Welcome back to the unSeminary podcast. This week we’re talking with Greg Griffith, Lead Pastor at King of Kings in Omaha, Nebraska. If your church does what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. But when you take a risk and step out of your comfort zone, who knows how God can use it to reach your community. Tune in to hear how King of Kings has taken some risks to reach out to their community in unique ways and the impact and growth they’ve seen. * Keep it simple. // As with many churches, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted King of Kings, cutting their attendance in half. Despite these challenges, Greg focused on the new attendees who began to come during this time, many of whom were eager to engage with the church and share their faith with others. To encourage growth and help foster a culture of invitation, King of Kings focused on a couple of simple, actionable items that they could put into place. * Big Sundays. // One of the key strategies they implemented was to create four big “inviteable Sundays” outside of Christmas and Easter services and encourage their people to think of at least two where they could invite someone to church. One example of a Big Sunday is “Jersey Sunday” which is held over Labor Day weekend and everyone wears their favorite sports jersey. Around Halloween, King of Kings holds “Super Sweet Sunday” and children are encouraged to dress up in church-friendly costumes and enjoy the candy that’s distributed. * It’s ok to be attractional. // Greg acknowledges that some people may view these initiatives as gimmicky, but he believes that they serve a greater purpose. If Jesus used simple elements like turning water into wine and feeding people with bread and fish to connect with them, then churches can also use creative and fun events to draw people in. Take a risk and do something that may make you a little uncomfortable and see what happens. You won’t see different results if you just keep repeating what you’ve always done. * Other invitable days. // King of Kings also holds four non-church invitable events. These are community events that don’t include a church service, for example a back-to-school event where school supplies are distributed, or offering a gift-wrapping service to the community around Christmastime. Greg underscores that the community events are meeting a need and helping in an area that stresses out non-churchgoers. The events are a gift to the community and have to be free. If someone wants to give money at the event, Greg encourages people to instead come to a church service to give, or donate online. * Church Growth Incubator. // Greg and his team are taking part in Church Growth Incubator, which is a one-year coaching experience that includes two calls a month and two retreats a year. It’s designed for churches who want to increase their invite culture. The program has offered actionable steps that have helped King of Kings grow and work toward their attendance goal. * Honor all generations. // As they look toward the future, one thing Greg and his team are wrestling with is how they lead to truly be a church that honors all generations and households. Regardless of where people are in life—single, widowed, empty nest, married with kids, married with no kids, divorced—King of Kings wants to help the church to honor one another in their neighborhoods and worlds so that all people can feel welcome and connected to each other. You can learn more about King of Kings at their website www.