Blog

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

Maybe you’ve watched this happen with someone else. Or maybe it’s actually happened with you. You’re on your game. You’re serving well. You’re engaged. You’re making a great first impression with a new guest at your church (or place of business). And then you cross a line. You went—just too far.

  • You got new guests where they should be...
    • but you yelled their arrival to everyone
  • You did your homework and had the right and helpful info...
    • but you made your guest feel like an idiot for not knowing
      • what to do next
      • what lingo to use 
  • You’re all about guest training...
    • but the guest feels like a naked experiment as you and your team all huddle around the monitor (bookstore, kids check-in, the register)
  • You’re laid back, not invasive, playing it casual...
    • but you missed the opportunity to engage when the guest showed her hand, “Yeah, I’m new.”
  • You were paying attention to your guest...
    • but then crossed the line into assumptions
      • that was his boyfriend not his brother
      • she wasn’t pregnant
      • that was his girlfriend not his mom

Sometimes a great first impression can go south with a word, a gesture, or an assumption. Keep it great! Stay fully engaged, always thinking about the experience you’re providing from the other side of your experience.

To hear more from Mark, come to workshops in October at Granger. Select a workshop below to get more details and register. Bring your whole team!

Early Bird Rate: $99 per person | After September 18: $119 per person
Early Bird Group Discounts: $89/person for groups of 2–5, $79/person for groups of 6+

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

I’ve been asked 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 18 and Wednesday, October 19 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, Kids’ Ministry, Students and Creative & Communication Arts. Register today!

This isn’t rocket science. It’s not brain surgery. It’s not even pastorally profound. It’s pretty common sense stuff. I want people on our guest services teams who are people-people (Definition: People who love people). There was a time in our church when greeters just needed to be able to brush their teeth and smile. Those days are long gone. They must bathe, too. Oh, yes, and they must like people. No, they must love people. Our guests and the guests in your church will intuitively know when our teams don’t care. You know it when you experience it. You have experienced the supermarket clerk who gives no eye contact, doesn’t speak to you until she tells you the total amount of cash you owe, and scowls to her associate in the next lane about how long she has been at work. You have bumped into the church greeter who brushed his teeth, but hadn’t smiled since 1952. And today he can’t remember why. We know when people really love, and really care.

If your teams aren’t built of people-people, your guests will know. They’ll know when someone on your team:

  • Complains about what’s wrong
  • Can’t leave soon enough
  • Rigidly performs the tasks of their role without connecting relationally
  • Shows signs of fatigue
  • Is indifferent or even rude

But when your team is made up of people-people, your guests will engage. They will know they matter. And when they know they matter to us, they'll be more open to hearing and accepting that they matter to God. And isn’t that the point?

Excerpt taken from Mark Waltz’s Blog.

At Granger Community Church the goal is that every guest who walks in the door will get this above all: You matter to God. Of course it’s much easier to share when those guests first realize that they matter to Granger Community Church—right where they are.

Executive Pastor Mark Waltz shares insights gleaned from his ministry experience, from his “previous life” in retail management and from his observations of the churches he has visited over the years. He notes that the first impression philosophy of Granger Community Church brings with it a lofty, but not unattainable, goal: “If our guests can’t say, ‘Wow! I’m impressed!’ within their first 10 minutes on campus, then we have failed.” Somewhere between parking the car and checking their kids into the Children’s Center, says Waltz, those 10 minutes pass. “Ten minutes of opportunity for us to make an impact, to create a reason for our guests to at least think to themselves, ‘This is not what I expected’—in a good way, of course.”

They may discover their “wow” moment in the restroom. (Seriously, when was the last time you visited a public restroom you could describe as pristine?) They may find it in the fact that they are neither pounced on nor left to flounder when they walk through the lobby, not knowing exactly where to go or how to get there. They may smell it in the aroma of their favorite cappuccino wafting through an inviting café area. No matter how your guests find that “wow” experience—before the music starts, before the “real message” of the service is delivered—they will have received a clear message already. They are valued.

Excerpt taken from Mark Waltz’s Blog.

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

This really happened to me.

I walked into a restaurant with my family early in the lunch hour. Like, 11:00 a.m. On the dot. As in, we were the first customers of the day. Surveying the place, I saw—well, nothing. Lots of open tables. And still I was told “give me just a couple of minutes and we’ll have a table for you.” I could see at least 12,000 seating options. But I waited.

As I sat down I intuitively wiped bread crumbs from the table onto the floor and thought, “This doesn’t make sense. There’s no way there have been other customers in here for lunch already.” Of course, the mess had to have been left over from the night before. We then learned that the coffee and tea were still brewing. It would have been okay if the posted opening time was 11:16 a.m. If they needed a few more minutes to prepare the place, I could have waited and shown up then.

Bottom line? This staff wasn’t ready for us. They weren’t really expecting customers—not this early anyway.

How about your church? Is it apparent that you’re expecting new people? Do first-arriving guests catch you by surprise? Here are some simple ways to communicate “we’ve been expecting you!”

Continue reading on Mark’s Blog...

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

I learned the hard way. People need to be reminded.

Back in my student ministry days I thought that grown adults could remember meeting dates and times. After all, they get kids to soccer practice, keep doctor appointments, show up for work, and remember birthdays. All that is true. And maybe that is the point: It’s all true. There is a lot going on.

It’s happened to all of us. Weekend service. You’re ready. You’re on time. And someone else isn’t. You cripple through the service or services on a shoestring, hoping to not miss any critical elements or people as you attempt to provide a welcoming space for your guests. It happens. People aren’t always blowing off responsibility. Sometimes people just forget.

Here are some thoughts about serving as a full team:

  • Create a schedule. Put it on paper. Make sure everyone has it.
  • Make the schedule easy to remember. Build some pattern into it. Monthly. Biweekly. Find a rhythm.
  • Send reminders. Make phone calls. Send postcards. Tweet. Text. Email. And you must, you must, you must—not choose the easiest and preferred communication for yourself as the leader. Learn how everyone on your team is best connected. You’ll likely call some, text others, and email the rest.
  • Follow up when someone doesn’t show. This is a simple and opportune chance to care. You may discover they are facing difficulty, illness, or worse. Reach out. You made it past the weekend. That’s good. But it’s not all there is to the team.
  • Expect the schedule to be kept and followed. By planning it, printing it, reminding, following up you’ll communicate that people matter—the team matters. “We’re counting on you!”

Sunday is coming! Is your team?

Bring your staff and volunteer leaders to the First Impressions workshop at Granger, May 18, to boost your impact with guests. Register now to get the Early Bird rate of just $99 per person, or $89 for groups of 2–5, or $79 for groups of 6+. Attend both days of workshops (there’s a second day of additional workshops on Friday, May 19) and get a further discount: $20 off per day!

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

I’ve been trying to find the rhythm that honors the way God wired me. I’m an introvert. But I like people. Love people. There’s nothing fake in the way I interact with people, particularly around our gatherings as a church.

But as an introvert, I need down time. Alone time. Time to be, to think, to create, to rest. (Of course we all need this time—it’s what Sabbath is about—even for extroverts.) I refuel by being away from people, especially lots of people. And it’s helpful to my spiritual maturity thermometer to see my inclination toward introversion as contemplative. It is what it is, I suppose.

In addition to the challenge of intentionally focusing our quiet on God, I’m realizing there are a couple other cautions for those of us who find meditation to be a comfortable and engaging connection with God.

First of all, we must be careful to not continually be seeking one more experience. One more time of feeling spiritual. One more time of feeling. We must remember that it is God we seek, not merely an emotional experience.

Secondly, we must not love the monastery so much—wherever that is for us—that we neglect experiencing relationships with those around us. God created us for each other. There is a sacred experience, a holy exchange between two or more Christ followers who lean into each other’s lives—calling out the image of God, the formation of Christ in our lifestyle.

Relationships are an encounter with God that must not be missed—even for the contemplative seeker.

I want to create space and time for God’s Spirit to work deeply and gently within me. How about you?

Because People Matter

by Executive Pastor Mark Waltz

We know it; no one needs to remind us. Or do we need to be reminded? The volunteers and staff who make up our ministry teams matter as much as the people we’re serving. Our teams are people too.

As I’ve had conversations with volunteers and staff on various teams, I’ve been reminded. People matter. People need value. These people are my first “customers” or “guests.” They will experience value when:

  • I ask how they’re doing—specifically, remembering the life experiences they’re facing (death of a family member, challenging season with kids, disappointment in ministry, etc.)
  • I listen to their take on the ministry they’re leading. All of it. The highlights and the low spots. The victories and the frustrations.
  • I state expectations clearly. What’s expected gets inspected. Stated objectives and goals within the mission and vision define success.
  • I invite them to view the opportunity/challenge as though they are in my seat (if they’re a good leader, they’re already thinking about what they’d do if they were in my chair) and tell me what they’d do next.
  • I initiate conversations before they begin to question if the person or their contribution matters to me or the work of Christ in the local church.

There’s plenty more to valuing volunteers and staff who make up our teams. These are reminders that I’ve experienced personally.

I’m grateful for the hundreds of volunteers who make ministry happen every week at our Elkhart and Granger campuses. They’re the real deal. Relentless. Solid. Joyful.

How do you value your team of staff and volunteers?