Follow Up Night

Follow-up is a vital but often neglected element of any outreach event. Follow-Up Night is a great way to intentionally reach out to the unchurched who attend your event.

1. Enlist a few people to help sort the information cards.
2. Compile the information into three categories using a format that can easily be dispensed to volunteers who will help with follow-up. Ideally, Prospects will be visited and Potentials will be called. Non-Prospects may be sent a letter or email after all other contacts have been assigned. Keep in mind that some information cards will only provide portions of information such as an address or an phone number or an email address (but not all). Take this into consideration as you organize the information into a useable format for those following up. [NOTES—There may be multiple cards for each home if more than one family member filled out a card. Study the information, looking for duplicate addresses and phone numbers. Also, if a person made a spiritual decision during the event, be prepared to help that person follow up and get connected to the church.]

• • Prospects:  Those who live within the church field who do not attend church
    • Preferred method of contact:  Brief visit to home
    • Secondary method: Phone call
    • Third method: Letter
  • Potentials:  Those who live on the edges of the church field who do not attend church
    • Preferred method of contact:  Phone Call
    • Secondary method:  Letter
  • Non-Prospects:  Those who live outside the area (family visitors, tourists, etc.) and thosewho indicate they attend church elsewhere
• • • They can be contacted by letter or email after all Prospects and Potentials have been assigned.

3. Plan Follow-Up Night on a Sunday evening or Wednesday evening immediately following the event.
   • Consider providing a simple dinner (or potluck) (optional but it might boost participation).
      
4. Divide volunteers into three groups: the Visitors, the Callers, and the Writers.
    
5. Have a special time of prayer for:
   • Those who will be contacted
   • The Visitors, Callers, and Writers.
      
6. Divide the Visitors into teams and assign each team a certain number of Prospect homes to visit.
   • Provide each team with a copy of the completed information forms for the homes they will be visiting.
     • Provide each team with a church information packet to give to each home visited.
   • Send teams out to visit at that time.
     • Introduce self and connection to your church.
     • During the visit do not go inside the home (even if invited to come in). 
     • Invite the family to attend your church the following Sunday.  Offer to answer any questions.
     • Keep the visit brief unless a spiritually beneficial conversation develops (use great discretion).
   • Each team should record the result of the visit on the back of the information form.
     • Make a list of those who were not home at the time of the visit and make a plan to visit them again until contacted.
        
7. The Callers stay at the church and call.
   • Use church phones and/or cell phones.
   • Callers should first attempt to call those Prospects who did not provide physical addresses for a home visit.
   • Callers should then call the Potentials who provided a phone number.
   • If all calls cannot be made at this time, assign volunteers to call Prospects and Potentials in the next 48 hours.
   • [NOTE—you may wish to provide an outline for the caller to follow during the phone call.]
      
8. The Writers stay at the church and write letters to Prospects and Potentials who have not provided physical addresses or phone numbers.
   • Consider providing copies of a form letter to the Writers to use as a guideline to follow.
   • Some of the writers should address envelopes while others write letters.
   • If all letters cannot be written at this time, encourage the Writers to finish their letters and bring them back to the church office during the following week.

[Note: If you only receive an email address on the guest, send the guest a simple email message offering to answer questions and inviting them to return.]