Second Friend Day - Elmer Towns

A. HOW TO USE THE APPENDIXES
As we at Church Growth Institute worked with the hundreds of churches
that used the original Friend Day, we developed a list of things that can be done to
enhance the success of the program. We also noted some things that should not be done.
Those lists are printed in Appendix 1. Appendix 2 contains a list of additional activities
that some churches used to complement the program.
Things To and Not To Do
POINTERS ON USING FRIEND DAY
Research and the experience of churches that have used the original Friend Day
program have shown that the success of the campaign depends upon doing some things
and not doing others. Following is a list of things that should or should not be done:
� Follow the instructions in the packet as closely as possible. This is especially
important when doing the follow-up. The instructions are based on years of research
and have been tested and proven effective in thousands of churches.
� Schedule the campaign for the spring or fall. Studies have shown that these are the
peak attendance times at most churches.
� Don't have Friend Day on time change Sunday in the spring when everyone has lost
an hour of sleep changing to Daylight Savings Time. However, the best time to
schedule the campaign in the fall is on time change Sunday.
� Don't have Friend Day on Easter, Mother's Day or any holiday. No one will be
available to do the follow-up because most people spend these afternoons with their
families. The best day in the spring to have Friend Day is the Sunday before Easter.
It is much easier then to get people back the next week.
� Don't have Friend Day on a rainy day. Early in the campaign, begin praying for fair
weather so friends will not have an excuse to stay at home.
� Make it a major strategy to promote Friend Day through the Sunday School and then
try to get the friends to attend the worship service.
� Instruct members to invite only unsaved/unchurched friends. As a result, those who
need to hear the Gospel message the most will hear it, your members won't be pulled
away from your church to repay the visit to their friend's church when they have a
special day, and your church will not be suspected of luring members from other
churches to increase your rolls.
� Don't set goals for attendance. You set yourself up for disappointment if the goal is
not reached. Set input goals (the number of visitors you want to invite), but not
output goals (the number of visitors you expect to attend). Friend Day works with
this form of motivation so why include the risk of missing if not needed.
� On Friend Day, don't put any of the visitors on the spot by asking them to give
remarks during the worship service.
� Don't schedule anything on the church calendar for the week after Friend Day. You
will need the free time to do the follow-up.
� Don't have a visiting minister preach the Friend Day sermon. You want the visitors
to have as much contact with the pastor as possible. Besides, if the visiting minister