Getting Your Message Into the Community

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Getting Your Message Into the Community

• Source Charles Arn, How to Start a New Service
  Your Church CAN Reach New People, Baker, 1999.
• Chandler_at_vbmb.org
• 1-800-255-2428 x.215

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Axiom of Growing Events

• Crowds attract crowds.
• People enjoy attending events that are evidently
  popular

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Conclusions people draw about sparse rooms

• A). this is not a quality experience
• B). the people in charge dont know what theyre
  doing
• C). Im a bit more conspicuous than I care to
  be
• D). did I make a mistake?

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Preferences of Fullness

• 1. Comfortably full (50-80)
• 2. Uncomfortably full (80)
• 3. Comfortably empty (30-50)
• 4. Uncomfortably empty (

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Vehicles for Getting a Crowd

• 1. Public Announcement

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Vehicles for Getting a Crowd

• 2. Personal Invitation

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Comparative Effectiveness

• Public announcement ¼ - 2 positive response
  rate

• Personal invitation 10-25 positive response
  rate

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Therefore

• Use both personal invitation and public
  announcements
• Just plan on personal invitations being much more
  effective!

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Benefits of Personal Invitations

• 1. Higher second-time return rate
• 2. Better long-term growth potential
• multiplies vs. adding
• 3. Fewer dropouts
• because of more personal connections
• 4. More cost-effective
• 5. Involves participants spiritually

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How to solicit personal inviters

• 1. Model ask them personally to do it
• 2. Print 1-page flyer for them to distribute
• 3. Get them to list people who could benefit
  from attending
• i.e. prayer request cards
• 4. Print reminder card for them to fill out and
  carry with them
• _at_T-2weeks

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9 Prospect Pools

• 1. Existing members friends and relatives who
  dont attend.
• 2. Visitors who havent returned.
• 3. Affiliated groups who have contact with your
  church.

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9 Prospect Pools

• 4. Inactive members.
• 5. Christmas/Easter visitors.
• 6. Wedding funeral contacts.
• 7. Families of VBS attenders.
• 8. People in transition.
• 9. Inactive members of other churches.

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Public Announcements

• Newspaper ad
• Direct mail
• Radio
• Television
• Telemarketing

• Paperbox stuffing
• Door hangers
• Public posters
• Words mentioned at other events

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What Ads Can Do

• A good ad can
• Attract visitors
• Create image
• Raise congregational self-esteem

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What Ads Cant Do

• A good ad cannot
• Convert people
• Replace an actual experience
• You must deliver on what you promise

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Public Announcement

• Two key principles of mass marketing
• 1. Say it more than one time.
• 2. Say it more than one way.

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Direct Mail

• 1. Stamped is better than bulk.
• 2. Hand-address when possible.
• 3. Mail more than once.
• Different folk will respond to a second,
  identical piece
• 4. Send a last-minute postcard to arrive just
  before the event.
• 5. Tuesday is low-mail day.

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Telephone

• 1. Install phone bank.
• 2. Plan on 1000 calls.
• 3. Prepare script, train callers.
• 4. Ask if they want more info.
• The goal is not commitment to the event, but to
  add to mailing list

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Radio/TV

• 1. Segment and target markets.
• 2. Hire professional ad agency.
• 3. Offer gift to increase responses.
• 4. Dont expect listeners to retain a 7-digit
  phone number.
• Get a ph. that forms a word

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Newspaper

• 1. Target your audience.
• ie. sports page no church page!
• 2.
• 3. Use local, not metro, paper.
• 4. Run on Wednesday for Sunday events.
• 5. Articles are just as good and a lot cheaper!
• Make friends with the religion editor

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Dont forget

• Seed the event with enough regular attenders to
  have the critical mass to be (un)comfortably full!

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Finally

• To draw significant numbers of new people from
  your community, you must communicate two things
• 1. Make them aware of what youre offering
• Exposure
• 2. Convince them to attend
• Perceived value issue

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Getting Your Message Into the Community

• Dr. John P. Chandler
• Director, Evangelism/Church Growth
• Virginia Baptist Mission Board
• copy right John P. Chandler, 2000