“Assimilation” means different things to different churches and the assimilation process often varies greatly from church to church as well. Discussion of the point of assimilation, where it begins and ends, and how The City is helping churches through assimilation to connect with more people in meaningful ways.

1. Closing the Back Door: It’s
Not about Numbers, It’s
about People
Eric Tuininga, Sales Manager at The City

2. Eric Tuininga
+ MA Communication Bethel University, St. Paul, MN
+ Sales Manager at The City by Zondervan
+ 6 years on staff with Young Life
+ 3 years on staff with Calvary Baptist Church
+ Favorite quote: “Kids don’t care how much you know
until they know how much you care.” –Jim Rayburn,
Founder of Young Life
+ Twitter: @2ninga

3. Special Thanks To:
•The Austin Stone- Austin, TX
•Seacoast- Charleston, SC
•Salem Chapel- Winston-Salem, NC
•Community Church- Guthrie, OK
•Westside Church- Vancouver, BC
•Celebration Center- North Bend, OR
•and many others
onthecity.org

4. It’s not about numbers…
…It’s about people
onthecity.org

5. Close the back door…
…by opening the front door
onthecity.org

6. Assimilation:
-assimilated, assimilating
1. To take into the mind and
thoroughly comprehend
2. To absorb into the culture or
mores of a group
3. Giving people the best
opportunity to get connected.
-Ryan Yep, The Austin Stone
onthecity.org

7. Check out Maurilio Amorim of the A-Group’s blog at
http://ht.ly.4CbPe
onthecity.org

8. Begin with the end in mind.
•What’s the point of your assimilation process?
•How do you know when it’s over?
onthecity.org

9. Major Steps
1. On-boarding (capture information)
2. Assign to an individual to follow-up
3. Reach Out
4. Invite
5. Inform
6. Involve
onthecity.org

10. On-boarding
Use many methods for connecting:
•Greeters
•Ushers
•Welcome Center
•Connect Desk
•Connect Cards
•The City Kiosk
•Children’s Ministry
•Other Technology (Facebook,
Twitter, website, wufoo)
onthecity.org

11. On-boarding
The members of the church are also
part of the connection process.
onthecity.org

12. On-boarding
Have a plan for the information.
•Who gets it?
•Where does it get stored?
•Who has access to it later?
onthecity.org

13. Assign to an individual for
follow-up
What are the characteristics of this person?
•Passionate about the church
•Outgoing/warm
•Reliable
onthecity.org

14. Assign to an individual for
follow-up
Equip them to follow up:
•Tools
•Training
•Clear understanding of expectations
onthecity.org

15. Reach Out
•Phone call
•Email
•Message on The City
•Personal visit
•Cookie Brigade
onthecity.org

16. Reach Out
This is personal.
It is about getting to know the
individual, not trying to add
another person to the
membership roll.
onthecity.org

17. Invite
What would a new person be
interested in?
•Informational Session
•Concert/Event
•Small Group
•Service Group
onthecity.org

18. Inform
•What are the next steps with the church?
•Are informational sessions available?
•How do they connect to service
opportunities?
•How do they connect to small groups?
•What might they be interested in based
on what you learned about them?
onthecity.org

19. Inform
Informational Sessions- membership is a
huge hurdle for some, make it easy.
Clear Next Steps-
Salem Chapel: 1. The City 2. Small Group
3. Service Group
Seacoast: 1. The City 2. Newcomers
welcome reception (high information, low
commitment)
onthecity.org

20. Inform
How can individuals discover on their
own?
•The City
•Website
•Facebook
•YouTube
onthecity.org

21. Involve
It’s all about community
onthecity.org

22. Involve
It’s all about community
•Small Groups
•Service Groups
onthecity.org

23. How does The City help
with assimilation?
onthecity.org

24. Closing the Back Door: It’s Not about Numbers, It’s about People
with Eric Tuininga
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Visit us at onthecity.org