I can’t tell you how excited I was to be added to the launch team for this book! It’s definitely not specifically a kidmin book, but there is so much in this book that can be applied to any ministry area in the church. “The Come Back Effect” is all about how hospitality can compel your church’s guests to return. I basically could have highlighted the entire book, it’s that good. The book is broken up into ten chapters about ten big ideas to help you create an environment where guests will feel compelled to come back. I think my favorite thing about the book is that each chapter includes a list of key points and takeaways at the end to help you really get the important stuff! I took a picture of the list of key points and takeaways in each chapter so I could quickly reference them whenever I need to.

I pretty much could have just quoted the entire book, but I tried to narrow down my favorite quotes from the book for you to get a taste of how impactful it is.

Favorite Quotes:

  • “There’s no typical Sunday because each Sunday is important to the people who are visiting that week.”
  • “The guest feels neglected. They feel served, but they don’t feel hospitality.”
  • “How many of our team members are so busy serving our guests that they neglect to simply be with our guests?”
  • “When something becomes a part of the culture in your organization, there is a clarity of understanding. It’s seen in everything and everyone. There’s no discussion or debate.”
  • “When hospitality becomes a cultural value instead of just a department, it becomes part of people’s identity.”
  • “The point is, you don’t really value something until you’re willing to put your money behind it.” (On Matthew 6:21)
  • “Being spiritually fully present means understanding what God has entrusted to you and what he’s asking of you.”
  • “When you can work around a restrictive policy and make the guest feel uniquely valued, you have created. “Wow” in the guest’s mind.”
  • “Guest’s pay attention to who you are not what you do.”
  • “Was it your fault? The guest’s? It doesn’t matter. What matters is what you do to make the guest who’s feeling inconvenienced and embarrassed feel comfortable once again.”
  • “The floor is rarely the proper place for anything.”
  • “When we choose the easy way out, it communicates a lower level of care to our guests. It communicates that “just okay” is acceptable.”
  • “Are you calling something first-class service that should be the bare minimum in your ministry?”
  • “The come back effect requires excellence even when we aren’t feeling like it.”
  • “If you’ve done something the same way for fifty years, that’s an indication that you haven’t improved in fifty years. Improvement requires processes to change.”
  • “Feedback is not an affront to your excellence. In fact, embracing feedback will set a new bar for excellence.”
  • “Paying attention by doing the small things really well allows guests to feel cared for even as they feel frustrated because they have to leave the service.”
  • “The Church is filled with imperfect, broken people trying their best to love other broken people.”
  • “When we start seeing each volunteer as a gift that God has given us to steward— just like a good father would see his children— we’re on the right track to making each volunteer feel significant.”

Takeaways:

  1. Hospitality is all about connecting feeling and function.

    Focus on peoples feelings not just the function of your job. 2 questions to ask yourself each day: 1. Today, how do you want your guests to feel? 2. How do you want your team members to feel today?

  2. 4 questions to ask your team members or guests

    What’s right? What’s wrong? What’s missing? What’s confusing?

  3. If 90% of people say the same thing consistently, there’s a good chance you need to do something about it.

    Never react to one story from one guest. Look for the motive behind the feedback: why do you like this? Why don’t you like this?

  4. Don’t just respond to guest’s questions.

    Listen for the deeper questions they are asking and go above and beyond to reach them on a deeper level.

  5. The goal should be to keep the guest from even having to ask the obvious questions.

    When you are quick enough to provide the answers you can anticipate the guest will feel comfortable asking the ones you can’t.

  6. Details matter!

    Small details in your ministry communicate big things to your guests.

  7. The key is significance.

    The key to a strong team is each member understanding their own significance both as an individual and in their role. Stop focusing on need and start focusing on significance. We want people to miss the feeling of significance they get when they serve not to feel guilty and burdened when they can’t serve for a week. In a job volunteer or paid people want to feel like their work is important, like they are bringing something unique and valuable to the job, like they’re excellent in their job and are the right person for their role, and that their leaders and their co-workers value their effort.

    If you are a kidmin leader/pastor like myself, a ministry leader/pastor, or even a leader in the business world you will find many useful and practical tips to help you reach your guests and see them coming back in this book. Pick up your copy here. “The Come Back Effect” is currently a #1 New Release in Christian Church Leadership books on Amazon.

    I’m giving away a free copy to one amazing leader! All you have to do to enter is comment on this post why you would love to have this book to help you in your ministry or business. Bonus entries for sharing this post with your friends to let them know about this amazing resource.  Make sure you are subscribed to kidmincorinne.com to stay updated on all things kid’s ministry! The winner will be announced on Monday, August 13th.