5 Things American Ninja Warrior Taught Me About Church
Last month I was walking through Brooklyn, NY on a Sunday evening headed to dinner with some friends to celebrate a birthday. We noticed this huge building with lots of exercise equipment. It looked like Discovery Zone and American Gladiators had combined to create the ultimate playground for adults. The sign said it was called American Ninja Warriors. I guess I’m out of touch but I had never seen the show but apparently everyone else had. This place was a replica of the show where people compete on the world’s toughest obstacle courses.
On the way to dinner we walked by it and all looked in the window fascinated but we didn’t stop. Probably because we had been at church all day and we had our mind on the pizza we were about to eat and not much else. It was interesting though when we walked by all 12 people in our group commented on it and were intrigued. We shouldn't discount the things that draw our attention!
New York City is a very walkable city with lots of foot traffic everywhere. This makes it easy for businesses like this to draw the attention of people. But most areas don’t have that luxury of foot traffic so if we are trying to draw people to our church we need to create things that can draw people in like we were drawn in and put them in spaces where people are. That could mean social media, internet ads, email marketing, text message marketing, at the local soccer fields, local restaurants, local real estate agencies, parks, etc.
Where should you market your church?
Wherever the people you want to reach are.
On the way back from dinner we decided to walk by the place again and this time this young guy stuck his head out of the window and said do you guys want to come in and check it out? We said sure. We go in and he tells us his story of how he was on this show and decided he wanted to open a gym up for others to train in this “sport.” Not sure if it’s a sport, but I’m not sure what else to call it. So all of the guys in our group decided to try out some of the obstacles. They still had on their church clothes and had just devoured enough pizza to feed a small army so needless to say they weren’t on top of their game. But the owner, we’ll call him “John,” was so kind and encouraging and was coaching them through each move. And every time they would fall from an obstacle he would encourage them to get back up and give them pointers to do it better.
This building was beautiful. Everything was done with excellence and class. The equipment was state of the art and everything was clean and pristine. There was a designated kids area so parents could work out while they’re kids used the gym as well. There were nice locker rooms, a cafe equipped with Wi-Fi, storage areas and all kinds of other things to make the experience easy for the customer.
And they were running a great special to join the gym for $100 a month with a guarantee that the price will never increase for you. They were only offering this to the first 100 people to sign up. They also mentioned that there will never be an initiation fee or cancellation fee. Needless to say at least two people from our group took them up on their offer and joined the gym.
Here’s a 5 things I learned from American Ninja Warrior and John and how I’m thinking about it in my church context:
1. Power of the Invite
John, the owner of that gym had a passion and belief in the gym. He stayed late and saw us looking and invited us in- the power of the invite . But he had to believe in his place first in order to sell it to us! Same with our creative work. Maybe our ability to sell it is more important than the work itself. How are we meeting people where they are and drawing them into our churches? Then when we got in to the gym John demonstrated each exercise to show he could do it too. Do we demonstrate what we’re selling in the church? Do we have the energy to talk to that one last guy when church is closing after we’ve been there for 4 services all day?
2. The Power of Stepping Into the Unknown
John decided that he was going to build this gym and this business. He decided that’s who he was. He saw us and said this is what I'm going to do. I’m going to invite them inside and sell my business. John decided to believe in his business. If you do something creative everyday you are a creative person. If you run every day or develop a running habit you are a runner. You don’t have to plan the whole thing, just become.
Seth Godin says if you need a guarantee you're going to win before you begin, you'll never start. The alternative is to trust the process, to do our work with generosity and intent and to accept every outcome, the good ones as well as the bad. John had no clue what was going to happen when he launched this business. But he made a decision to become a business owner. Before you're a best selling author you're just an author, before you’re an acclaimed entrepeneur you're just an entrepeauner. Before you’re a pastor of a mega church you’re just a church planter. There’s no manual or rulebook how to do this.
Seth Godin says "The very nature of innovation is to act as if- to act as if you're on to something, as if it's going to work, as if you have a right to be here. Along the way you can discover what doesn't work on your way to finding out what does.”
Thats what that guy did for his gym. That’s what serving people in a church that is trying to reach the lost does. What is the thing you are waiting to do at your church that you’re scared to death to do? That is the exact thing you should be starting. Don’t let fear hold you back anymore. Act your way into and trust God with the results. The story of Esther is that exact narrative playing out in real life. She was just an ordinary person who fulfilled an extraordinary leadership challenge in an unlikely context. She is a Jew in a foreign land and a woman in a male dominated world. A minority within a minority. But God put her there at exactly the right time. Her first step was alone and required a great risk. She was probably scared. You will be scared too. Your first step may be alone and require a great risk too. See Esther and John from American Ninja Warrior to see the power in stepping into the unknown.
"Art is what we call it when we're able to create something new that changes someone." -Seth Godin
3. Low Barrier to Entry
John gave an incredible discount to sign up for the gym now. He made the barrier of entry low and easy for people. No initiation fee, can cancel anytime, can even sign up right there. John made it simple to act while you were in the right frame of mind to act. And he took away the fear factor by saying you can cancel or freeze anytime.
What’s our barrier of entry to be a part of a church? Do we make people jump through hoops or do we make it easy and low risk?
When someone walks in on a Sunday or logs in to watch online are their next steps clear? Can they jump into something without the fear of a long term commitment? Remember no one ask anyone to marry them on the first date! At least we hope not.
4. The Power of Excellence
John did everything with excellence at his gym. State of the art building with state of the art equipment. He did not take shortcuts. That is what initially drew us in seeing it on the street. What are we doing to draw people into our churches both in person and online?
Excellence honors God and inspires people.
Excellence gives people an experience to remember and it helps us remember God’s excellence!
5. What’s Important to You is Important to Me
This gym had an entire kids area that was state of the art just like the adult gym. If I’m a parent that lets me know what’s important to me is important to you. I want to spend my time and money at places that care about what’s important to me.
Do we think about our church members and guests like that? If you have a special needs kid do we provide services and say we care about what you care about ?
Are we creating an environment to show hey we see you, we value you and we want to meet you where you are.
On social media are we meeting felt needs?
Are we creating videos and graphics that showcase the parts of the church that benefit the organization or benefit the people of the organization?
Are we using people to build the church or are we using the church to build people?