Phone's 1

To plant a new church, you must get the word out. People need to know who you are, what your church will be like, where you are meeting, and when you will have your first service. There are many ways to get the word out - like door knocking, literature distribution, newspaper and yellow-page advertising, word of mouth testimony, radio bulletin boards, fliers placed on cars in shopping centers, your church web site, and a $1.2 million 30-second TV commercial during the Super Bowl. I have personally used most of these methods. However, the most effective tool I have used is the telephone.

The "Phone's For You" is a church plant (start-up) tool that gets the word out. Written by Norm Whan of Brea, California, this method has been used to start over 20,000 churches all over the world. Norm Whan has taught the program to over 25,000 pastors on six continents and fifty-two countries. It is estimated that every Sunday there are over one million people in church as a result of "Phones For You."

The "Phone's" program is NOT a calling machine. Live phone callers make thousand of calls in one month from a central calling room. The numbers to call are found in the Criss-Cross (also called Reverse) directory. This Directory is available in hard copy or CD Rom, and costs from $250-$1250, depending on the number of listings in your calling area. To find a company in your area, Google Criss-Cross or Reverse Directory.

Seven telephones are installed in a call center, like the pastor's house, a neighboring church, or a rented office. Callers meet to make calls Sunday - Thursday, 5:00 -8:30 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. No calls are made on Friday.

The purpose of calling is to find unchurched and weak-churched people who will allow you to send them information about the new church. Here is a sample of the caller Word Track (what we say).

"Hi! This is Dave, calling for the new Lifepoint Baptist Church that will be opening in Apple Valley in April. Before we do, we're calling some of the new neighbors to see if we can ask two quick question that would help us. Would that be okay?"

The first question is: "Are you actively involved in one of the local churches at this time?"
(If they answer "YES") "Ok! We are NOT trying to take anyone out of a good church. But we are doing is . . we're mailing out some information to the people in our community. . . to tell them about some of the programs that we have available for all age groups. Could we send it to you, just to keep you updated on our progress?"

(If they answer "NO") "One of the things that we would like to do, if it would be okay . . .we're mailing out some information to the people in our community. . . to tell them about some of the programs that we have available for all age groups. Could we send it to you, just to keep you updated on our progress?"

When someone says they want to get the mail, enter their address into your database Mail List and send them a thank-you letter. After four weeks of calling and making from 20,000 to 30,000 calls, you should have about 1200-1500 folks on your list. The next four weeks are spent sending four mail pieces to your Mail List, telling folks who you are and the time and location of your Grand Opening service.

After four weeks of calling and four weeks of mailing, get back on the phones and call back each person on the Mail List. This final call is a reminder of and invitation to your Grand Opening service.