Maximizing

Summer
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By Nelson Searcy
Lead Pastor, The Journey Church, New York City
Founder, ChurchLeaderInsights.com

© Nelson Searcy
What Other Pastors Are Saying About Nelson Searcy

“Nelson is not a theorist but a veteran church planter who has successfully planted
a purpose-driven church. Listen and learn from this gifted man.”
Rick Warren
Lead Pastor, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA
Author of The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life

“Nelson is the best church strategist I know.”

Dan Southerland
Lead Pastor, Westside Family Church, Lenexa, KS
Author of Transitions: Leading your Church Through Change

“With Nelson, you’ll find transferable and measurable means to use in your church
that really work.”
Kerry Shook
Lead Pastor, Fellowship of The Woodlands, Woodlands, TX
Author of One Month To Live: 30 Days to a No-Regrets Life

“Nelson offers field-tested, reliable tools.”

Tim Lucas
Lead Pastor, Liquid Church, Morristown, NJ

“Nelson understands, practices and is able to communicate transferable principles to pastors

involved in the disciple-making process that is at the heart of fulfilling the Great Commission.”
Dr. Tim Gentry
Church Consultant, Healthy Church Group, California Southern Baptist Convention

“Nelson’s my kinda pastor: a ‘tool-and-die guy’ who’s not satisfied with just growing
his own flock, but who helps others with practical ministry tools that work.”
Alan Nelson
Executive Editor, Rev! Magazine
Author of Me to We

“Nelson helps us partner with God in reaching our cities and seeing individuals
take steps on their journey toward maturity in Christ.”
Bob Franquiz
Lead Pastor, Calvary Fellowship, Miami Lakes, FL

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 2

 Meet Nelson Searcy
Nelson Searcy is the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church in
New York City. Started in 2002, this groundbreaking church sees the majority
of its growth coming from new believers and currently meets in several
locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, with additional locations
in San Francisco and Boca Raton, FL. Nelson is the author of over 60 church-growth resources,
including the books Launch: Starting a New Church From Scratch (also Fundar en español), Fusion:
Integrating Newcomers into the Life of Your Church, Activate: A Completely New Approach to Small
Groups and Ignite: How to Spark Immediate Growth in Your Church. Nelson is an experienced church
planter, coach and church-growth strategist. He is also the founder of ChurchLeaderInsights.com,
the Church Leadership Training ministry of Nelson Searcy and The Journey.

Top ! ch
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Take Your Leadership and Your

Church to the Next Level!

THE NELSON SEARCY COACHING NETWORK follows the outline of the nine Growth
Barriers and eight Growth Systems as taught in Nelson Searcy’s books and workshops,
and is customized according to the specific needs of those accepted.
To learn more, go to page 18 of this E-book, or visit
ChurchLeaderInsights.com/Telecoaching

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 3

 Table of Contents

Introduction 5

Be Creative With Outreach 7

Be Creative With Messages 9

Be Creative With Small Groups 11

Next Steps 14

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 4

 Introduction

Summer means many things. We get longer days,

luminous weather, leisurely vacations…and lasting church
growth. Okay, maybe that last one seems a little out of place.
As church leaders, we all know that summer is the worst time
of the year for church growth, right? When the temperature
rises, we stare down a slump that’s as inevitable as a breaking wave. We’ve been
taught by those who have gone before us that summer is a time to strap in and
make the best of what we’ve got, while we look forward to the tide’s turning in the
fall… But what if that thinking is all wrong? What if it is actually possible to grow
our churches through the summer?

Since its launch in 2002, The Journey Church in New York City has seen growth
each and every summer. How? By discovering what it takes to use the tricky
months of June, July and August to our advantage. If you know how to maximize
summertime, you can continue to be effective
What if it is actually throughout the season and set yourself up for a
possible to grow our
huge growth spurt in the fall. The key is to keep
churches through
your attendance consistent when your regulars
the summer?
head out for their vacations by using the summer
to reach new attenders. While you may not see actual numerical increase over the
summer, you will see consistency and you will set yourself up for a strong start when

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 5

school is back in session.

So, the onset of warmer weather means that you have a decision to make. You
have two options before you as you pack away those jackets and sweats: You can
either choose to plant in the summer or beg in the fall.

Principle: You plant in the summer

or you beg in the fall.

We recommend planting, planting and planting some more. Plant the seeds
of the gospel in the summer sun by making an intentional decision to be creative in
three important areas:

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 6

 Be Creative With Outreach

Summer is one of the best times of the year to reach out to the
community around you. The weather and the relaxed mindset open doors that stay
closed during other months – literally. Everyone is out and about. Your potential
attenders are throwing Frisbees in the park, making small talk at baseball games
and mingling on the closest beach. You have unprecedented opportunities to
make connections with people you may never
see in another season. So plan some creative You have unprecedented
outreach. The possibilities are endless. opportunities to make
connections with people
At The Journey, we try to be as creative as
you may never see in
possible when it comes to summer outreach.
another season, so plan
At least once a week, all summer long, we some creative outreach.
will have groups doing Servant Evangelism in
local parks. This simply means that they hand passers-by a cold bottle of water
and a postcard invitation to the church. It’s a great way to provide people with
something that meets a need (cold water on a hot day) and some information about
The Journey. On top of Servant Evangelism, we’ve been known to do everything
from dog parties for dogs and their owners to neighborhood block parties to big
barbeques.

In the summer, people are much more open to doing something that doesn’t
fit with their normal routine. They are more willing to attend an event that sounds

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 7

like fun, even if they may not know anyone there. If you set up something that
interests people in your community, they will come. If you aren’t sure what to do,
try piggy-backing on an event that people in your
Try piggy-backing on
area will be attending anyway. For example, if
an event that people
everyone in your area goes downtown to watch the
in your area will be
fireworks on July 4th, use that to your advantage.
attending anyway.
Why not set up a July 4th fireworks outing through
your church and encourage your attenders to invite their friends? If they are going
anyway, why shouldn’t they go with you?

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 8

 Be Creative With Messages

Summer is the time to be extra creative in your message planning. You

have the freedom to intentionally teach on topics that will draw a crowd. Around
The Journey, we always plan this kind of “attractional series” for the summer, in
an effort to reach people who may not otherwise come to church. Each year we
do a series called God On Film, where we pull
spiritual themes out of the summer’s biggest Structure your series so
that all of the messages
movies and teach on them. The series always
fall into the same theme
attracts new people. Especially if a movie is
or category, but don’t
creating a lot of buzz in the media, people in
build on one another.
the community want to know what the local
church is going to draw from it. One of the key advantages to this series is that it is
fresh every summer. The messages center on new movies, so there are always new
themes to talk about.

In planning your summer teaching, make sure you structure your series so
that all of the messages fall into the same theme or category, but don’t build on
one another. You want your new and sporadic summer attenders to be able to
connect with the few messages that they may hear, without feeling like they are
missing important background information because they haven’t been around for
the entire series. Whether you are doing a ten-week series or two shorter series,
let each message under the umbrella stand as its own entity. Use every one as an

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 9

opportunity to bring someone new in and help them get connected. If you do,
you’ll find yourself with a lot of new people who are excited about going deeper
with you in the fall.

As part of your creative summer series planning, try tying in fun events to
complement your teaching. For example, during the God On Film series, we have
weekly “play groups” available where people can go see one of the featured movies
with others from the church, and then grab dinner to discuss it. This goes hand-
in-hand with your creative outreach. People will
Try tying in fun events
want to go see the summer blockbusters anyway,
to complement your
so why not invite them to go with you? They’ll
teaching.
meet new people, have fun, engage in relevant
conversation, and be more likely to attend church the day you are discussing
what they’ve seen. When you can creatively tie your outreach and your messages
together, you will see exponential results.

In addition to your attractional series, keep in mind that the summer is a perfect
time to spice things up and draw a crowd by bringing in guest speakers. Think of
the respected pastors that you would like to have preach at your church and then
make the invitation. Their schedules will be more flexible in the summer, so they
may just agree. Your attenders will be excited about having a fresh, new face come
in and you can take your summer vacation without worry!

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 10

 Be Creative With Small Groups

Many churches decide to take a break from small groups during the
summer, which is a perfectly legitimate thing to do. But if your structure allows for
it, summer groups can be extremely effective for getting new people plugged in...
especially if you do them creatively. The summer weather gives you and your group
leaders the opportunity to plan lots of fun groups that wouldn’t work during other
semesters. You can do regular groups outside, sports-themed groups, or picnic
groups. You can do just about anything that combines peoples’ desire to be out
in the sun with their desire to meet new friends, learn more about God and have
some fun. As you start filling these summer groups, you’ll find that new people will
often join just because they are interested in
hiking or biking or whatever the group may You can do just about
decide to center around. That interest will anything that combines
get them connected so you can start the peoples’ desire to be out
in the sun with their desire
process of discipleship.
to meet new friends, learn
Since people have fluctuating more about God and have
schedules during the summer, we also like to some fun.
set up a few open groups in the park. These
are groups that require less dedication than a regular small group. They keep the
people who can’t make a true summer commitment connected by giving them a
group that they can pop into as they are available. Plus, open groups are a perfect

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 11

way to get brand-new attenders involved over the summer. Say a new person
comes to church one Sunday and decides to attend a movie play group the next
Friday night. Then, they learn about the open Bible study in the park on Tuesdays
and decide to stop by. You aren’t asking them for a big commitment yet, but you
are getting them connected and setting them up to become fully involved in the
fall.

Summer groups are also an ideal way to raise up new group leaders, for two
reasons. Number one, many of your regular leaders will want to take the summer
off. In fact, we encourage a summer break.
Summer groups are also
You don’t want leaders to get burned out.
an ideal way to raise up
And through their break, you open up the
new group leaders.
opportunity for people who have never
led before to step in. Number two, many of your potential leaders will be most
interested in leading their first group during the summer. Since the atmosphere is
more casual and the groups do plenty of fun activities together, summer groups are
easier to lead and provide good training ground. They are the perfect initiation for
brand-new small group leaders.

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 12

Remember that sweet taste of freedom that summer brought with it
when you were a kid? Well, the great thing about being a church leader is that you
still get a new kind of freedom each and every summer. You get the freedom to be
creative, to think outside the box and try new things. Some of the things you try
will work and some won’t. That’s okay. You’ll come out of the summer heat with
new ideas, new people plugged in, and huge momentum for the season to come.
Summer is just around the corner! Plan now to plant, so you can reap the harvest
this fall.

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 13

 More Free E-Books From Church Leader Insights

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 Beat the Financial Summer Slump!

THE STEWARDSHIP SEMINAR

Discover the principles for turning your first-time givers into
faithful givers in this innovative Stewardship Seminar!
This resource includes:
• The five types of givers in your church
• How to cultivate first-time givers
• How to develop an ongoing stewardship system
• How to motivate people to tithe
• How to challenge people to go deeper in stewardship
• How to teach on money
• How to increase giving in your church
• Understanding stewardship as discipleship

Secure Your CD Resource

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© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 15

 Beat the Summer Attendance Slump!

REACHING YOUR COMMUNITY

THROUGH SERVANT EVANGELISM
Learn how to use simple acts of service to spread the gospel
in your community. Through this resource you will learn what
Servant Evangelism is, how to plan effective projects for your
community, and how to impact your community with the love
of Christ.
This resource includes:
• What is Servant Evangelism?
• Why Servant Evangelism works
Secure Your CD Resource • How to get started doing Servant Evangelism
or
• Principles for effective Servant Evangelism
Download Now!
• Ten Servant Evangelism ideas

THE EVANGELISM SEMINAR

The first step in reaching our communities for Jesus is getting
new people through our doors. But how do we invite the
unchurched in? How can we ensure they’ll accept our
invitation? How do we turn our vast un-reached communities
into our first time guests?
Recorded LIVE, by Nelson Searcy this 3-hour seminar discusses
practical steps that will help you draw first-time guests through
your doors by creating a climate of evangelism and outreach.
This resource includes:
• How to raise the evangelistic temperature of your church
• How to influence your leaders to reach out to the community
• How to maximize your church’s publicity
Secure Your CD Resource
or • How to teach and challenge your congregation to bring their
friends to church
Download Now!
• How to pray for the unchurched in your community
• Plus much more!

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 16

 THE BIG DAY: A PROVEN TOOL TO
BREAK THE NEXT GROWTH BARRIER
In this 75-minute practical resource, Nelson Searcy will walk you
through every step necessary to plan, implement and preserve
the fruit of a successful Big Day.
This resource includes:
• How to use a Big Day to turn an inwardly focused
congregation outward
• How to attract more people to your church
• How to use a Big Day to raise the evangelistic temperature
of your church
Secure Your CD Resource • The three best Sundays for a Big Day
or
Download Now! • How to enlist more volunteers through a Big Day
• How you can break your next growth barrier
in a SINGLE DAY!

THE SMALL GROUPS SEMINAR

100% participation in Small Groups is possible - this seminar
shows you how! Recorded live, this three-hour seminar on
Small Groups discusses practical steps that will help you develop
a Small Groups system where people will want to get involved,
and that makes it easy for people to join and grow!
This resource includes:
• How groups can be a powerhouse at your church
• Three questions to ask before starting Small Groups
• How to structure your groups so that people want to join
• How to avoid leaders burnout
• Six key elements for small group success
Secure Your CD Resource • Why Senior Pastor “buy-in” is so important
or
• How to create a structure that will grow with your church
Download Now!
• How to continually raise up new leaders for your growing
Small Groups ministry

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 17

 Take Your Leadership and
Your Church to the Next Level!

THE NELSON SEARCY COACHING NETWORK follows the outline of the

nine Growth Barriers and eight Growth Systems as taught in Nelson Searcy’s
books and workshops, and is customized according to the specific needs of
those accepted. This network will help you to:
• Break your next growth barrier
• Develop healthy church systems
• Recognize God’s next step for your church
• Force you to read in different and more effective ways
• Stay on the cutting edge of church growth
• Be accountable for the next steps God wants you to take in your church
• Maximize the ministries in your church

NEW SENIOR PASTOR TELE-COACHING NETWORKS

FORMING IN FEBRUARY AND AUGUST
To learn more, visit ChurchLeaderInsights.com/Telecoaching

© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 18

 Thank you for being
a part of the CLI family!
Church Leader Insights helps you maximize
you effectiveness in ministry with:

• Cutting-edge resources
• The eight systems of the church
• Solutions to the nine growth barriers
• Monthly e-newsletters
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• Webinars
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• Coaching Networks
• And much more!

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com
© Nelson Searcy www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com Page 19
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