Planting Space

I had dinner with a family who is new to the church on Monday.  They both grew up Catholic and had tried connecting in with the Catholic Church in the area but had some problems.  They made a new year’s resolution that they wanted to go to church.  They had received a series of direct mail cards from the church and were intriqued.  The cards gave the impression that the church was a casual and fun place to explore God.  So they gave it a try.

Many complain that direct mail is not appropriate for church.  I’ve often heard the excuse: What you win them with you win them to.  The underlying complaint is that direct mail is an attractional/consumerist way of getting people to church.  I like to make numbered lists so here we go.

1. Yes it is an attractional/consumerist way of getting people to church, but so were miracles and great branding words such as Messiah and Son of God.  The crowds were attracted to Jesus by the 1000s.  Before you lench me, yes I understand that miracles were not done to attract people (Jesus said don’t tell anyone), however many people were attracted to Jesus for that reason.
2. No one is won over by a postcard.  I’ve never heard anyone say, “I love my church because they have the greatest postcards.”  Postcards are the invitation.  If the new family I met with had come to church only to discover that it wasn’t a casual and fun place to explore God they would never have come back the second time.  If they hadn’t made genuine connections with people they would have been gone.  If they hadn’t started to grow closer to God, they would have been gone.  They were won with the Gospel, with relationships and with relevant styles of worship services.
3. If you haven’t noticed 99.999% of Americans are consumerists.  Its our culture.  Direct mail is a way to speak their language in a relevant way.
4. Branding and marketing is all about communicating a message.  Even if no one buys the product today marketing is considered effective if that message is communicated.  Why?  Because when the time comes the message has already been ingrained and the consumer will go buy it.  One pastor put it to me this way, “direct mail is a way to pastor to someone before they know they need it.”  If you consistently communicate your message, when life takes a turn and they think about God they will already know where to look.

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Over the past few months P4P has seen multiple examples of companies using Personalized URLs or PURLs as a part of direct mail marketing campaigns.  What is a PURL?  Quite simply a PURL is a page on your website personalized for every person to whom you send a postcard.  Here’s how it works:  You will create a page on your website that everyone who receives the postcard will go to.  When you purchase a mailing list that file is used to personalize that site for everyone on the list.  Think of it like an advanced version of Mail Merge.  When the postcards go out, each one would be personalized.

Here’s an example:

You can see there are two types of personalization.  The first name of the person is used at the top of the card and a PURL is created at the bottom of the card.  When Wendy gets her card the idea is that the personalization will catch her eye and lead her to check out the website.  When Wendy types in the web address she will see the web page the church has created again with personalization just for her.

Some companies are even offering to adjust the images on the card based on who the card is going to.  If the card is going to a family with young children, the images would reflect familes with young children.  If the card were going to an elderly person it would have images of elderly people.

As with any new technology, it cost more money to use a PURLs than it does to use traditional postcards.  However, the claim is that the response rate is 2-4 times greater using PURLs.  If you are considering a direct mail campaign it may be worth your time/money to consider using PURLs.

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The Church Planting Assessment Center has become one of the most prolific catalysts for church planters and church planting staff members. Hundreds of church planting candidates have been processed through CPAC over the last few years and nearly every single feedback point is “this is extremely valuable for us.” Assessment centers are held about every 6 weeks in various locations. Visit www.churchplanting4me.org for more information and to take the Next Step.

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or for those of you from less populus places, Git-R-Done.

Do you have a list of those really important things that need to get done to launch your church but you just never seem to get to?  Every time you start to think about it the phone rings, an email comes in, you see a twitter about a new blog post you just have to read…

This week I’ve cleared my calendar from nearly every meeting.  I’m working from home, Starbucks, Panera, anywhere but the office.  I’ve shifted most of my regular weekly tasks to other people to do for me.  Why?

I have some very important, but not urgent things to get done for our software project.  I have found if I don’t schedule it, it will simply keep getting pushed off until tomorrow or next week.

Before you launch and face the demands of all the people who are part of your church, you need to get in the habit of scheduling what I call “focused work time” where you turn off the phone, shut down email, your blog reader, and close your chat and twitter clients.

If you want to get the important stuff done, you must learn to schedule it into your week… otherwise it will never happen.  Maybe it’s one hour each morning, maybe it’s a half day.  Whatever works for you.  Just put it on your calendar (just like your date night) and don’t let other things crowd it out.

Oh… and don’t write blog posts during focused work time either.

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I recently paid $4.40 for a gallon of gas in Chicago, IL.  I never dreamed in my lifetime that I would see that price.  I can remember paying $0.89 when I got my license.  That means gas prices have increased 500% in 16 years.  Ouch!  My family of four now thinks about the price of gas when deciding whether or not to get in the car.

Regardless what the media says, the average American household is feeling the pinch.  Rising gas and food prices results in a larger percentage of people living in poverty.  So how does this impact church planting?

1. Increased needs for compassion ministries and service focused churches. Churches that serve are rapidly becoming a trend.  But churches that serve well and make a difference in the community are still hard to find.  For years churches have integrated secular practices of marketing and business.  Now it is time for the church to integrate and even influence principles of the social work world.  Compassion by Design is making it easy for churches to focus on service in a culturally relevant way through a tool called the community needs assessment.  This tool helps the new church identify authentic community needs as well as assisting in setting a true service focused DNA.
2. Green Awareness.  Agree or disagree with global warming you can’t argue with the biblical mandate to care for the earth.  With increased energy costs at the front of most American’s mind, going green is becoming as common as video games.  This presents the church with an incredible opportunity to influence the conversation with a theology of stewardship, restoration and the beauty of God’s creation.
3. Alternative Community.  In a time of war, rumors of war and an every man for himself mentality, the church will stand in stark contrast.  Spend time reading Acts 2 and 4 and wrestle with what it means for the church to live in community.  How will your new church take care of each other’s needs?  It used to be only the poorest among us couldn’t afford a gallon of gas.  Today, you may find a benevolence ministry that helps fill a gas of tank is not only relevant but needed.

How do you see the rising cost of living impacting the church?  What opportunities for ministry does it provide us?

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I recently talked to a planter about making sure that he honored his family by taking his allotted vacation time this year. His initial thought was to postpone any vacation until after launch because of all the business that happens up to launch. I reminded him that it only gets busier after launch because of all the people that need to get followed up with and plugged in.

In case you’re considering just skipping vacation entirely, consider this posted on Monster’s career advice blog:

“[Not taking vacation is] a little like sleep deprivation, according to physicians and psychotherapists. Just as lack of sleep impedes your ability to think clearly and act decisively, lack of playtime keeps you from taking in information effectively and seeing the totality of a situation. Lack of sleep and play both have a negative impact on your reflex time, general resilience and ability to ward off infection. Recreation deprivation also makes you cranky, and often more than a little critical of the people in your organization who do have the good sense to take care of themselves.”

So, what’s was your experience? Did you take vacation time during pre-launch? Did you wait until after? If so, was it right after launch or a significant time later?

Please help this young planter by voicing your opinion and/or sharing your wisdom. We’d love to hear from you.

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Ed’s interview of Craig Groeschel has been one of our most popular. If you missed it, click here.
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Pre-Launch should be a time of dreaming and strategy, vision and planning. Most planters are big on the dream and small on the details and implementation. That is how it should be, as most people who are ‘maintainers’ don’t have big enough dreams, or at least the moxie to go plant a church.

That being said, there is also harm in creating a plan and then not sticking to it, or switching plans every 6 months because you’ve come across a new idea or ministry model. The whole reason for coming up with a plan is to work it and see the fruit of your labor. There will be people in your congregation that need to administrate something or maintain a healthy system. Let them! Imagine the momentum that gets lost when you completely retool the factory just because you get bored with your original plan.

Mike Burns gives us some great insight on his blog into how to keep a strategic plan going and not let it “end up on a shelf collecting dust, beside other well-intentioned initiatives.”

Do the following:

1. Make your planning process inclusive
2. Make sure your plan is realistic, flexible, and complete
3. Make a commitment to evaluation [maintain, maintain, maintain]

Don’t do the following:

1. Do not develop your strategic plan during a crisis
2. Do not set unrealistic objectives
3. Do not assume that everyone knows what is expected of him/her
4. Do not ram a plan down anyone’s throat

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Wow! You’re still reading after the title.  That must mean you need some help with a bulk mail permit.  I’m here to help.

Before getting a bulk mail permit, consider the following:

• You will spend $360 to get the permit.  ($180 for application fee and $180 for annual fee).  Will the money saved having the bulk-mail permit cover these fees?

• Ex.- A first class stamp is $0.42.  Bulk mail rate is roughly $0.17 per piece.  The savings is $0.25 per piece.  Therefore, the break even point is 1,440 pieces over the course of the year.  This would drop to 720 pieces after year one since you will not pay the application fee again.

• If you will be mailing more than 1,440 pieces then consider getting the bulk-mail permit

Step 1: Complete Form 3615, Mailing Permit Application and Customer Profile.

Step 2: Complete From 3624, Application to Mail at Nonprofit Standard Mail Rates.

• At a minimum you will need to complete all questions in Part 1.

• You will also need to complete the top half of the “Checklist for PS Form 3624) by checking the boxes for all the documentation you are able to provide.  It is best to provide as much documentation as you are able demonstrating that you are a legitimate church.  At a minimum include your Articles of Incorporation (or Articles of Association), Bylaws and any pre-printed materials you have such as a business card, brochure, program/bulletin, etc.

Step 3: Take both completed forms to the post office.  Include the following:

• A check for $180:  This is the permit application fee (Form 3615).  It is a one time fee and separate from the annual fee you must pay for mailing
• 2 forms of identification:  One must be a picture ID.  Options include: valid driver’s license; armed forces, government, university or corporate identification card; passport; current lease, mortgage or Deed of Trust; voter or vehicle registration card; home or vehicle insurance policy.
• Evidence the organization is nonprofit: IRS letter of exemption from payment of federal income tax or a complete financial statement from an independent auditor.  As a new church you may not yet have received your 501(c)3 status.  Don’t let this stop you.  By default churches are nonprofit.  It says so in the IRS code.  You may have to persuade your local post office employee, but you can submit the application without it and be approved.  Stand firm.
• Documents describing the organization’s primary purpose: This will most likely be articles of incorporation.
• Documents explaining the organization’s operations: This will most likely be the church’s bylaws.  You can also include bulletins, brochures, financial statements, membership applications, minutes of meetings, newsletters or a listing of activities for past 6-12 months.  If you do include any of these things be sure to check the appropriate boxes on page 3 of the Form 3624

Step 4: Wait

The post office will send the Form 3624 to the national office for processing.  This typically takes 4-6 weeks.  You will receive a permit imprint number and a receipt from Form 3615.  Keep this receipt for documentation.  Once Form 3624 is approved it will be associated with your imprint number and you will be ready send bulk mail at nonprofit rates.  Before your first mailing you will have to pay the $180 annual mailing fee and make a deposit into your account.

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In his recent post on Philanthropy Journal, brand consultant Drew Neisser says about the logo design process:

“Getting the right name and logo are essential in the early stages of brand development.  These will force you to define your mission, values and target audience since without these prerequisites, you’ll just have a cow.”

Don’t pick a logo and a name just because they are cool and will impress your ministry friends. Choose one that actually communicates something of value to your community and has at least something to do with what you are doing there. The church name and logo should flow out of who your community is (demographics) and who you are (mission & personality), and should not be created in a vacuum.

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