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Q and A: How do You get Your Direct Mail Results?

March 10, 2011 in Church with 0 Comments

This question shows up in my inbox every week. That's why I have 2 resources that deal with how we do direct mail AND I lead a coaching network that focuses solely on outreach and promotion.

Having said that, here's 5 things you must know if you're going to get great direct mail results:

#1 – You must know who you're trying to reach - most churches have no idea who they're best equipped to reach

#2 – You must know what you're going to say to them - Most churches are not connecting their copy with the recipients of their direct mail.

#3 – You must know why you're reaching out - direct mail that doesn't give a call to action doesn't make any impact.

#4 – You must know who you're not equipped to reach – we're not good at reaching everyone. Focus on who you're best equipped to reach.

#5 – You must get their attention with your copy AND your design - everyone thinks they can do this; few actually can.

I've got over 6 hours of teaching of direct mail available in this resource and this resource. If you're planning on doing direct mail this Easter, I strongly recommend you pick them up.

Q and A: How do you read so much?

March 9, 2011 in Church with 0 Comments

I get this question about once a week. So I decided to write down a few thoughts that I hope will be of help to you. If you're a leader, then growing is not an option. But in the busy world we live in, it's important to find ways to maximize our time for our own personal growth and development.

So here's 6 ways I try to learn more in less time:

#1 – Set goals - When you have a goal for the number of books your want to read in a year, you'll read faster because you want to make sure you reach your goal.

#2 – Always have a book with you - We have more time than we realize for reading and learning. So carry a book with you wherever you go and you'll be able to pull your book out in those times and get some reading done.

#3 – Always be excited about your next book - I always find this to be a great motivator. I usually don't read more than one book at a time, so I have several books waiting to be read when I'm done with my current one. This prompts me to read more and read faster.

#4 – Manage your time well - There's time to read, we just have to manage our time well so that our discretionary time doesn't get eaten away with frivolous stuff.

#5 – See learning as a priority - I don't read with my left over time. Reading and listening to audio resources is a top priority for me because I need to keep taking in new ideas and have old truths reinforced in my life. If you make learning a priority, you're read and listen to audio lessons more.

#6 – Turn wasted time into learning time - Driving is a great example of this. Don't listen to morning talk shows. Plug in your iPod and listen to an audiobook, sermon or church resource that will help you grow as a leader and as a person.

I talk about accomplishing more in my resource, "The Productive Leader". You can pick a copy on CD here or a download version here.

Q and A: Becoming an Evangelistic Church

March 8, 2011 in Church with 0 Comments

I get this question is various forms. The question is about how to create a culture of evangelism in your church. We did not have an evangelistic culture in our church when we started. In fact, after 18 months we didn't see one person come to know Jesus. That was a wake up call for us. Then we started taking steps and eventually the culture of our church changed.

Here's 5 steps we took that changed our culture:

Step 1 - Confront Reality (don't sugar coat it. Admit that things are bad and start from there.)

Step 2 - Start teaching on evangelism (We did a 4 part series on sharing your faith that began to help)

Step 3 - Make it easy for people to invite friends (Give them the tools and a special Sunday to invite their unchurched friends where they will hear the Gospel)

Step 4 - Start sharing the Gospel every week (I don't give an invitation every week. It's probably closer to 80% of the time, but when we were turning the ship around I endd every service with an opportunity for people to come to know Jesus.)

Step 5 - Give it time (Changing your culture doesn't happen overnight but over time. So give it time. But be consistent because that's what ultimately turns things around)

In the last 18 months at Calvary we've seen over 1,000 people come to know Jesus. It shows that you can turn the ship around.

For learn more about how we created this culture at Calvary, check out our resource, "Creating a Culture of Evangelism" by clicking here.

P.S. If you want to reach people and see them stick on Easter, the time to start changing this is now!

Q and A: What about By-Laws?

March 7, 2011 in Church with 0 Comments

The biggest mistake churches make in their by-laws is giving too much control to the wrong group of people. Too many church planters begin their churches by adopting the same by-laws their sending church had. This can be a great blessing if you've got the right by-laws, but can also be deadly to the health of your church if they are the wrong by-laws. There's nothing in the Bible that says we should have congregational voting. Why churches do it escapes me.

If you're a church that reaches unchurched people, here's what they are expecting: for the leaders of the church to lead the church. That's why we need to lay the right foundation and structure our churches in such a way that allow leaders to lead and make decisions in a way that eliminate unnecessary red-tape.

For a comprehensive resource on how to lay the right foundation and establish your board of directors and bylaws, check out our Laying the Foundation resource.

Sunday Stuff

March 6, 2011 in Church with 0 Comments

- Awesome day at Calvary!

- We continued our "He Said/ She Said" series and talked about the wife's role in marriage.

- Talking about submission is never an easy thing, but my wife co-taught with me today and it went great.

- Carey is a really gifted teacher and everyone agreed that she did a fantastic job.

- Taking next Sunday off. I need it.

- We're taking Mia and Xander to Disney World

- This is the trip we were supposed to take for Mia's birthday, but had to cancel due to Mia being in the hospital.

- So needless to say, we're looking forward to this trip.

- But before we go out of town, we're kicking off our Wednesday night service!

- I'm starting in Genesis on Wednesday; hoping to take the first 2 chapters. May only get through one. We'll see.

- I am really excited about the opportunity to do a different format in teaching. Wednesday will have more of a survey feel, while Sunday will remain the same.

- Going to answer some questions this week on the blog. Getting lots of questions about outreach with Easter coming up.

- By the way, now is the time to get ready for Easter. Don't repeat the same mistakes as last year.

- At the risk of sounding self-serving, I would strongly recommend that you pick up this resource and this resource is you're planning on doing outreach this Easter.

- Have a great week!