MONTH 10 Follow-up on The Larger Outreach: By Dr. Owen Weston DMin, PhD

24 to Double Schedule of Monthly Training 1 st Year: 10th Month What is the next big event on the calendar for which we can challenge our congregation to bring friends? Plan the event (when, what, how, who) How to bring the crowds (from the congregation / marketing) Getting people involved (in production, in preparation) Getting the program ready (who is in charge and who is helping) Getting the people ready (love the visitors)

Summary of Month 9 7 Rules of outreach – Exposure, Repetition, Promotion, Involvement, Influence, Focus and Networking. Setting up the Outreach calendar Each person on the Outreach Team has an event Using big days and monthly events to grow the church The use of the secular calendar Steps to a successful outreach event ( double impact) Steps to a successful follow-up of events

MONTH Follow-up on Larger Outreach Retention to other big events – enlarging the pool (front-door, follow-up visits or calls, evaluating) Make sure you only follow-up on Sunday morning visitors. Your steps to discipleship.

Follow-up big events As stated last month: “As you win them so you keep them.” If the visitor came through your big event be sure to invite them to your next big event not next Sunday unless next Sunday is another big event (Double Impact). The big event visitor will be excited to help you do the next big event so ask them to help in an area they enjoy – food, games, serving, etc.

Follow-up big events Having Double Impact event is more likely to bring the visitor back the next Sunday- We often had a children’s service 3 Sundays before Easter, then the Adult service the next Sunday, then Easter where we repeated some of the great numbers from both the children’s and adult programs and the Sunday following Easter we would have a picnic. This gives FOUR impact services in which the visitor can come back and get involved.

Follow-up big events Only send your follow-up teams to follow-up those who visit on a Sunday morning as these are better candidates for your church. The Shuttlers phone call that next week, to the visitor from last Sunday to whom they gave a tour of your facilities and befriended, is crucial to that visitor returning. Make sure you get the visitor’s name from the front door teams through their registration of visitors and from those of the Shuttlers.

Follow-up big events One of the most successful follow-up events is to have people drop off a gift (homemade banana nut bread works best) from the church to the visitor, that Sunday PM. (those who do this must simply drop off the gift and say eg: “this is from the church and if we can help you please call the number on the church card attached to the gift”).

Follow-up big events A Pastor’s letter thanking the visitor for coming is also important but expected. While the gift drop off and lay phone calls are not expected and so have greater impact. Different Pastor’s letters should be sent out because families often visit together and will compare the churches follow-up info.

Follow-up big events We have found it crucial to put a Deacon or Care leader over different areas of the city to keep up with the church families in that area. These Deacons contact all the visitors from their area each month to inform the visitor that they are their deacon and willing to help the family with anything the church can do to support that family.

Follow-up big events The pastor’s secretary is also the secretary of the Pastor’s meal and is also the Calling secretary. This secretary is responsible for inviting the visitor to the Pastor’s Breakfast (or dinner) and for phoning the visitor on a regular basis (about 7 different times over 7 months) to follow-up on the visitor and keep up with their journey in the church.

Follow-up big events The Pastor’s secretary can obtain volunteers to help with the phone calling of visitors as long as, for continuity, the same volunteer calls the same visitor each time over the next 7 months. Volunteers who like to write, can also send cards and letters (using their own stationary and stamps) thanking the visitors for coming to visit their church. Such letters must include how much the church has meant to the volunteer.

Follow-up big events The smaller the church and the more rural, the more important is this next point: Dr. Weston has always found it necessary to go visiting with a different deacon every Monday night to firstly see the new families who now come to the church and then the regular attendees on that deacons route. Such visits are immeasurable and booster people –pastor commitment and support. All visits should be done by 2 people who are of the same sex or related.

Follow-up big events Visits by the pastor or volunteers should never be by appointment and should never involve going into the visitors home: Never by appointment because it is too much of a hassle for the homeowner and always at a time that does not suit the pastor or volunteer. If the appointment is just to drop off a gift or to say “the church loves them,” then neither needs more than a short conversation at the door. Appointments to see the pastor should be made to see him at his office. If the visitor happens to want to get saved at the time of the visit then a qualified volunteer who has the gift of an Evangelist could go in and do this. Otherwise, a call to the pastor or Evangelist to come over ASAP, is more appropriate.

Follow-up big events SUMMARY OF MONTH 10. (This is the area where most churches fail. The larger the church the few of these are needed but the more the better): The way you win them –you keep them so invite them to the next big event Get new families to help with the next event “Double Impact” or more Shuttler get visitor’s info and call them Drop off a gift Pastor’s letter Deacon or Care-givers contact Pastor’s secretary contacts and Coordination of calls and letters Pastor visiting with deacons or care-givers PLEASE DO ALL OR AS MANY OF THESE AS POSSIBLE

Next Month 11 Next month 11 we will study Babysitting vs. Ministry: Children & Nursery How children bring their parents back to church.