MINISTRY and CHURCH EVALUATION...
You cannot fix what you cannot see.
Most pastors and church leaders are too busy working in their ministry to pause and work on their ministry.
Welcome to the "Experience Economy"
Most, if not all, church models in place today were built before the introduction of the experience economy.
We didn’t say it this way, but churches provided a “service” back then. We literally provided services, but our gatherings focused on offering attendees a service of worship, sacraments, and sermons. Especially sermons!
Content was king in the service economy, but content is a commodity in the experience economy.
We help churches create experiences worth experiencing.
This is the secret to your church experience: CONNECTION.
As people move through a discipleship journey, church gatherings become more and more connection-focused.
We want to help people to:
CONNECT TO THEMSELF:
As we create more space in our gatherings, we make room for introspection and self-reflection. This is a critical new element needed in our physical gathering spaces.
CONNECT WITH OTHERS:
Theologically, relationally, and experientially, people need people. Connecting with others is one of God’s primary mechanisms to grow our faith. So in our various gatherings, we need to prioritize connections with others.
CONNECT WITH GOD:
Finally, and most importantly, people want to experience transcendence, not welcomes and worship and sermons. Part of our gathering design must include space for the presence of God to become present in the lives of our attendees. It’s a shame when people come to church looking for God and only find us.
We help churches improve their:
- Guest Experience
- Church Services
- Children and Student Ministries
- Small Group Experiences
- Events and Other Gatherings
CASE STUDY: The EXPERIENCE at WOODSTOCK CITY CHURCH
We didn’t use the “experience economy” language when I began leading at Woodstock City Church. Still, we understood the experience was a draw. We celebrated how great the band opened our service with “Faithfully” by Journey. We even had a term for these secular songs: Openers. “That opener was so cool!” I remember working to find a way to use pyrotechnics on the stage!
If this seems ridiculous, don’t laugh too much. It was 2008, and it worked back then. Our church grew from a couple hundred to thousands on a Sunday — not just because of our secular “openers,” but that was part of the secret sauce. We created a church service worth attending. It felt unmissable. It was predictably great but unpredictable. And, if you missed it, you couldn’t come back next week for it.
Churches like Willow Creek and North Point helped us all understand that the experience matters, especially if you hope to be relevant to your community and attract unchurched and de-churched people.
In this experience economy, the experience still matters. But, the experience today must be unique to where people are today.
To reach non-believers and better engage followers on a discipleship journey, churches cannot ignore the experience economy.
Additional Resources:
- Creating Church Experiences Worth Experiencing (and E-Book in our Partner Portal)
- Creating Church Experiences Worth Experiencing
- Creating an Exceptional Guest Experience in Your Church: 12 Critical Moments
- Intentionally Planning an Authentic Church Experience
- 4 Responsibilities of a Weekend Experience Director
“As a first-time lead pastor, I’ve found Gavin’s breadth of church leadership experience invaluable. I’ve been able to benefit from his years of experience so that I can spend less time with trial-and-error and more time executing on what we know will work. We’ve been able to accomplish a lot in a short period of time, and Gavin has played a big part in what God has done in our church.”
– Josh Carlson, Senior Pastor, Gulf Church - Naples, FL
“Gavin has been instrumental in my growth as a leader. He is one of the most strategic thinkers I have ever met. More, he is incredibly responsive to any request I have. I know that Gavin is FOR Wiregrass Church and me. I am becoming a better leader because of his coaching.”
– Adam Roberson, Senior Pastor, Wiregrass Church - Dothan, AL
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Specialities include Ministry Strategy, Discipleship Pathways, Church Engagement, and Preaching and Communication.
