Campus Assimilation - Healing Place Church

It's All About People ...

Assimilation

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Below is your one-stop-shop for all things Next Steps.

Why do Next Steps?

Next Steps has, by God's grace, been a game-changer at HPC due to its simple ambtion - to do what the Bible says and make disciples. People can be equipped and developed to walk in their God-given purpose at home and in the church. This is implemented through the 4-session track as we communicate that God has a vision for our lives and the church and we are to fulfill that by gathering, growing, and going.

Below is a layout of what the track entails and how we can help equip you as a campus to implement the Next Steps track.

STEP 1

We recommend that you and whoever will run point on this at your campus read through the following sections to familiarize yourself with the entire concept.The “Process” link helps with the overarching idea.

STEP 2

After reading, tackle the “Resources” and “Admin” components next as these take the longest time for build out and customizations.

STEP 3

Once these are finalized, the elements and systems are built. Now it’s time to implement. This will entail understanding and working the “Process” and “Content.” Training your teams with the tools provided is critical.

STEP 4

As you begin implementing, things and questions will undoubtedly arise – that’s why we’re here. Please feel free to contact us.

Here We Go!

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Process

FROM GUEST TO LEADER

Below is the overall leader process at HPC with a focus on Next Steps involvement. Post Next Steps leadership development will not be covered in detail. This framework helps to grow people in their faith and to become part of the church family. This is important as it helps bring clear direction in marketing and discipleship to your campus.

If you have any questions, simply email nextsteps@healingplacechurch.org

HPC Leadership Process

Guest

A “Guest” is someone who is not yet become a member at HPC.

They will enter through multiple avenues : weekend services, small groups, ministry events, outreaches, etc.

Simple Direction

When someone is a guest, we clearly communicate 2 things : Next Steps and Small Groups.

Everything else is marketed as time-stamped events or story highlights. The more we clutter our directive, the more confusing it is for guests. If they enter through a small group, we direct them to Next Steps. If they attend Next Steps, we always push for Small Group involvement.

Marketing

These 2 directives of Next Steps and Small Groups need to be intentionally communicated in each outlet as a point of action for discipleship. During the weekend experience, we try to consistently let guests see and hear these at least 2x per sermon ( news / announcements and pastor ).

Tools

Use screens, verbals, website, connect cards, connect card follow-up emails, banners, texts, connect desk information, have pastor push at the end of prayer time ( essential ), staff and volunteer knowledge and involvement, etc. We have found that the most impactful form of marketing comes from the pastor on stage.

Next Steps

Next Steps is the starting point for HPC’s involvement.

Goal

Our aim to assimilate discipleship at HPC. We pray that guests discover their purpose in God. The track should help them grow in Christ personally and become a member of the church to further equip their purpose. Next Steps can help begin the discipleship process and Small Groups are the vehicle to deepen it.

Function and Format

The function of Next Steps need remain the same to disciple and create culture – that we teach Vision, Gather, Grow, Go and lead to membership. But, the format will be dependent on what works best for each campus – the repetition, the availability, etc. We would recommend a high availability for people to attend as to not stifle people’s growth. At Highland, we do the first 4 Sundays of each month. We do not communicate it as a sequential order. Guests can jump in and finish at any point and in any order. We simply want them to attend each class topic. This then makes people tracking of highest priority.

Environment

Next Steps should feel welcoming – like home. We do this by doing whatever it takes to keeping it engaging and fun. We use shorter snippets of information to break up the content and keep people’s attention. We use multiple communicators per class. Keep it lively, not stagnate, not an hour lecture. Use transitions, content layout, videos, props, games, and creative elements to keep the class constantly moving and full of energy. If possible use tables, not rows to create a home environment. Try using fun environmental elements to create warmth and fun such as snacks, music, smiling faces, nobody sitting alone, excellence, etc.

Member

A member at HPC is someone who has been through the Next Steps track and has agreed and signed the HPC Membership form. HPC Membership is a requirement to be a leader in any capacity at the church. This includes weekend volunteers, outreach teams, mission trip teams, and small group leaders.

What is Membership at HPC?

HPC’s membership is simple. It is spiritual family centered on God and His Word. We are there for each other to walk out God’s purposes.

Becoming a Member

Once they finish all 4 sessions in the Next Steps track, we meet with them after class and go over what happens next. We send them, via email, a digital form ( we do have a paper option available ) that includes membership and involvement opportunities. In the membership area, we also highlight, via hyperlink, our tenets of faith and the HPC honor code. The membership form is also attached to their database profile as official members of the church which can be accessed at any point. Once they agree to membership, at the beginning of the form, the rest of the form then connects them directly to team areas and the small group leader process.

Member Requirements

They must have completed all 4 Next Steps topics and signed the HPC Membership form. One is not considered a member until they fully submit the membership form even if they attend each class as this brings to point their agreement.

( Side note : in launching membership at your campus, just as we did at Highland, some people who you can specifically validate their walk with God and church commitment can be “grand-fathered” in – this is an initial phase that we can discuss when the time arrives )

Leader

A leader is someone who is an official member at HPC and is involved on any of our Go teams or an official Small Group leader.

Connecting

The HPC Membership form alerts, via our database, each specific team leader of the graduates’ interest in their team. Upon receiving this alert, the team leader has a max of 1 week to contact the new individual and set up an orientation meeting.

Orientation

Once the orientation meeting has been set, the team leader should do some initial social media homework and read their membership form for any comments before the meeting. When they meet, with accountability present, the conversation is natural as they discuss their life, walk with God, and so on. Simply get to know them and pastor them – thank them. Ask if they had any questions about the Next Steps track or membership form. Specifically ask if they have any questions about the tenets of faith and the honor code. If the team leader is made aware or discerns something of concern to the point of believing it would not be best for that person to be involved just yet, do not continue to the specific team orientation until they feel the person is ready. This should initiate follow-up care. If the leader feels everything is fine and the person is ready to be involved, then the team leader should begin the process of orienting them to the team’s specifics – skill training, calendar, roles, etc. If new interest volume becomes overwhelming for this type of meeting setup, a mid-size orientation would also suffice but would need personal follow-up.

Development

Once someone is officially on a team, there should be 3 levels of discipleship and equipping.

1. Personal discipleship in promoting and making sure that each team member is involved or leading a small group.

2. Team specific development as team leaders train and disciple via weekly and annual meetings.

3. Overall church leadership outlets of church-wide trainings, celebratory events, etc.

Health

The litmus test for every disciple on our teams and environments is Gather, Grow, Go.

Resources

ACCESS, MODIFY AND IMPLEMENT

Below is a general step-by-step process to access, update, and implement all media for the Next Steps track. If you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to contact us at: nextsteps@healingplacechurch.org

Access All Resources

You will have complete access to all resources that has been created thus far for Next Steps. We have placed this list on the HPC Campus Works page ( link paths described below ). With media taking the lengthiest of timeframes, please aim to tackle this element first. Print items take time but be aware that videos do take the longest so make these two top priority.

The following list is where to find all current Media Items available.

Digital Media to Modify

Emails and Forms to Modify

Prints to Modify

Videos to Modify

The following list is where to find all current Products available.

Image References

Product List with Details

Notate and Send Updates

Once you have located all the media files:

1. Please scroll through all the currently available media options to determine which you would like for your campus. Please note that these are merely screenshots that are not quality prints, but simply for viewing purposes. Also, for print files, the front and back of each flyer will be 2 separate files with matching labels ( Side 1 or 2 ).

2. Look over each file making notes of specific details you would like to change per file ( words, contact information, images, etc. ). Please do this per file and clarify which changes are for which specific files ( i.e. “Next Steps – Process Card – Side 2.jpg” – please change the email address to … )

3. Compile all changes and email these, to nextsteps@healingplacechurch.org.

Wait on Modifications & Final Approval

• As these changes are emailed, I will be in contact with you along the way, via email.

• I will make the changes and send proofs to you.

• Once we have reached a final product, we can begin to implement.

Implement

Print Media

For PRINT media, please select your method of delivery:

1. If printed at Highland campus, please fill out a normal “Design Request” and in the description, mention that the Next Steps team will be sending the print-ready file over. Remember the timeline for production is 4 weeks.

2. If you will be printing through your own local campus or vendor, I will send you a print-ready PDF to send to be printed and cut.

Digital Media

For DIGITAL media, I will update your campuses’ DropBox section with the specific digital media for you to access, download, and implement where need be. ( in ProPresenter, scrolling screens, etc. )

Emails

For EMAILS, we will update your campuses’ specific CCB process queue with these custom mail merges and will make you aware of the updates.

Products

For PRODUCT pieces with graphics included, I will send files needed for you to order directly from your campuses’ budget.

Make Accessible

Once all media is finalized, we would like to keep the original files accessible via the campuses’ DropBox.

So, as we finish, please upload your final files to your specific campuses’ correct location. Please contact me when you are ready to begin this process.

Admin

MODIFY, LEARN, AND IMPLEMENT

Below is a general checklist and step-by-step process to access, modify, comprehend, and implement admin process and tools for the Next Steps track.

If you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to contact us at: nextsteps@healingplacechurch.org

Database : CCB

Our entire Next Steps track process is highly integrated with our church database – Church Community Builder ( CCB ). Below I’ll discuss how that looks and functions, but if you are unable to process via CCB, the same process mentality would be beneficial to best steward the guests’ experience. This is done post every session.

IMPORTANT !
Christina Martin is the church’s database master admin and has craftily created all the elements listed below in our database admin process. To implement any of the database elements, you need to first contact her for campus specific customizations and training.  You can reach her at christina.martin@healingplacechurch.org

1. Gather Information

Everything hinges on gathering guests’ information via the “1st Time Guests” card. Obtaining their email and phone number are especially critical for CCB and follow-up.

• Weekly input each card’s information into your campus specific database.

2. Send Information

Once guests’ information has been gathered and inputted into the database, weekly communication begins with the following list. Custom people searches will be made via Christina for your campus to help pull the correct people needed for each email needed. Basically, you will run the specific people search and send the corresponding email to that aggregated group. Beautiful thing is, it only takes a few minutes a week to do this!

• Send weekly “Class Notes” ( i.e. Vision notes, Gather notes, Grow notes, and Go notes )

• Send weekly “Class Reminders” to whomever needs the upcoming class

• Send “Graduate Email” that includes the official HPC Membership form

3. Connect & Track Information

Connecting and tracking helps us not only get graduates connected, but also keeps an assessment on attendance, membership, and actual church involvement for overall analytics.

• Weekly match “Graduate” forms to connect their membership to their CCB profile and directly notify ministry areas of potential new team members

• Compile and print weekly attendance list used for check-in purposes

• Run weekly reports

Office Hours

Along with database management comes the overall admin of caring for the people, prepping for the class, and nurturing your Next Steps volunteer team. Below is a list of these elements that are taken care of on a weekly basis.

• Call every first-time guest, thanking them and facilitating any questions

• Respond to emails as they come in

• Schedule communicators ( typically at least 1 emcee and 1 – 2 content communicators )

• Monitor, plan and purchase food, supplies and beverages for the class

• Develop the volunteer Next Steps team ( This includes relational and team development as well as team tasks and tools )

Class Admin

Class admin is where all the hard work reaches its pinnacle and the actual class session is facilitated. This is administered by a specific leader who preps and manages the class environment, the Next Steps volunteer team, and all that it entails. The below list is not fully exhaustive or completely applicable but can be a general guide to a successful class.

• Prep the class environment by having some of the following things ready: ( Tables, chairs, tablecloths, centerpieces with correct materials, speaker bistro / podium, lights, music, AC, tech, banners, check-in area, check supplies stock, any specific class needs, prep graduate bags and gifts, prep first time guests packets, food and beverages, etc. )

• Manage the class from beginning to end ( Facilitate a Next Steps volunteer team meeting before each class, manage that team’s roles for the day, implement class schedule and content, facilitate graduate meeting after each class, have class cleaned and closed, etc. )

Content

TEACHING MATERIALS

Below you will find each class’ exhaustive teaching guide, class order bullet points, and video example on how the sessions can be taught. We pray this helps bring overall content guidance as we aim to help develop disciples by covering personal and church vision and mission.  

This is why Next Steps’ official mission statement is:

Discover Your Purpose

There are 4 class topics that we cover in the Next Steps track:

Vision, Gather, Grow, Go

Holistically this content should guide us in the truth that we do have a God-given purpose and how we are to accomplish this for our lives personally and together as a church family – how we are to love God and love others individually and collectively – how we are to live out the Great Commission as disciples of Christ by gathering, growing, and going.

*** Please note that these guides are very detailed and were written with volunteer communication in mind. There is not an expectation to teach verbatim. As the leader, please feel free to modify the content to make it feel like you while maintaining the main elements and intent. Each class also does have one main Scripture. The rest are supplemental and are up to your discretion.

If you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to contact us at: nextsteps@healingplacechurch.org

General Class Framework

1. Welcome
2. Icebreaker Game
3. Video : track purpose and details
4. Highlight : 1st Time Guest card and packet, graduates, and introduce communicator
5. Intro Class Topic
6. Give Scriptural precedent
7. Teach : the topic specifically aimed at daily lives and personal walk with God
8. Teach : the topic aimed at how HPC harnesses and equips for that topic
9. Table discussion
10. Personal Care including : offer to pray, talk about God, resource with a free Bible, and highlight community through small groups
11. Close : direction for graduates and next class topic
12. Dismiss

Class Content

Vision Class

Gather Class

Grow Class

Go Class

It's All About People ...

Assimilation

Back to Campus Works

Let's Begin!

Below is your one-stop-shop for all things Next Steps.

Why do Next Steps?

Below is a layout of what the track entails and how we can help equip you as a campus to implement the Next Steps track.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

Here We Go!

Click button to expand and close content.

Process

Resources

Admin

Content

Dropbox

Process

FROM GUEST TO LEADER

Resources

Resources

ACCESS, MODIFY AND IMPLEMENT

Admin

Admin

MODIFY, LEARN, AND IMPLEMENT

Content

Content

TEACHING MATERIALS

Dropbox

Lastly

When all is finished, everything for your specific campus will be updated to your campuses' individual Dropbox folder for quick reference!

Your Campus

Your Campus