Yesterday I took a class on “Follow Up.” I know this is an area that needs improvement in our Children’s Ministry. I’m not sure if I’m inspired or overwhelmed after hearing how Fellowship Church does it!
Here’s the skinny -
1.Each new guest gets a postcard in the mail that can be redeemed for a prize upon the child’s return. The guest’s parents also get a phone call thanking them for letting their child come, asking if they have any questions, and asking if they would like prayer for anything.
2. “Misser” calls are also made at 3 weeks and 6 weeks. If a child has missed 3 weeks in a row, there is a “misser” call made to the family telling them their child has been missed, and asking if they can pray for them in any way. The same thing happens at 6 weeks. If the phone is disconnected or there is a wrong number, an email is sent. If the email is kicked back or not on file a card is sent.
3. “Center Stage” calls – Everyone was called to tell about the new series beginning (Center Stage) as well as the Pastor’s new Sermon Series.
4. Regular attender calls – Anyone who had 60% attendance over the last 8 weeks gets a call. They thank the parents for bringing their children so faithfully, and ask if they have any prayer requests.
5. “Serious” prayer requests are also given follow up phone calls.
6. Any child who has expressed interest in becoming a Christian or who has recently prayed to receive Christ gets a “Kid Faith” phone call. These calls tell the family about the upcoming “Kid Faith” class (which is required for baptism) and baptism service. The parents and children attend the class together.
7. Service recruitment follow up calls – An example given – After a father/son retreat weekend, several fathers were noticed as having tremendous leadership skills. If those fathers were not currently serving, they were called and told that they were noticed during the retreat, and wouldn’t they love to use those leadership skills to impact children for Christ?
The girl who taught the Follow Up class says she makes about 80 phone calls a week. She devotes Thursday afternoon to the calls (except first time guest calls) for about 3 hours. All of the staff (and this is a mighty large staff) shares the phone call load. No man is an island at Fellowship Church. There are scripts created for every kind of call.
Besides phone calls, small group leaders are also asked to write one note to someone who was in their group before they leave. They give the note with the child’s full name on it to a staffer who addresses, stamps, and mails it on Monday.
Each child also receives a birthday card from the staff, even if they only came one time during the year.
Like I said – the information is very inspiring and helpful, but also a little overwhelming. I’m going to implement some of these ideas now, and save some for the fall when our entire program changes. Since I only have 2 part time staff in my department, I’m going to need to enlist some volunteers to share the call load. We have a tremendous number of guests who come through our doors, so the calls could make a real difference. I’ve called here and there, sent notes here and there, but not with the strategy and planning required to be effective. So much to do!
