The bright shiny new thing by Stewart Perry
This week the gym Leanne and I belong to opened a new site 5 minutes from the site we normally go to and about the same distance from our home… but there’s a catch… to go there you have to upgrade your membership. In the lead up to the opening, existing members were offered massive discounts… but there’s a catch… the most discounted rate they offered us was just under double the amount we currently pay. From what I hear the walk in off the street rate is getting close to triple what we pay at the moment.
So who in their right mind would actually join? I mean the gym we go to isn’t just a basic room full of weights, machines and sweaty people… it’s already a little bit fancy. We have 24/7 access, a swimming pool, a sauna, a steam room, unlimited classes you can go to as well as up to date equipment. You can also currently pay a bit more and have access to “altitude rooms” and special classes. When we first joined I remember our daughter’s friends being really impressed because “that’s where all the influencers go”… our daughter cringed at the joke that I might consider myself an “influencer”.
So again, who in their right mind would sign up to pay double or almost triple for the new site? Well it seems like quite a large number of people. I went to a class on Wednesday afternoon, the first day the new site opened, at 5:30pm, the time of day where the gym is usually packed… there was noticeably less than usual. I went back at the same time Thursday, again usually a very busy time… and even less people than the day before.
So what does the new site have that the old site doesn’t… for one it’s much smaller… but it has a number of specialty offerings focusing on “recovery” and “wellness” including… wait for it… a “snow room”. I was talking to someone after the class on Thursday who’d tried out the snow room the day before. For one there’s actual snow, not much but some. They described it as a small room where the air conditioner is set really, really low. It’s supposed to give you the benefits of an ice bath. An experience I’m fine going through life without experiencing but I know many swear by its benefits!
I’ve heard a few people say they signed up because there was a 13 day cooling off period which allows them to try it and then drop back to their old membership rate if it’s not worth the extra money. But there’ve been many more who’ve said they’ve joined because they’re excited about the new offerings or just excited by the idea of something new. My guess is the influencers who were going to the old site will be mostly found at the new site leaving more space for me to get onto the equipment I want to use when I want to use it.
Our culture is prone to be drawn to the bright shiny new thing and we’re often prepared to pay extra for the privilege of experiencing or possessing it. Churches are not immune from this pursuit. As a church leader there’s always the temptation to keep up with the church down the road who’s just got a flashy new building, a cool new staff member or a cutting edge new program. There’s also a pressure I personally feel from our denomination and diocese that sees what happens at Robina as an example of how to thrive and grow when other churches are experiencing steep decline. The pressure is to continue to find something new. However, the truth is, thinking of new ideas all the time takes a lot of effort and people get change fatigue and not every new thing works and the disappointment attached to failure can make the next new thing even harder to get off the ground.
I often think there’s a strong correlation between gyms an churches. There are lots more signed up members than regular attenders. The big difference is that the gym will take money out of your bank account regardless of whether you attend or not… This new site might just be a fad and not last the distance but I suspect it might actually work. The owner of the gym has done a pretty good job of setting up a collection of successful sites and is now across 2 states. From what I’ve heard from people who’ve met him, he’s a sharp operator. My guess is he’s identified a gap in the market and is trying to meet it. But people will only stay members if there’s ongoing connection. You can only last so long with the money coming out of your bank account before the financial burden of paying for something you’re not using out weighs the guilt of not going. He also can’t take his eye off the ball on his less exclusive sites because if the standards fall or the service is reduced people will lose connection and drift away from there too.
As church leaders collaborating together, I know that Mary-Anne, Eron and myself (at Palm Beach, Burleigh Heads and Robina) have been passionate about seeking the next new thing. Not just any new thing, but the right new thing. That might be a gap in the market or something to meet unmet needs or a fresh approach that makes new connections. Not all of the ideas will work but we feel compelled to try, learn and try again. We are also resolute in our resolve to not take the eye off the ball in what is currently happening in existing services, programs, groups and activities. The new things might not be for everyone but we can’t expect that doing the same thing, the same way will bring new people in. We have to try and understand what they’re seeking and move towards them.
The reality is that the model of church where we just open our doors at set times a week and people just come has all but died out. Our focus needs to be on maintaining connection, people will not keep coming back if they aren’t connecting to God or community. We are called to treasure what we have but also to risk that treasure for the benefit of those who are not yet our members and perhaps even risk it for those who’ll never be our members. That’s what being brave for the benefit of others is all about.