Think Faces Not Numbers...thank you Larry Osborne

Last November I attended the Small Group Trader Pre-Conference at Irving Bible Church and was privileged to get to hear Larry Osborne speak on becoming a 'Sticky Church'. In his session he used a phrase to communicate his church's philosophy on maintaining the flock....think faces not numbers.

This immediately had an impact on me, the more I thought about this philosophy the more it grew on me and since then the Holy Spirit has been using this phrase to recalibrate how we at FBC Burleson approach those straying from the flock.

Think faces not numbers. Ah.. how clear things are now. When we average 440 in Sunday morning small groups and only 390 show up...don't think where are the other 50 people and how can we get back to 440. No, think about 50 possible ministry opportunities, 50 relational connections that will potentially suffer. If we care about them as a person and not a number, they'll stick....because being relational creates stickiness and before you know it, while not a focus, you've shot past 500!

Thank you Larry Osborne for that little paradigm shifting nugget :)

We're a work in progress though...after our last group life audit we have approximately 550 in group life but 900 people without a group...however as we begin to view them as 900 potential ministry opportunities, or 900 legos looking for open connectors...we'll slowly get them back into fellowship...

What about you? How do you view those members/attenders who have slowly slipped through the cracks?

JR