Learning from Apple

Stumbled on this post yesterday and love this guys insight. We can learn a lot from the non-ministry world about how we are to run our churches. Specially in the customer service department. I think for so long that the church has been scared to watch companies as models for ministry, but look at what Scott saw in Apple. I add some of my own points.

• Apple always keeps the focus on the products they offer. For churches, the focus should always be on the gospel [Jesus].
• Apple treats every customer as a king/queen. The next time you walk into an Apple Store, compare their “front-of-house” experience with your church’s “front-of-house.” Are they comparable? [statistics say you only have 7 minutes to make an impression, whether good or bad]
  
• Apple makes their products totally accessible and approachable. Is the Gospel [Jesus] approachable through the ministry of your church or is it something only explained to folks who express the highest interest? Don’t wait for people to ask you about the Gospel [Jesus] before you explain it to them.
• Apple employees don’t assume you know their language. Using jargon that’s only understandable to the folks that come every week alienates the folks who only come a couple times a year or less. [you're services should be geared toward the visitor and meet the needs of discipleship of your members; yes you can do both]
  
• Apple guards its identity fiercely. Many churches fall into a trap of having an ambiguous identity. While this is a difficult thing for church leaders to control [but you can control it], it’s one of the most important strategies a church can focus on.
• Apple employees are excited about being there. It sounds simple and logical to be happy about being at church, but finding happy people in a church can sometimes be harder than finding the sanctuary. [you can't tell people to be happy; you have to create and environment that they do love doing what they do]
  
• Apple scrutinizes its performance. Performance is a four-letter-word in many churches. Not only is the term taboo when referring to a worship service, but it can become a bad word when considering overall growth, effectiveness at sharing the Gospel [Jesus], and leading people into a growing [intimate] relationship with Christ.

Check out the whole post here.