Nuts & Bolts - Case Study : Retaining the Flock

Challenge: Retain churchgoers.
Solution: Mobile marketing, sending daily text messages.
Results: Of the 125 church members and attendees who participated, 100 percent have remained worshippers.

Taking a leap of faith, Relevant Church of Tampa, Fla. invested last year in database management software from Fellowship Technologies of Irving, Texas. In one of its first challenges for the software, Relevant created a mobile marketing retention drive.

"We had a series that we called TEXT," Administrative Pastor James Adair says. "It was a study of the Bible, a play on the word, obviously. What we wanted to do was to help our people get to interact more with scripture on a daily basis. So we tried to find an apparatus to communicate with them that was relevant, already ingrained in their daily life. So we said, ‘Well, what if we text message them Bible verses for the day?' You could always e-mail, but sometimes you get that later, when you're already at work." 

The church posed the challenge to its attendees one Sunday, and 125 opted in to read scripture every morning for 30 days. After pulling worshippers' cell phone numbers from the Fellowship One database-the Fellowship Tech software Relevant Church purchased to keep track of its growing flock-Relevant sent out the text messages. New congregants who weren't yet in the database filled out contact cards, which the church then added.

"Just because you have somebody come to your church for years, [sometimes] they don't actually grow in their faith, or they don't go anywhere with it; it's just like somebody coming into your restaurant and not buying any food," Adair says. "You want them to start growing. So by getting them into Fellowship One, we can track their progress. We can tell if they go to a small group. We can tell if they attended church. We can tell if they give money. We can tell if they've taken any ‘action steps.' So, during the TEXT series, if they signed up to receive text messages, that's permanently in their record[s]."

Of the 125 who partook in the TEXT action step, Adair says 100 percent are more than still attending-many are joining in on more challenges. Now Relevant Church has scheduled different retention drives twice a year, amid the 2008 "Year of Challenges." Worshippers have new goals to meet every 30 days, such as the recent "We Are Relevant" push in October to define the church's role in their lives and in the lives of the community.So, at a time when Adair says average church attendance is static to slumping, Relevant is growing. During the past year, Relevant's overall attendance has grown by more than 50 percent, from 230 to 350. 

He credits a large part of this growth to the collected data that allows the church to enhance its ability to service the congregation's needs. For instance, if the information shows 20 percent of the attendees live in a certain Tampa neighborhood, the church can create a small group meeting for the area that can even cater to its demographics-young and single or married with children-and perhaps have a better chance of retaining 
those worshippers.

Meanwhile, those who've grown up ensconced in traditional religion probably never thought they'd see the day that churches became savvy marketers. But that day is here, Adair says. 

"We put a ton of effort into marketing. A ton," he says. "Because it's got to be something that people who don't go to church are interested in. If you send out a black and white, boring, cut-and-paste bulletin, that's no good-well, who's going to be interested in a church like that?"

But what matters most to Relevant's ministry is reaching those in the pews with God's message. As Adair puts it, if Relevant markets "to these people halfheartedly, well then, they're going to think we think of our God halfheartedly."

When Serving Sucks.

 

Paul used an illustration few weeks ago with two types of fish tanks. He talked about fresh and salt water and how the two types of fish can’t mix. Here’s the tragic back-story behind what you saw on stage.

Saturday night I set up the tanks. Beach sand and ocean water made the salt tank and the fresh water tank came from Walmart. I could have bought small fish salt water from the pet store, but bigger fish from my home 75 gallon reef system would make a better point.        

Sunday morning at 7:00am I attempted to catch the fish in my home aquarium. They kept hiding in the rocks. I started tearing the tank apart to get these fish. Buckets filled with siphoned water protected the rock and coral I pulled out of the tank. With in minutes my pristine home tank was in shambles. My kids, stood in their PJ’s, are staring at me.

Finally, I caught my first fish, then the second. As I looked for the third, I saw a yellow snout sticking out from under a large rock. Ahh. I moved the rock and realized that my final catch would never move again; he was crushed.

Ironically, this is the same fish I freed previously from the deadly grip of a clam. Me and my yellow fish had a delayed appointment with destiny. Off to Relevant.

I dumped these Caribbean fish into 62 degree water. I’m sure they remembered the comfortable 81 degree tank they just left. I ran down to the cantina to set-up for children’s ministry. Tim Mann greeted me with a cheerful smile; a smile I could not return. He asked if he could help with anything. “Not unless you can raise fish from the dead” I responded.

The fish in question, were valued at $150-$180 each. The dead one would have fetched $120. All of these fish were at least 9 years old. I gave them 2 pinches of food daily, for 2 years. I brought 15 gallons of new water to the tank weekly. They experienced dawn, daytime, dusk and even moon light. I even scooped their poop. My sons knew them as Nemo, Dori, and the Yellow one.

While I was laying tiles in the children’s area those thoughts raced through my mind. “Why am I so angry?” I wondered. I was not not angry at God, but at myself. I went all out for this illustration. “I could loose everything”. Laid another tile.

 

Carl and the band practiced upstairs; loud as usual. I laid another tile.

Jesus paid it all,
 All to Him I owe; 
Sin had left a crimson stain,
 He washed it white as snow.

 

And when before the throne 
I stand in Him complete, 
I’ll lay my trophies down
 All down at Jesus’ feet.”

 

 

I began to weep, quietly. Laid another tile. I started to see all my selfishness. I was committed to making this illustration work. I never imagined how much my commitment would cost. I never considered how much work it was going to be. Two days of prep unraveled 2 years of nurturing. I never thought I would lose something I cared for. Laid another tile. As Carl sang the refrain again, “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe”, I felt terrible that God gave his son and I could not give a few fish.

Serving has a cost. Serving is not dependent on our feelings. Faithful serving is a process of letting go of ourselves one bit at a time.

 

 

You are my Beefsteak.

I have a small garden growing in my yard. One of the starter plants that all new gardeners use is tomatoes. My first tomatoes were cherry. They were small and totally useless. They grow fast and rot quickly. This season I picked larger breed of tomato; Beefsteak.. Here is what I didn’t know. Big tomatoes take a whole lot longer to grow.  After months of watering this plant its like 6 foot tall. But only in the past few weeks have the tomatoes started budding.  They are still green but I can finally see the fruit beginning to grow.

         I planted two identical Beefsteak tomato plants. Both are tall and both take a lot of work. One is producing fruit and the other has buds but no fruit. Not one. The plant is totally useless. I guess I could use it as a hedge or give it as a house warming gift to an enemy.

         There are lots of believers in the kingdom. Unfortunately, some take lots of water and care yet still they don’t give back. They keep all the nutrition for themselves. They, like this tomatoe plant have forgotten their purpose.

         On the other hand there are those believers who step-up, step-out and produce fruit. They find their place, and they make a difference. YOU are a part of the people at Relevant that produce fruit. Some-times it takes a while to see the fruit in others and often it takes longer to see the fruit in ourselves. Be assured that God has been watering, pruning, and caring for you all along. 

Distractions.

I was playing Racquetball this morning. It did not go well. I found myself highly distracted. Being a medicated ADD person, I know that I am medically superior to the average Joe. But most of the time we are a highly distracted people. We find our minds wandering from one thought to another.

            I found myself thinking: “How bad will this market crash be, 1980’s or 1920’s? Why don’t the kids clean up their own crap? I hope my wife feels better. Who is on Facebook? My house value is down $80k. Why is everyone I know sick or broke?” Oh wait I’m playing Racquetball- get in the game.

An old boss I used to work for always pushed me to limit the number of distractions in my life. I thought he was Scrooge-ing me. Surly he was watching out for himself. In reality he wanted me to focus on the few things that would feed my family. As I observe myself, and the remainder of humanity, I notice that when times get tough we find even more ways to become distracted. More often we will relish in thoughts of misery. We get stuck in our own experience that we can’t see that we are in the middle of a game we care about. We forget what is at stake. It is the Kingdom of God in people’s lives; a game far more important that Racquetball.

Whether on Sunday morning or during the week in a Growth Group each of you takes a role at Relevant. I am so glad that you have a laser focus on the most important priority in your spiritual service. I am thrilled when I see volunteers who could be shootin the breeze with their friends down-stairs; instead they engaged a new couple in conversation. This kind of laser focus resulted in the visitors signing up for a growth group and coming to Carefest. I know it is hard to keep distractions out of our minds but by serving something greater than ourselves we add value and meaning for eternity in the lives of those we touch. 

I got my first.

6:45am: A frantic wife calls to her loving, and still asleep, husband,  “Hey, the fridge is broken.” Apparently the coils froze over. So Carly and I moved all the food out into the shed fridge, and for three days, we made trips out to the shed fridge to make dinner. Once, I even thought, “You know you’re a redneck when you find yourself in the backyard, barefoot, getting milk out of your shed fridge.”

Finally, with my trusty cordless drill in hand; I began the process of removing the panels covering the frozen coil. Ethan came over to help his dear, old dad, and you know how the story goes. He had to have a job. I gave him the job of holding all of the screws that I extracted from the panel.

Then it happened. All of a sudden, without warning and without prompting, Ethan said it. Words I had not heard from him before.  At least, not without coaching. He said it, my jaw dropped, and I wasn’t sure what to say, or how to respond. “I love you, dad.”

 

How long do we serve in an area of ministry and desire to hear about the difference we make?  How long have we served without being served? How long have we wanted to know that someone felt cared for, because of what we are doing? One day it will come.

Despair Factory Bailout

A family waits in the hospital for a doctor’s coat to approach with news. A wife wrestles with her distant husband’s addiction to bottles of all kinds. A man driving his 4-cylinder beater car sighs as he realizes that he has not actually filled up the tank in over a year. A man with a credit score of 705 contemplates if he should just let the house go. After all it’s worth $100,000 less than what he paid for it. Pastors of young vibrant new churches gather to figure out how to keep their doors open.  Taxpayers all over the nation are bracing for the fallout from the Fanny and Freddy default. Presidential candidates recite a nation’s despair, offer promises, and then ask for a vote.

 

            It seems just about every place one looks despair abounds. Its almost like in the cosmos a factory exists. This “Despair Factory” has an assembly line working over time to produce difficulties. Some difficulties are even customized. It seems like so many are in places of despair.

 

             Hindus call it Karma, while the Buddhists call it “The four passing sights”. What happens when our time of shock has past? How long will we savor the words “your fired”, “recession”, and “I’m pregnant”? In the west, Americans don’t reflect on despair, rather blame is assigned to everyone but the troubled. We find ways to relish in our misery. There are entire sections of daytime TV set aside to enjoying misery.

             

When trouble comes along people’s eyes glaze over and incapacity sets in. Any foreclosure defendant will attest the paralyzing effect of impending doom. What does it take to snap out of it? Where is the big restart button? What bailout is needed to bring hope back? Maybe the question is ”How can hope be used to bailout the Despair Factory?”

 

At the very basic level hope offers purpose to our struggle. Most often, hope offers a sense of better days ahead? Paying for next week’s gas and praying for healing asks hope for an immediate action.  Hope itself does not fill a gas tank nor does it heal. But hopeless place themselves at the end of the despair factory production line repeatedly. Hope offers reason and purpose to great struggle. Martin Luther held hope in the midst of huge struggle. Yes the original Martin Luther and Martin the King had at the core of their message purpose to their struggle. Hope fueled their drive for change. Don’t confuse hope with a campaign slogan or marketing piece. Hope naturally encourages action for those who have internalized it.

 

For believers in Christ we have a dualistic approach to hope.  We know that God makes Earthly provision. Believers also know that the calling of Christ has hope of salvation. Often the big picture of faith is lost in the details of the day. The wind blows and masses follow the dust it created. We know that troubles we face have greater implications. They fit into God’s greater picture. Even those things that seem meaningless, God weaves into the mosaics of our faith. There is a time for mourning. And there is a time for action. Let us weep with those who mourn.

 

Ironically, some believers respond to any adversity by looking for God to console rather than convict. Let us spur on those whose hope has been stolen by life’s circumstances. Some call it “putting on the big boy pants” while others call it “pushing the baby out of the nest”. So how do we snap out of it? Is it the bootstraps or surrender before God? Both. Dark clouds are momentary.

 

People who make it through great trials have some of the following traits. Setting aside the blinding effect of life’s trials will be the biggest challenge.  

 

·      Gain a realistic perspective of just how good or bad a situation is.

·      Stop talking about what you can’t do, start doing what you can do.

·      Essentualize-Get back to the basics.

·      Change your mind, starting with your tongue.  Speak the good, silence the negative. The tongue has power. It starts plenty of bar fights and secures many first dates.

·      Gain wise outside perspective. The kind that’s hard to hear, not blindly comforting.

·      Pray for God’s guidance on the tangible stuff: “Should I pay my rent or go to a movie?”