Blog

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

People are people and value is value. Pay attention to what businesses and service organizations are doing well.

• Read books: anything from Disney, Nordstrom, Starbucks.
• Read magazines like Fast Company, Forbes and Wired.
• Visit airports, museums, and shopping malls—places with high traffic. Study signage and traffic flow.
• Pay attention to quality experiences in restaurants, hotels, airlines and banks. What made it an exceptional experience?
• Play at Disney and other “experiential” venues. Pay attention to value-added touches that make the experience unique and surprising.

Maybe one day it will all be right-sized and the marketplace will look at the local church and say, “We must study, watch, learn from the local church. They understand people. They get relationships. They communicate authentic value. They are our model.”

Until then, continue to find truth wherever truth exists. Model personal value where it’s excellent. Don’t be afraid to learn from any and everyone.

To hear more from Mark and get more practical tips for creating excellent guest experiences come to his First Impressions Workshop, one of the many workshops we’re offering next week at Granger Community Church.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13
9 a.m.–4 p.m.

First Impressions
Presenter: Mark Waltz, Executive Pastor
Learn how to make great first impressions with guests (old and new). Discover ways to:

• Gain clarity and get intentional about the experience you desire for your guests.
• Build your team—the right team—from the ground up.
• Cultivate volunteer “wow-makers.”
• Determine the “rules” your church has (even if you don’t know them yet) and learn what to do about them.
• Experience hands-on training that will empower your staff and your volunteers.

Students
Presenter: John Keim, Pastor of Granger Student Ministries
How do you keep students engaged and growing week after week? We’ll talk through planning and executing weekly programs and more! Be ready to collaborate and share ideas about:

• How to build and train leadership teams.
• Creative ways to get your message across.
• How to get students out of their seats and serving in the community.
• Planning life-changing mission trips, camps, retreats and events.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14
9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Creative and Communication Arts
Presenters: Sean Bublitz, Creative Arts Pastor, and Jami Ruth, Communications Director
Learn about Granger’s process for planning, promoting and executing weekend series through:

• Timelines and brainstorming creative ideas.
• Executing a series plan.
• Q&A with your Granger staff/volunteer counterpart (in web, production and sound, worship, design, promotions, film and more).
• An optional weekend rehearsal experience Wednesday evening.

Groups
Presenter: Josh King, Director of Discipleship
Life is better in groups. We’ll talk through a working strategy to keep people engaged and discipled through groups. We’ll discuss the challenges and practical framework necessary to:

• Look at the role groups play in discipleship.
• Understand group structure.
• Recruit and train healthy group leaders.
• Organize curriculum and a yearly schedule.
• Oversee group growth (numerically and spiritually).

Kids
Presenter: Ted Bryant, Pastor of Family Ministry
A healthy kids’ ministry has enormous impact. This is for leaders and volunteers who want to learn how to:

• Create environments that inspire kids at their level and encourage learning and relational connection.
• Plan and develop curriculum, music and more to make the Bible and relationships come alive.
• Find, keep and utilize volunteers to make it happen every weekend.
• Incorporate a special needs ministry to help every child take steps toward Christ.

 

Looking to up your game or freshen things up a bit? Or is your task list turning into an epic novel? We hear you. We all could use a little help once in a while. No matter which camp you’re in, we want to help you get back on track and revitalize your ministry. Check out these top five resources, which have already helped dozens of people in churches just like yours, and get back on top of things:

1. Guest Services | Creating “WOW” Experiences Training Videos. These videos will help your staff and volunteer teams deliver great experiences for your guests, from the parking lot to the auditorium.
2. Communications Playbook. This “playbook” helps Granger Community Church have consistent, professional and effective communications. It includes a review of branding, Granger’s vision, how staff should work together with communication vehicles and the filters Granger uses to decide what gets promoted when and where.
3. A Christmas Carol Total Resource Package. This package includes the resources Granger Community Church used to promote the weekend message series A Christmas Carol, including: Audio MP3s, Message Transcripts, Sample Bulletins, Granger Notes, Graphics, Service Orders, Message Intro Videos and the script for the musical element Christmas Carol (of the Bells) and the script for the production Granger did on Christmas Eve of A Christmas Carol.
4. The Feed Video Announcement Bumper. Take your weekly announcements to a new level. This product includes the opener video, the ending video, the videos you see in the background and a few little videos of the Feed logo that you can use to create your own video announcements called The Feed.
5. Guest Services Manual. This manual helps develop first impressions teams through forms such as: roles and responsibilities, scheduling, volunteer training, emergency response, usher assignments and more. It includes summaries of all volunteer team roles at Granger, as well as a copy of the Emergency Response Manual for Guest Services teams.

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

Worst Practice #1:
Don’t go out of your way to pat volunteers on the back. They’re doing exactly what they should be doing—giving their life away. They should be sacrificing. They should be tired. Don’t acknowledge or celebrate them. Last thing you need is puffed up volunteers.

Some would claim this is biblical. I’m not sure what Bible they’re reading. The scriptures teach gratitude, mutual respect and personal value. It’s how Jesus lived his life. It’s how Paul encouraged the Church.

Live by this worst practice and you’ll be looking for volunteers—’cause they’ll be G.O.N.E.

To hear more from Mark and get more practical tips for creating excellent guest experiences come to his First Impressions Workshop, one of the many workshops offered at Granger Community Church on October 13 & 14. Register your team of six or more by September 14 and grab early bird discounted pricing for groups.

 

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

I’ve been asked lately about some bottom-line musts to establish and/or take guest services excellence to the next level. This isn’t an exhaustive list (that’s why I wrote a few books on the topic), but these core essentials will provide a foundation to make your serve to guests excellent and personable.

• Leadership:
  • Are the right leaders in place?
  • Do they carry the DNA, mission, vision and values of the church?
  • Do they hold the experience of the guest as a top priority over personal convenience?
  • Are they gifted leaders—not merely doers (although they may do fantastic work)?
  • Do these leaders have chemistry, trust and love for each other?
  • Do they model the level of personable service you want every team member to practice?
• Values:
  • Are values defined and communicated (whatever those are: Team, Engagement, Next Steps, People Matter, etc.)?
  • Are teams using those values as lenses to serve guests? That is, are they operating from a motivation of values rather than mere technical training or a task list?
• Systems:
  • Are systems defined and functioning so guests are served well?
  • Are systems facilitated and owned by team members who utilize those systems to serve people?
  • Do systems help team members understand their schedule, expectations, and feedback loop?

Of course if you’re providing guest services in the local church, it’s assumed, but should be stated—the love of God in Jesus motivates everything you do. It is the number one driving value. Helping people experience the grace of God is the point—or there is none.

Have you heard about our Workshops? They are one-day intense and focused, interactive learning events on Tuesday, October 13 and Wednesday, October 14 with lunch provided. So come with your team on either or both days (20% discount if you attend both days). Learn more about First Impressions, Creative & Communication Arts, Students, Groups and Kids’ Ministry. Register today!

by Elkhart Campus Pastor Gene Troyer

It’s Monday morning, one of my favorite times of the week. The office is quiet and I’m reflecting on the weekend that was. I have a couple of comment cards on my desk that were filled out by those in attendance. People use these for a variety of purposes. Sometimes it’s, “Hey, I have a new email address.” Other times it’s, “Please pray for this situation”. We get feedback on what did or didn’t work in a service through this method of communication. When someone goes to the trouble of completing both the front and the back side of a comment card, I pay close attention.

This morning I’m paying attention.

Members of our guest services team are often the unsung heroes of Granger Community Church. They show up, greet people, smile, engage and encourage with no real fanfare. The important and critical role they play is not lost on us as leaders, but our encouragement and cheerleading pales in comparison to a real, live attendee giving real time feedback. One of our comment cards this weekend provided this encouraging and powerful word.

Continue reading on Gene’s Blog...

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by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

Excellent guest service—whether in a local church, community non-profit, retail business or service industry—is really the compilation of lived-out best practices. Those benchmark behaviors may be simple and common sense, but they are set as standards of practice by everyone in the organization.

Best practices can be produced in a board room.

• Respond to questions within 48 hours.
• Answer the phone before the fourth ring.
• Do what you do with excellence.

It can happen—best practices can come from the board room. But not most of them.

Most best practices come about in the moment. A one-time occurrence implemented by one team member that gets discovered and, because of its impact on communicating value, is repeated as a norm throughout the entire team. That’s what happened with our guest services four-point report.

A couple years ago our volunteer usher leaders began to email each other following each weekend of services. By Monday afternoon an email was circulating, celebrating highlights and asking questions about how to solve a challenge that had popped up. The email created conversation that birthed an ongoing best-practice-making machine. The Four-Point Email was born. It’s this simple:

Continue reading on Mark’s blog...

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

If you serve on a guest services team—as an usher, a greeter, checking in children, directing traffic, cleaning restrooms, providing security, hosting, or any other guest-focused role—don’t miss this: You are the message before the message. Your smile, your care, your genuine love is extending the grace of God personally to people who matter the world to Him. Well done.

“I just wanted to thank the greeters of this weekend. I came late and was immediately helped to find a seat. Perhaps more importantly, my heart came in hurting and their love was the first thing I encountered before worshiping and learning this morning. Thank you so much for serving and loving well!”

—Guest from weekend service at Granger Community Church

For more fantastic insight on how to send a great message before the message pick up a copy of Mark Waltz’s book, First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences in Your Church.