|
(Please read over this plan completely before implementing!)
* Go to local media page in this website for information on ordering bulletin covers or banners for Advent at your church!
Step One: Prior to the week of November 1st organize a Steering Committee or Coordinating Team for preparing the congregation to be invitational and hospitality oriented for the community or area it serves in ministry during the season of Advent. Consider how you can best involve the entire congregation in supporting and inviting folks to various events leading up to Christmas. What are key committees that can be tapped to help with event planning, getting the word out, and/or help in the process to reach various objectives (i.e. How many visitors and/or guests do we want? Can we double our typical Christmas Eve Service attendance?).
Information in the weekly bulletin and monthly newsletter is extremely helpful in preparing the members throughout this process!
An added wrinkle that some congregations developed and encouraged us to suggest is having a mission emphasis or project for Advent (i.e. a Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Sweater Drive). Go to the Congregational Support pages in this website for more information.
Is there an area food bank or clothing cupboard that could use some help from the members of the congregation and the community? If so, contact them and see what their needs will be prior to Thanksgiving/Christmas.
Now plan on collecting food and/or clothing, this can begin as early as November 15th or November 22nd through Sunday December 6th or 13th.
You may want to consider hosting an Advent Open House on the second Sunday of Advent December 13th and use this mission emphasis to draw attention to the food/clothing needs in the community. Encourage guests that come to the Open House or worship any Sunday during Advent to participate. Ask that when they return to bring a food or clothing item to help the congregation meet their Advent mission project goal. (See if your Mission Committee can coordinate this effort!)
You will need to recruit three-to-six teams of two people who can do follow-up calls on those who visit the church during Advent. The pastor should help these teams of people to understand what they can do in a short visit to invite visitors back the next Sunday. This type of call within 48 hours after someone visits a church can have a success rate as high as 80%-90% return by visitors or guests to church. If you need help on this type of visit contact the Presbyterian Media Mission by e-mail at pmm@passages.org . We have a DVD presentation on "Reach Out Calling" visitation.
Step Two and Step Three: On Sunday November 8th introduce the Steering Committee or Coordinating Team for a special Advent season beginning November 29th to the congregation.
Have an announcement in the church bulletin each week about activities, events, worship, and if you are having an Open House.
Begin to use posters, bulletin boards, and invitations to make members of your congregation aware of this special Advent season that can provide unique opportunities for growth. A variety of ideas are available in these web pages.
Set a goal that is realistic by your congregation based on worship attendance. We have had a range of benefits from what congregations have reported to us.
Rely on media exposure only:
1-7 visitors potentially
Rely on media exposure with supporting posters and invitations:
7-15 visitors potentially
Rely on the media exposure with supporting
posters/invitations and Steering Committee members
with key leadership (elders/deacons) doing inviting:
15-20 visitors (depending on size of church)
Involve the majority of the members in inviting those outside of the church to an Open House or special events . . .
Possibly double the average worship attendance or surpass your average December worship by at least 7%-10%.
Note: This varies from church experience to church experience and how what is listed above actually plays out. The energy and enthusiasm that a congregation places into this campaign will dictate much more of the success than the visibility. The combination however increases awareness and the long term opportunity for continued interest by members of the community in the church.
Step Four: Week of Sunday November 15th begin to preach and pray for reaching out to folks in your community who are frozen from many negative things happening in our world (i.e. war, disaster, uncertainty).
Use the slogan or campaign title for the Advent Open House or Advent as a season of invitation: “Come in Out of the Cold . . .” as a theme once the weather starts turning colder. This theme allows your congregation to be noticed as a place to experience the warmth of God’s love during the Advent season – a season when the thoughts of many people turn to their spiritual needs. This theme will be supported by various media regionally and can help locally to connect people to your church.
Pass out prayer cards that people can sign their names too for lifting-up this Advent season of invitation in their daily prayers. We need to extend your congregation’s reach via an invitation to people outside the church, as part of our own spiritual journey and commitment.
Please make it well known to congregation members the need to be invitational and welcoming towards the outsider during this season. The invitation must be done willingly and hospitality must be genuine in order to be effective. Have members begin by reaching out to family, neighbors and friends who may not be attending church on a regular basis (regular basis twice a month).
Actually you may want to provide a “3 x 5 card” exercise during worship using the back of the prayer cards where you ask those in attendance to list three names of people they know in their circle of influence who are not attending church. Take time in worship to have people fill out these cards. Dedicate the cards in an act of prayer as an opportunity for bringing more people into the Christian family.
They should prayerfully consider inviting one or all three of these folks to worship sometime during Advent and then ask them to return on Christmas Eve.
Have them keep the card as a reminder about their commitment to pray and invite someone to church during Advent.
Note: personal invitation is the most effective tool in bringing those outside the church into being on a journey of faith with others in knowing and growing in Christ.
Relationship marketing is bringing those outside the church into a relationship with Jesus Christ and those who already have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Step Five: Week of November 22nd have a member of the Steering Committee report in worship about the plans for the Advent season of invitation known as “Come in Out of the Cold” beginning today with worship.
Also don’t forget to remind folks in worship about bringing their guests to church at some point over the next 3-4 weeks. By this time people should have been seeing and hearing publicity in the church and community about the Advent “Come in Out of the Cold.”
Reminder: Posters, info in newsletters and bulletins, and possibly a well decorated bulletin board in a prominent place in the church are all good ways to catch member’s imagination.
Step Six: Week of November 29th make sure you have hosts and hostesses prepared for an Open House, if you are dedicating a particular Sunday to do this during Advent. They are more than greeters who have a warm smile, hand shake and bulletin. These members actually take the time to acquaint visitors with the church building (i.e. bathrooms, the nursery) and hand them a brochure on the ministry and mission of the church. The regular greeters can still do their routines. You may want to have the host and hostess have guests sign the register book. If your church pew pads don’t seem to always get the visitors to sign-in, the register is another possibility.
Note: Possibly have a well motivated member on November 29th do a “Minute for Inviting” or an announcement about why it is important for us to invite people to worship and other church activities or functions (Matthew 28 or Mark 16:15). Have the person doing the announcement state, “that they have invited someone."
Go over the details with the Steering Committee for an Open House Sunday if planned and the reason why we are doing it. Make sure that everyone involved understands their role. The most important three items: is attitude, confidence in the congregation seriously praying for the open house or Advent as a season of invitation, and a willingness to try and invite someone.
Statistically we know that people who are first time visitors who make their way back to a particular church three times begin to make it their church home. This is our strategy in holding an Open House Sunday on December 6thth or on Sunday, December 13th with December 20th, and Christmas Eve as opportunities to get folks back.
However, don’t limit inviting and welcoming to this Sunday only during Advent! Use each Sunday and special occasions leading up to Christmas for including the community, i.e. Children’s Christmas Programs and special musical programs for the Advent season. One church got permission to do a Christmas Caroling Program at a local shopping mall and handed out flyers and another church provided free Christmas package wrapping that led to conversations about the church and the role it plays in serving the community. There are various opportunities for churches to be visible during Advent and Christmas.
Remember the suggestion in step one about the possible mission emphasis of a food or clothing drive coinciding with the Open House … it is a good way to get first time guests to return with a specific reason to bring a food/clothing item to help others.
Extra suggestions: commission your visitation teams who will call on visitors/guests during the holiday season. Include the “Women’s Gathering or Association” who may prepare some sort of gift “a wrapped treat” for the visitation teams to take out with a brochure and a heartfelt invitation to return. One church included a packet of hot chocolate that caught the theme “Come in Out of the Cold” to get warmed by the spirit of God’s love in a mug with the church name on it. With Christmas just around the corner the potential for repeat attendance by visitors is very good.
Please remember be sure to welcome visitors with the hospitality found at the heart of being Christian – Christ’s love for all people. Provide information on your church and what it offers the community it serves. Tell of ways in which folks who are without a church home can become involved in your congregation. Serve coffee, with light snack foods or brunch, and mix that food with good fellowship after worship in order to get to know each other.
Please have your visitation teams do calling on those who attended the Advent Open House!
Two additional resources can be helpful to congregations in this process:
1.) Being a Welcoming Congregation, by Hugh B. Berry, is a booklet produced by the Evangelism and Church Development Unit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for its “Stop In & Find Out” media materials. This booklet seeks to enhance the efforts of congregations seeking to be more welcoming to visitors. To order call 1-888-728-7228 ext. 5252; Order # 72-303-00-003.
2.) Presbyterian Media Mission’s Blueprints/Media Designs materials are available for a more extensive, long-term approach to local congregational outreach and evangelism. A workbook is available from PMM for $59.95. Congregational consultation is available on sliding scale beginning at $400. For more information please contact the PMM Office (412) 323-1400.
Prepared by Gregg Hartung Presbyterian Media Mission (PMM) 2007
| 