opportunity provided for inclusion.

One of the big fears in visiting a church is the possibility of being ignored, or even rejected.  This organized approach to inclusion goes far beyond the casual handshake during a greeting time and allows individuals to connect with real people and build relationships.  It also has the benefit of letting people know what the church is about, and how they can plug-in for greater involvement, fellowship and service opportunities.  No wonder the church is growing.

This organized approach shouldn't be limited to just the church.  At work, employees are often hired with little purposeful connection with the vision of the institution or given avenues for building relationships crucial for engagement and longevity.  Customers are also given short-shift, although I see an uptick of attempts to build relationships through social media from some vendors.

Look at the desired end result and then work backwards to formulate a purposeful series of steps to reach that goal.  This is strategic thinking which leads to a PLAN.  Everybody loves it when a plan comes together.  If you think you will get different/better results without changing, anything you are planning for disappointment.