Invite. Invite. Invite.

Ministry Tip of the Week

The average parish has the same twenty to thirty men and women attending all the life-changing events, taking all the studies, and donating the majority of time to volunteer ministries. There are many reasons for people not to be a part of parish life, but they need to know we want them around anyway. We could all be doing other things. But there's something beautiful that happens when we come together as Church, and it's worth prioritizing. Those twenty or thirty or one hundred people get that. But how do we reach the others?

One way is to stay consistent with the invites. Don't pester, but don't forget either. When the next event comes around, let people know. Eventually, they'll come.

I'm not involved in network marketing but, a few years back, I studied the
business model and I discovered a fascinating fact. 98% of customers don't buy a product until somewhere between the fifth and twelfth times they're exposed to it. Sheer exposure eventually makes the sale. And the vast majority of network marketers who fail do so because they give up on a customer before that 5-12 range - they only bring in 2% of what they could have.

Apply this business model to evangelization and I think we'll see powerful results. Maybe it won't be a 98% increase but, simply by getting louder, we could be reaching many more people.

(I know that personally I struggle to invite people to things. The truth is, I'm afraid of the rejection. It's just too risky to be vulnerable. But the numbers don't lie, and this is about saving souls. If I would just make it about them and not my ego, I'd reach more people. I'm a work in progress and, honestly, I need your prayers to help me overcome that insecurity.)

If you're actively involved in ministry - be it parish programs and studies, retreats, fundraisers, dances, dinners, service projects, volunteer opportunities, or simply an invitation to attend Sunday Mass - here's a great tip on hitting that 5-12 range:

Multiple Forms of Advertisement

Pulpit announcements, bulletin ads, posters, small flyers, word of mouth (get others talking), personal testimony, emails, videos, podcasts, and, of course, personal,  face-to-face invites. The more mediums we use, the more exposure we get. We reach more people, and we reach more people multiple times. 

And maybe it doesn't work this time. But don't give up, and it just might the next time around.

Invite. Invite. Invite.