Folks living in and near Gardendale most likely received at least one touch from a recent media blitz by the city’s First Baptist Church.
With more than 500,000 e-mails going out — 2,400 to active church members, 900 to one entire military base and the rest to people living in and near Gardendale — it would have been hard not to have been on the list. And then there were the 10,000 business card-sized invitations, called inviter cards, that were given to church members to hand out.
Why the push? To get as many people as possible to Gardendale’s First for a special Military Appreciation Day Nov. 11, said Phil Cronin, minister of new members and outreach. All morning, church members welcomed veterans, military personnel and their families to a reception room, where they were served refreshments and given pins imprinted especially for the occasion.
“An event like this could be done by any size church simply by scaling down the quantities,” Cronin said, noting the North Jefferson Baptist Association church spent less than $1,000 on the cards and e-mails. The promotion also could be used for any type of event, he added.
Cards are imprinted on the front with the date and time of the service, plus the church’s phone number and Web site. The back features images of whatever the event is about.
The e-mails provide a link that takes the person to the section on the church’s Web site where the information about the event is located. In the case of Gardendale’s First, a person linking from the e-mail saw and heard a personal invitation from Senior Pastor Kevin Hamm.
While collecting more than 500,000 e-mail addresses sounds like a daunting job, there are companies that do this as a service, targeting the specified demographics. Gardendale’s First worked through INBOX Promotions in Birmingham (www.inboxpromotions.net). Other companies can be found by doing a Web search for “e-mail marketing.”
It’s all about outreach, Cronin said, noting the success of Fast Food Friends, another card-driven “touch” the church has used.
Members pay for the fast-food order of the vehicle in line behind them at a drive-thru and leave a card for the cashier to give the surprised driver when he or she arrives at the window. The card says, “We just wanted to show you the love of Jesus in a practical way.” Below the words are the church’s name, address and worship times. On the back are a simple map and written directions to the church.
And then there are the traditional note cards that members of Gardendale’s First send out each week to local businesses, churches and schools. The notes simply let people know they are being prayed for.
“People should matter to us because they matter to God,” Hamm said. “That’s the bottom line. We’ve got to take the church to the people.”
For more information about the outreach efforts of Gardendale’s First, visit www.gfbc.com. For additional ideas and resources for outreach, call Marcus Merritt in the evangelism office of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 368.
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