Tips for Planning Your Church Outreach or Event

"All Star Events" by Greg Rumberg, July/Aug Outreach Magazine.
© Outreach, Inc. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

It's a warm June night and, as usual, the giant statue of baseball great Mickey Mantle welcomes visitors on the west, third base entrance of Oklahoma City's downtown SBC Bricktown Ballpark.

With their free admittance to the "green cathedral" tonight, folks are handed a glossy program as they head to their seats.

The crowd is anticipating a four-night evangelistic crusade organized by First Southern Baptist Church in Del City, OK, and supported by 23 other area churches. The event's lineup includes musical artists and nationally recognized speakers - players all used to draw unchurched visitors to hear the Gospel.

"The purpose is evangelism," says Mike Hank, First Southern Baptist Church's senior pastor's assistant and minister of missions. "We use these different personalities to reach unchurched and unchurched people."

For 37 years, First Southern has presented Starlite, featuring nationally known speakers such as Olympian Vonetta Flowers, Orlando Magic Vice President Pat Williams and decorated military figure Oliver North. Hand estimates that a third of First Southern's members were introduced to the church at a Starlite event.

Time for the Heavy Hitters?

More planning, more money, more time - an event featuring a nationally recognized personality is far different than most church-sponsored outreach events. To book a high-profile speaker or musician, a church can expect to pay $2,000 to $10,000 plus expenses. So how do you gauge when it's time to take a step of faith to reach your community by pulling in a big name?

Several events in the life of a church, for example, anniversaries, new campaign launch or the opening of a new building, are unique milestones that can be leveraged as connection opportunities with the community.

In Gumboro, Del., 850-member Bayshore Community Church recently booked TV veteran Art Linkletter for a Saturday evening banquet to commemorate the opening of the church's new Christian day school. Bayshore, says Event Coordinator Peggy Kissinger, made the most of Linkletter's time, asking him to also speak during the church's Sunday morning Grandparent's Day service. Comedian Mark Lowry is scheduled to help Bayshore celebrate its 22nd anniversary in November.

"We really use opportunities like a new building or anniversary as a way to reach unchurched people," Kissinger says.

"More universal events like holidays or seasonal times also provide event opportunities when many people are looking for something unique to do," says Jon Holiday, director of worship and media for 800-member Hope Community Church in Ft. Worth, TX. The church recently brought in Sue Thomas, a deaf woman, former consultant to the FBI and inspiration for PAX-TV's drama "Sue Thomas: FB Eye" to speak during its Sunday morning Easter service. Thomas was part of a three-Sunday series called "Facing Tomorrow."

"We like to plan and promote three special Sunday services because often people who may have visited only once will come back for the next two Sundays," Holiday explains. "This year, we saw our post-Easter services double in attendance."

First Redeemer Church in Atlanta, which began with 87 people six year ago and now runs 2,200, often uses speakers at strategic times throughout the year, says Pastor Richard Lee. In the dark months of January and February, Lee looks for uplifting personalities. "Christian comedians are good for those months," he says. "The church brought in Jeff Foxworthy in February and packed the auditorium. Our events are part of the growth of the church. They bring in the people."

Reaching for the Stars

While the back door (someone who knows someone) is usually the easiest and cheapest way to bring a celebrity into your church, you may need to find more traditional ways to make it happen.

If you're interested in a specific speaker, an Internet search and direct contact with his office may work, but more times than not, speakers are represented by booking agencies that work with event sponsors (like churches) to find a speaker/musician and schedule the event. Here are some steps to help your church start and finish the process:

Do your homework. Typically, bureaus feature extensive Web sites listing the speakers they work with and their fees. You can save time with a little Web-surfing on various agencies' sites before picking up the phone.

Know your budget. Plan for the speaker's fee generally based on geographical distance (speaker to sponsor) and the speaker's time commitments, plus reserved-seating airfare, comfortable lodging, ground transportation and dining. Leon Baudin, music pastor for Christian Celebration Center in Midland, MI, cautiouns churches that the bigger the speaker's name, the more people in someone's entourage. For big bands, figure in costs for an electrician and special lighting, plus other equipment rental. You can cut those costs by booking a solo act who performs with tracks, a guitar or piano.

The first phone call. Be able to tell your story succinctly with appropriate detail. During an initial inquiry, an agent will ask you several typical questions: "Who are you? What is your mission? How many people will attend? What is the venue? What is the theme or topic? What is your budget?" Then it's your turn to ask questions. "What's customary when it comes to this or that aspect of the booking?" may be a good lead-in.

Plan three to six months in advance. The more lead time you provide an agency, the better. Highly sought-after names could require six to 12 months advance booking. You may also get a better fee structure if you're flexible with your date.

Ask for recommendations. Agencies can provide letters from previous sponsors, videotapes and even access to the speaker for a brief conversation. "One of the great keys to these kinds of events are relationships with booking agencies or other key contacts who can work with you on the price, logistics, etc.," Lee says. "In the early days, I leaned on those people to help discover someone and make it happen."

The Pitch

When you're booking an all-star name and you want to reach unchurched people, all the rules change, says Christian Celebration Center's Baudin. "You've got to have some type of advertising budget. In most church settings, the most overlooked piece of the budget is the advertising."

He adds that a church needs a basic understanding of what will draw people; sometimes the name is very secondary. Baudin booked Stanley Praimnath, a survivor of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, one year after Sept. 11. On the promotional materials, he described Praimnath as "the man who survived the World Trade Center."

"I knew that people would be really interested in his story," Baudin says. "We packed out the place. I went away very encouraged by the God element of that day."

To promote Hope Community's Sue Thomas event, Jon Holiday emphasized her story and TV show more than her name. He described her as "The FBI's Secret Weapon" in the headline for direct mail pieces, newspaper ads and a billboard. Plus, he highlighted the PAX-TV logo.

"I figured that people may not know her name or even the show's name, but they do know that PAX is a major network," Holiday says.

Marketing and promotion also encompasses publicity. Both Baudin and Holiday have forged relationships with their local newspapers and TV stations-enough to generate some substantial free exposure.

"Get your events out of the religious section of the paper and on the front page," says Baudin.

To do that, he advises churches to make sure their event isn't just a "church thing."

"I downplayed the church side of it initially when I was talking to local media about Stanley's story," he recalls. "You can talk later about how faith played into his story. I really took the approach of making an event sound newsworthy to the secular market."

Immediate Victory?

No so, say most event planners and pastors. Bringing in a major player does not typically mean instant church growth.

"The unchurched are slow to make church a regular part of their lives," Holiday says. "You've got to know that going in. It takes time-years. There's a tendency to think, "We haven't added any numbers with these events," but you have to look at how many people are coming around."

In fact, Baudin advises churches against booking a big name to grow your church today.

"Book events to encourage the body of Christ and get the community to know who you are," he says. "The people will come because they remember you. Excellence only draws people if you do it long enough."