Wrapping Up madatchurch.com - Part 2

More thoughts as we look back at the madatchurch.com series and Easter. We are in the process of evaluation, which is key to not only getting the most out of an event/ministry/ experiment, but also figuring out how to learn and grow in order to make future efforts more effective. Here are some evaluative tools we're using:

• Cost/Benefit analysis - Whenever you do something new in a church that costs money, there will always be the question: Did we have to spend the money on ________? It's not a bad question at all, it shows that people are at least thinking about good stewardship and making sure that the limited resources of a church family are being used effectively. Sometimes money is used as a tool to control pastors and leaders ("We can't afford it/It's not in the budget"), but shortsighted financial planning can hurt long term ministry if done poorly, without prayerful guidance from the Holy Spirit, and without accountability. In the case of madatchurch.com, we saw the need to be strategic in getting this series idea out beyond the church and into the community, and of all the media that we could use, the most effective in terms of getting 'eyes on message' for the people of our valley was billboards. It worked fairly well, considering that the locations we got were not the most high traffic in town, but we also did get a break on the price, so that was a bonus. In all, the traffic that we got to the website, then to the church website, and even to this blog (up 100 hits over last month here) seem to indicate that it did get the attention of some people in our valley. The postcards we purchased did not - we have more than half of the 250 invitation postcards left over. We need to rethink that part of the strategy for next time.
  
• Risk/Reward - Sometimes the fear of risk leads pastors and leaders not to try anything new. But if you have a spirit of innovation and a willingness to risk failure in order hit it big or at least to learn whatever lesson there is to learn, then the question of risk is just one of the filters thru which to run a new idea and see what comes out. It is a risk every spring for a farmer to put seed into the ground, but if there is no seed, there is no crop. Having never done anything like this before, we were unsure of all the risks associated with such a campaign. We knew that it might generate negative backlash in the public (only a small amount that we heard about), and that it might make people from other churches mad at us (I sent a letter to local pastors ahead of the billboards gave them a heads up, which several commented to me that they appreciated. No damage there.). We did not expect the angry response from some in our own congregation who needed to process how they've been hurt in church or by church people. But that's not a failure at all - I hope that the series itself and the conversations that it sparked will help people to heal from their hurts and allow God to work in and thru relationships that need repair. The rewards of this effort have totally outweighed the risk.
• Outcome Oriented - In some church efforts I've seen and been a part of, making the effort is seen as enough. The idea that we the church are just supposed to show up and then whatever happens, happens is a hard one to overcome. There has to be some results that ministry is aiming for, and then some evaluation to make sure that either the results were captured or that the lessons why they didn't happen are learned. In this case, we were looking for two main results: buzz in the community that would bring in new people, and salvation in those new people. We got both! I've had many, many conversations with people who heard numerous conversations in their office, shop, neighborhood about the signs, the website, the concept and their experiences with church. I had several of those conversations myself. There were many new faces during those four weeks of the series, and 20-25 people who indicated they had given their lives to Jesus. That last part makes this the greatest reachout/evangelistic effort we've had in decades! Seeing the outcome makes the risk and the cost make sense. Knowing that we followed what God was telling us to do, and that we focused both prayer and strategy on this effort, and then seeing the fruit that came from it makes the difficulties seem less harsh.

Next week, I'll talk more about the individual stories of people touched by this series. If you have a story to share, email me and let me know, I'd love to be able to share it!! You can tell me you want to be anonymous if you'd like, but if God has used this series in your life or in the life of someone you know, please share it with me and let me share it with others.