Apparently a discussion is going on around the blogosphere about this church giving away gas vouchers to first-time guests.
Some people are angry about it and say that we shouldn't bribe people to come to 'God's house'.
Bob has a good point comparing this to a bus ministry.
My take is this:
It's good stewardship.
Whoaaa? Good Stewardship? Yes.
Churches regularly spend 5k-10k on direct mail and get a response of up to 30-50 families. Assuming 5k of direct mail (about 20-30k cards) gets you 30 families, you've spent $167 per family.
By spending $10 per family (assuming the whole reason people come is the gas--which almost always is never the case) this church is using it's resources much more wisely. Not to mention the free publicity they've gotten from this story. So assuming they gain 30 visiting families this month, they would have spent approximately 300 dollars and have gained more than most churches in the way of guests attending their services.
Quit getting freaked out over HOW someone reaches out. Look at your own efforts and spend time making your efforts better.
1 comment:
I agree with it being good stewardship as far as an advertising tool. It makes more sense than ads in papers, mailings, etc.
I think a better way to do it, if the point is to help people, would be to go to gas stations and pass them out to people. They will ask who you are and why you are doing this and there's your opportunity to tell them. Invite them to church then if you want.
I understand what you are saying about people looking at their own efforts, but one thing that happens on blogs is that people share their thoughts/critiques on good and bad stuff. Where do we draw the line? Some blogs are set up to turn everyone into a critic of sorts. They mention somethign a church did and then ask, "What do you think?".
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