5-page paper synthesizing the 3-5 ideas from the readings that made the greatest impact on you, and how those ideas apply to yo

The Basics of the Project

The project entailed a specific process whereby the church could track visitors and follow-up with guests as well as regular attendees. Involvement in the church was limited to those areas that affected the project. Suggestions regarding other areas and ministries of the church remained outside the purview of this project. The process included three basic aspects: (1) tracking the attendance of visitors and regular attendees, (2) creating a follow-up process for visitors and regular attendees, and (3) establishing a phone answering system.

Tracking Visitors and Regular Attendees

In order to track visitors and regular attendees, the church introduced the use of the “Getting to Know You… (a little better) Card.”⁰ Each family present during the Sunday morning worship service filled out the card. The pastor set the example by completing the card as well. Musicians played softly in the background while people completed the card and ushers collected them. The church repeated this process for the next two Sundays so as to include individuals not present the first Sunday.

The following week, the church input the information collected from the “Getting to Know You Cards” into an electronic spreadsheet. Based on the list, the church prepared printed nametags for each person and distributed them to attendees the following Sunday. On the second Sunday service, people who had not yet completed a “Getting to Know You Card” were given time to fill out the card and return it to an usher.

Starting with the second Sunday service and every Sunday afterwards, the pastor allotted time for everyone to finish the Welcome Card.⁰ This weekly exercise played an essential role in the program. The pastor completed his card while the congregation filled in their cards and ushers collected the cards with the offering. The Welcome Cards provide a means of communication suitable for both regular attendees and guests. Most high assimilation churches use a similar card. One of the many advantages of doing this together as a congregation is that guests are not singled out. They simply do what everyone else is doing.

Each week, the church staff tallied the cards and recorded the attendance in an electronic spreadsheet. In order to provide accurate attendance information for each Sunday service, staff also tapped into other records. For instance, the nametags that were not picked up indicate the people who were absent. Children’s attendance was tallied by checking the sign-in records from the age appropriate ministries. Giving records also helped determine the attendance of all givers.

Establishing a Follow-Up Plan

Each Monday, the church compiled the data collected during the Sunday morning service. If a regular attender was absent one time, but a staff member knew why, no follow-up was needed. However, if a regular attender was absent and no one knew why, the person was sent a “Missing in Action” Letter (MIA Letter).⁰ If the regular attender had been absent two or more Sundays, the church personally contacted the person with a phone call or a visit.

When a person gave an offering for the first time, it triggered another follow-up system. First, the church would send the first-time giver a “Thank You Letter.”⁰ Second, the first-time giver received three additional contacts that week: (1) an email designed to arrive on Monday between three and four p.m., (2) a phone call, and (3) a 30-second visit to his or her home with a small gift (by Friday afternoon). Each contact should extend an invitation for the person to attend the coming Sunday worship service.

First, second, and third-time guests should receive a letter from the church;⁰ if the guest made a contribution, the letter should express appreciation for the contribution.⁰ Once the guest had attended the church three times, the pastor or a staff member contacted the guest and arranged for a time to meet. The purpose of the meeting was to assimilate the guest into the local church. If a first-time guest did not return for a month, the church sent him or her an email or letter indicating that the church was still thinking about them.⁰

Implementing an Answering Service

A final component of the project included the establishment of an answering service to cover the church phone when the office was closed. The answering service provided basic information such as service times and church address. In addition, the answering service forwarded emergency calls to the proper staff person. All project participants received this service.

Implementing the Project at Church A

On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, Pastor A and I met for about three hours to discuss the project. Pastor A had served on staff at the church for five years before becoming senior pastor. He had been the senior pastor for only eight months before the start of the project. This historic Assemblies of God church reached its peak attendance in the 1960s and averaged 130 people prior to implementing the project. The sanctuary seats about 275 people, and they have ample parking and educational buildings. Two-thirds of the church is white and one-third is Hispanic. The pastor is Hispanic and in his 40s. This neighborhood church is located on the corner of well-traveled streets. The church represents a family church with a variety of age groups. Pastor A expressed excitement regarding the project and we set a Sunday to begin the program.

I attended Church A on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Pastor A did an excellent job explaining the purpose of the “Getting to Know You … (a little better) Cards.”⁰ As the church implemented the project, providing a strong biblical explanation for the purpose of the program was crucial. The congregation needed to understand that people would be added to the Kingdom of God as a result of this project. Also, the pastor explained the rationale for collecting birthdates, mailing address, email, and so forth.

Since this card created the foundation for the whole project, Pastor A spent about ten minutes presenting the concept. The “Getting to Know You … (a little better) Cards” were distributed, completed, and collected. Pastor A’s explanation generated excitement within the church. While everyone completed their cards, the pastor set the example by completing his card for his family. Musicians played softly during this time.

On Thursday, January 19, 2012, my office input the information from the “Getting to Know You … (a little better) Cards” into an electronic spreadsheet. I visited Church A on Thursday, January 26, 2012 in order to train the local project coordinator on how to use the electronic spreadsheet to input the information each week.

“Launch Sunday” for Church A was scheduled for Sunday, February 12, 2012. The church had pre-printed nametags available for each person to wear. On the first Sunday of the project, approximately 2 percent of the congregation resisted the concept of wearing a nametag. However, after a short explanation, everyone wore their nametags. The local project coordinator, two volunteers, and I helped people find the alphabetically arranged nametags. The volunteers wrote nametags for people who did not have one, corrected misspelled names, and created them for first-time guests. During the service, Pastor A explained the program again and encouraged people to greet a number of people. Interestingly, the excitement level during the meet and greet time increased dramatically with the people wearing nametags. Since everyone was wearing a nametag, visitors were easily greeted. Ushers distributed and collected the completed “Welcome” Cards.⁰ These cards, along with the nametags that were not taken, formed the basis for determining service attendance. The church kept a record of misspelled names, names of people without a tag, as well as visitor information so that the information could be properly recorded for the next week.

On Wednesday, February 15, 2012, I met with the project coordinator of Church A. We discussed how to input the weekly information and how to send out the “MIA Letters,” along with the first, second, and third-time guests’ letters.⁰

Chris Carrigan, my associate for this project, and I attended Church A on Sunday, February 19, 2012. During this special youth emphasis service, the pastor dedicated two babies. Approximately forty-five first-time guests attended this service due to the baby dedications. This high visitor volume definitely taxed the registration system. Nevertheless, fifteen people came forward for salvation that day.

On Tuesday, March 6, 2012, Pastor A, his staff, and Chris Carrigan met me at my office to evaluate the project. The project was moving along very well. On Friday, April 20, 2012, Chris Carrigan and I met with Pastor A to drop off supplies and review the project progress. I visited Church A again on Sunday, July 1, 2012 to observe the project. Ushers, greeters, and individuals doing the backroom work were all functioning well. I made my final visit to Church A on Sunday, November 4, 2012 in order to prepare a final report on their progress. The church continued on task and was doing well.

Through working with Church A, I learned that implementing the project requires more than an outline of the process. Therefore, Chris Carrigan visited the church regularly so as to help them stay on track and assist in the training of ushers on the proper treatment of first-time guests.