Sometimes the last thing on our minds in ministry outreach is the first thing we ought to think about. Generally, pastors and church leaders focus on one task: If your outreach works, people will come.
However, I would quickly add the questions, "How is your follow-up? When ministry marketing brings in more people, are you ready to take care of them?"
Most churches aren't ready, nor do they have a plan to put this necessary step into action. After all, follow-up is hard work, which takes away from other things ministers often feel are more important.
In a real sense, however, this kind of marketing is your ministry. Why? Because marketing can help build relationships with people who need the gospel. That's why churches need to design a follow-up plan to go with their marketing plan.
Every ministry endeavor should be planned with the follow-up in mind. Make sure everyone who visits your church receives a contact within 36 hours of their first visit. Send them a letter. Call them. Let them know you are glad they visited. Have a plan to keep contacting them for several weeks.
Moving beyond "average"
If your church wants to make ministry marketing work, you will have to move beyond how most churches execute their follow-up. If a typical large church has 25 visitors on a Sunday and only five people show up to help contact visitors, most likely they will only reach five newcomers. That leaves 20 people who still need to be contacted.
Then, the following week, another group of new contacts occur. A number of them get neglected too. So the aging prospects and contacts list grows colder and colder. In this very practical way, people fall between the cracks of your ministry.
You may say, "Well, our church only has 100 on a Sunday. We're lucky to get more than two or three visitors." True, but how many members are available for follow-up? If only one or two people are assigned to the task, they will slip behind in similar proportions.
The situation is so bad that most churches lose touch with more than half of the people who come in contact with their ministries. Many either get "lost in the cracks" or go elsewhere.
Not everyone is receptive to follow up, but that will soon become apparent. Don't let a cold shoulder discourage you from reaching those who want a personal contact to feel welcome. These folks may want to come back, but without some kind of follow-up will lose their enthusiasm. Don't let this happen to your church.
Action Point!
Evaluate your follow-up. An easy way to do that is to take the names of the people who have visited for the last four weeks. Follow up with a call, a visit, a letter or an e-mail to make sure they have been contacted. Also, use any comments they offer to further refine your program.
Chris Forbes is the founder of MinistryMarketingCoach.com and consults for the North American and International Mission Boards of the Southern Baptist Convention in marketing strategy and market research. He has served as the Marketing Evangelism Specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, and the Interactive Media Specialist for PurposeDrivenTMMinistries.
