How to do an effective high attendance day

1. How to do an effective high attendance day Using High Attendance to motivate your Sunday school leaders and reach the lost

2. Why do a high attendance? • It creates excitement- Breaking barriers is always exciting • It causes focus- If done correctly it helps to focus every class on one purpose • It calls for planning- A lack of planning plagues too many Sunday schools. Planning together can be very fruitful.

3. Why do a High Attendance? • It connects the Sunday school classes with people • It culminates in re-claiming inactive members and reaching the lost • It can assist in updating your Sunday school ministry list

4. What are the negatives of doing a high attendance day? • If not done correctly it can actually result in a lower attendance. • If there is not proper planning in the preschool and children’s department there can be over crowded conditions which could be a safety issue. • Without proper preparation unmet goals can de-motivate workers and church members

5. What are the keys to a successful H.A.D.? • 1. Planning through a leadership team • 2. Understanding how to set goals properly • 3. Communicating with the Sunday school leaders and members • 4. Choosing the prime dates and theme • 5. Preparing for the Day itself • 6. Careful follow up and assimilation

6. Planning through a leadership team • Developing a leadership team made up of staff ( if applicable) and Sunday school leaders • Remember the law of influence when doing a special planning • Get representatives from each division: preschool-adults • Give at least 5 months to planning for the H.A.D.

7. The leadership team • Have team members assigned to specific teams: • Prayer team, Communications team (PR), Set up team ( for H.A.D.), Outreach preparation team, Follow up team, or others if you need them

8. Setting goals for a high attendance day • Remember this is a high attendance day so you will be stretching your faith and your vision • At four months away do a training on how to set goals • During this training point out that setting unreachable goals is not the purpose of the day • Also teach your people that stretching themselves is key to growth

9. Setting goals • As part of the training set a date for all classes to set their goals • Help each class include prospects as part of the outreach effort as well as in-actives • Give them ideas on contacting those they wish to be in attendance and plan either a get together the night before the HAD or a special Sunday breakfast, or special gift for each on attending

10. Setting goals continued • On the goal setting Sunday have each class turn in a High Attendance Goal number (provide a card for them) • Keep the number they turn in confidential. It should run between 75-100% or more higher that your current attendance • Remember: Do not use this number as your final goal….because it is generally un-reachable

11. Setting goals • After you get the cumulative goal that the classes have turned in, determine what would be a closer goal that would still stretch you. • For example: If you generally run 65 in Sunday school and the overall goal is 150, the possibility of reaching 225% more than you are currently running is going to be very difficult the first time around. • However, without each class shooting for a very high goal, they might not increase any significantly. • Remember: half of the classes generally will not reach their personal high attendance goal and half will. But all the classes will reach more than usual.

12. Setting goals • Average attendance: 65 • Classes set a cumulative goal of 150 ( which is not publicized) • Set a goal of 100 for your high attendance goal that will be publicized. That is still a jump of 55%!!! • Get a win under your belt and let people be excited over breaking the new barrier • Remember before David killed Goliath he had to kill a bear and a lion.

13. Communicating the Plan • As part of your planning team have a PR team that will get the information out in creative ways such as: • A skit in worship • A video done on having a High Attendance Day • Testimonies from the pulpit leading up to the H.A.D. • Either a 4 Sunday series of Sunday school lessons on reaching people or a series of messages from the pulpit or both

14. Communicating the plan • Have a monthly Sunday school leadership meeting leading up to the H.A.D. • Do a countdown calendar 5 months out, 4 months out, etc. • As part of the communication plan use: • You website, post cards, group and individual emails, telephone calls by all classes to each member and prospect the week before,

15. Setting the dates and theme • The date you choose to set the H.A.D. is very important. • See if you have any past history on better days of attendance • Do not set it on a Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Memorial Day • Some better days to consider are : The Fall time change Sunday when everyone gets an extra hour of sleep, the Sunday before school adjourns for the summer, or the Sunday before or just after school begins.

16. Dates and theme • In choosing your theme consider building it around a 4-6 week campaign or do 4-6 weeks of lessons or sermons that lead up to the H.A.D. • The more focus you have from the pastor, the Sunday school literature, and the communications tools the better off you are • Never neglect to build in a special prayer emphasis. Regardless of how great our communication tools are and how well planned we make it, without the anointing of God is will be fruitless

17. Themes • If you do not know how to develop a theme or are not familiar with some campaigns contact the Georgia Baptist Convention Sunday school/ Open groups department or Dr. Billy Britt at bbritt@pgbconline.com

18. High Attendance Day • This is GAME day, one of your biggest opportunities of the year to break through a barrier, enlarge your prospect list, and love people • Remember: first impressions can be the last impression • Be sure you have a check list

19. Are the facilities clean and free of clutter? Parking lot attendants Welcome center host/hostesses Decorations based on the theme Additional workers in the preschool and children’s areas If new rooms are to be opened are they ready? Extra curriculum or lesson handouts Sunday school ministry enrollment cards in each room Greeters for each adult room and for each department Food and beverages available Have the follow up team make copies of all the guest cards and plan to contact them that afternoon Check list for H.A.D.

20. Follow up • Follow up begins the minute they step upon your campus- Good directions, assistance with parking, finding the class room, • Get information on each person that comes. Without registering your guests you have wasted the day!! • Have each class prepared through the follow up team to contact each person that attended for the first time, or returned after a long time of absence

21. Follow up • The FIRST 48 is not only a Reality TV show it is Reality Sunday school • Call everyone that attended, send them a postcard, and plan to visit those that are true prospects. • True prospects are people that are not involved in another Sunday school class or not actively involved in another church

22. Follow up • Be sure to continue to do follow up until all people who visited or returned that Sunday is contacted • Keep good records and have a central person or location to turn the follow up results • Update your mailing lists with current information • Enroll new prospects as soon as possible in a Sunday school class • Rejoice in the Lord!!