After the Sunday service, what happens to the Connection Cards? Most of your Connection Cards will be dropped in an offering plate. Some will be handed directly to you and some may even be left on a pew. Your usher team (or whomever is responsible for securing the offering) needs to know just how important those cards are to you! If not, they may be locked away in a safe or stashed some place secure! Let your team know where you will look for those cards on Monday morning!
When you get your hands on this week’s Connection Cards, they should be sorted and reshuffled and resorted a few more times times.
First and Second Time Guests
Those people that self-identify on a Connection Card as being first or second time guests should get the first priority. These cards may or may not have a complete set of information, but you can use whatever is given to you. If you were given a physical address, you should send a handwritten card in an envelop along with a small token of appreciation for the card. I send out a $5 Starbucks card. These should go in Monday’s post.
If the card contains a phone number call it. If the call is answered or it goes to voicemail, the conversation starter is the same: “Hey, I am Ron — the pastor from East Ave Church. I wanted to personally thank you for attending with us this weekend and for trusting us with your Connection Card. If you have any questions about the church or even the Christian faith, I would love the chance to answer them. And, by the way, this is a good number to reach me.”
If the card contains an email address, you should write on Monday morning. Your email will say much of the same stuff.
Thank you for being our guest on Sunday! We are always honored when someone trusts us with their Sunday morning. I hope you will come join us again soon.
By the way, if you have yet to visit us online, you can find more information about the church at our website, www.EastAveChurch.org. You can see how active we are at our facebook page, www.facebook.com/eastavechurch.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Pastor Ron
I Raised My Hand Checkbox
If someone checks the “I Raised My Hand” box (or a box indicating that they have made a decision to follow Jesus on Sunday) it is imperative that you meet with them right away!
Never let a decision for Jesus linger. These opportunities don’t come up often. Meet them for coffee and learn their story. Find out who he or she is and where he or she is coming from. Then, you can invite this person to make the next step — whatever that may be! The next step you offer will change depending on what is shared.
Prayer Requests
When people use your Connection Cards to give you prayer requests, acknowledge the request in some way. That can be in a phone call, text message or email. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is that they know they were heard and that you care.
If you have a prayer team set up, you should compile all the requests into an email and send it out.
Of course, you should also pray for the requests as well!
Sign Ups
If they are solicited signups through check boxes or written statements, the people should be informed you got the information — again by email text of phone call. It is not enough to stick them on a list.
Everything Else
The last time you sift through the cards look for anything that doesn’t fit in any other category. Make sure everything written on the card gets dealt with early in the week if you can!