Part 3 – Building an Outreach Blue-Print for Your Congregation Consistent Follow-Up Being Conscientious

In Review… Session 1 – Understanding the New Culture Session 2 – Developing a Culture of Outreach Session 3 – Developing Consistent Follow Up Session 4 – Developing Community Connection

Developing Follow Up One of the consistent traits or behaviors of congregations who are reaching new people for Christ is: – They Follow Up with their guests – They arebehaviorallyconscientious!

Follow Up is Hospitality Conscientious & Consistent Follow Up is really none other than good, Biblical Hospitality. – Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others.” Mark 10:35

Preparing… “When it comes to running your church, you prepare. Every week, you prepare for the service: You plan the preaching, the music, the liturgy, the prayers. You plan the children’s activities. You are prepared for everything…OR ARE YOU?” Andy Stanley has said, “The Church is a family expecting guests.” Is your family ready?

…Hospitality

Let’s Prepare for Follow Up Let’s prepare for outreach by working on our “follow up” – our faithful hospitality. It is a System, a system for follow up; a system for practicing exceptional hospitality.

A Simple System #1 – Prepare for 1 st Time Guests #2 – Turn 1 st Time Guests into 2 nd Timers #3 – Turn 2 nd Timers into Regular Attenders #4 – Turn Regular Attenders into Member- Disciplers. Nelson Searcy, Fusion

Prepare for 1 st Time Guests #1 – PLAN TO Go VISIT 2-3 Different Churches – Church One: ___________________ – Church Two: ___________________ – Church Three: _____________________ – Make these churches very different from yours, just enough to make you feel lost, not knowing the road map of the church you plan to make a guest appearance. Discussion & Planning…

Prepare for 1 st Time Guests #2 – Hire 5-10 Guest Worshippers to visit your church on a Sunday morning. – Have them complete a simple response survey See: Guest Hire Response Survey – Pay them $25-30 for their time. Let them know that their input is value by you. DISCUSSION & PLANNING

Prepare for 1 st Time Guests #3 – Create a Communication Card for Worshipers – SEE:Next Slide -This will be a weekly tool -This is for all worshipers to complete each week -This will need to be a regular tool to be prepared -This will become a wonderful sermon tool for pastors…a way to practically sow the sermon deeper. -DISCUSSION & PLANNING

Communication Card - Front

Communication Card - Back

Turn 1 st Time Guests to 2 nd Timers The Power of the First Impression – Seven minutes is all you get to make a positive first impression. – In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first-time guests will know whether or not they are coming back. – That’s before a single song/hymn is song and before a single word of the sermon is uttered.

Turn 1 st Time Guests to 2 nd Timers Preparing for that First Impression – Greeted: Welcomed with a Smile – Directed: Simply and politely shown to where they need to go – Treated: Shown respect, and happily surprised with comfort food/drink – Seated: Led to comfortable, appropriate seats. Discussion & Planning…

Turn 1 st Time Guests to 2 nd Timers Following Up on that First Impression – The Communication Card: Everyone Completes the Card Every Week Everyone Has a Next Step to Take Everyone Places His or Her Card in with the Offering – The Communication Card Follow Up Post-Service Follow Up: See Handout Post-Weekend Follow Up: See Handout DISCUSSION & PLANNING

Turn 1 st Time Guests to 2 nd Timers The Communication Card Follow Up Post-Service Follow Up: – 36 Hour Response – First Time Guest Online Survey – 96 Hour Snail-Mail Response » Hand-written Note Pastor Composes a Note that will be hand-written Response Team will write the notes and sign for the Pastor or Preaching Pastor – Prepare names “Pastor Composed” One-Month Follow Up Letter. » Hand-written Letter » Enclose a Gift for your 1 st Time Guests

Turn 2 nd Time Guests to Regulars… The Communication Card Follow Up Post-Service Follow Up: – 36 Hour Response – Second Time Guest Online Survey – 96 Hour Snail-Mail Response » Hand-written Note Pastor Composes a Note that will be hand-written Response Team will write the notes and sign for the Pastor or Preaching Pastor

Turn 2 nd Timers into Regulars “When your guests return for a second look, you’ve won 80% of the battle of gaining new regular attenders and have drastically increased the chances that they will begin a journey with Jesus.” When your guests hit the door for the second time, they’re saying, “Okay, I’m interested. I want to find out more about this place.”

Turn 2 nd Timers into Regulars Encourage Them to Check the “Second-Time Guest” Box Encourage Deeper Involvement through a Next Step Follow Up with your Second-Time Guests – 36 hour Second Timer The Second-Time Guest Online Survey – 96 hour Second Timer Snail Mail Response – Creating Stickiness: SeeNext Slide >>>>

Creating Stickiness If you want your second-timers to stick you will need to know that relationships are the glue. Connection with the Body of Christ is important adhesive for retaining your guests and your congregation bound together. Get them involved in “sticky situations.”

Creating Stickiness Three Sticky Situations – Small Groups – Fun Events – Service Teams By inviting people into relationship with others in the church, we are taking the next step in giving them the best possible opportunity to become developing followers of Jesus Christ.

Turn Regulars into Member-Disciplers The Problem of Meager Membership The Three “R”s of Retention – Return – Relationships – Responsibilities Encourage Membership – How do Regulars go about joining your church? How clear is the process?

Turn Regulars into Member-Disciplers Encourage Membership… – Surprisingly a large majority of congregations have no clear-cut system for taking the step of membership. They simply expect a prospective member to call the church office, talk to the pastor, or complete a sign up page (somewhere)— but congregations rarely pinpoint or detail a specific way to express membership interest. Such a lack of clarity keeps people from considering.

Turn Regulars into Member-Disciplers Member---DISCIPLERS. What’s the difference (if there is such a difference) between… – A Church Member & A Member-Discipler? Discussion & Planning

So Far, this is purely Attractional We’ve worked out a rough plan for how to consistently work out an Outreach Plan for people who find their way to your congregational campus. This will likely provide a terrific amount of work, and is a good place to start for many congregations. However, in Outreach Ministry, we want a plan for going beyond simply Attraction.

Consistent Follow Up in the Field Session 4: Connecting to Community will open up a whole new Outreach Component where Members and groups of Members are inserting themselves (congregational incarnation) into the lives of people who live in your community, among people who probably would never step foot on your congregational campus.

In the Field, its all about relationship How do you follow up, and stay in contact, and in relationship with people in your mission zone? How do you apply the “consistent follow up” behaviors for worshipers to people that you meet in the streets? What if it takes a long time to get them into worship? What if worship doesn’t happen on your church campus? What if worship happens off location?

Let’s stay connected Sign Up for Outreach Coaching Here: Find more Outreach Tools Here:

Coming Up: Session 4 Thanks to Sarah Guldalian and Doug Kallesen for their presentations in our Congregational Outreach Planning. Next session Rev. Dr. Terry Tieman will work through the Development process for Connecting our Congregations to our Communities.

Thank you for Participating I am Rev. Mark Frith, Program Director for LHM’s Outreach Initiative. Contact me: – –