I had a follower on twitter who ordered a “Bring a Friend campaign in a box.”
It was a laughable experience.
It ultimately failed.
He felt like he wasted his money.
Originally designed in the 1980s, it has never updated (except moving the recordings to CD from the cassettes).
The campaign failed to rally the church. The materials involved were dated, cheesy and downright tacky (including the Bring a Friend Tie Pins!).
It was embarrassing and a waste of money.
The idea of Bring a Friend Sunday still works, but you can skip the 80s marketing material.
Operation Andrew:
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association provides a simpler plan and excellent brochures that you can use.
They call it Operation Andrew. Youth Versions are available.
Operation Andrew is a classic bring a friend church growth strategy based on John 1:40-45
Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.
Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Operation Andrew works by tapping Social Networks
John had spoken to his friend Andrew.
Andrew spoke with his brother Simon.
Jesus found Phillip and Phillip connected with a friend, Nathanael.
In this example, there is not a whole lot of cold-turkey door-knocking evangelism happening.
Rather a spread of the good news through existing social networks: among friends and family.
This has been translated into a strategy the Billy Graham Association calls Operation Andrew.
Basic Strategy of Operation Andrew
This is a variant of some of the Bring a Friend campaigns.
The basic steps over 6 weeks are as follows:
- Pass out Operation Andrew cards or brochures six weeks prior, and walk through the steps together as a congregation.
- Pray and ask the congregation to write names on their Operation Andrew cards of friends, family, or neighbors who are lost.
- In the following weeks, hold a congregational prayer time for the people listed on cards.
- Ask God for opportunities to invite people to “Bring a Friend” Sunday.
- Use a simple prayer: “Open my eyes, open their hearts, open my mouth.”
- Use a variety of ways to remind people frequently to pray for those on their lists.
- On “Bring a Friend” Sunday, share the opportunities in your church that are easy for new people to connect. These opportunities should be about building relationships, not promoting church membership.
- Present the Gospel clearly on “Bring a Friend” Sunday, and give people a chance to respond.
- Hold another event soon after “Bring a Friend” Sunday such as a Question and Answer dinner, a time to meet the pastor and staff, or a musical night.
- Make sure that opportunities are available in the subsequent weeks for follow-up and discipleship.
5 Principles of Operation Andrew
From the BGEA website (link Broken):
Look Around where you live, work, or go to school—this is your mission field. Make a list of names of individuals you know who need Jesus Christ, and commit to pray for the people on your list regularly.
Look Up because God changes people through prayer. Pray each day for those on your list, that God will give you opportunities to share His love with them.
Look Out for ways to cultivate friendships with each person on your list. Spend time with them. An invitation to dinner or a sporting event will build friendships, which can open the way to talk about Christ. Remember: don’t preach. Listen and be a good friend.
Look Forward and begin to talk with each person on your list about watching a television program or a Billy Graham TV Special, going to the Billy Graham Library, reading a book, going to church, or attending an event such as a Crusade or Festival with you. Choose a specific date, pray, and invite them.
Look After those who respond to Christ or even begin to show interest in the Gospel, for they need your encouragement. Continue to love and pray for those who do not respond.
Operation Andrew brochures and training materials are available online from the BGEA (link broken, can’t find).
Image credit: sellingpix / 123RF Stock Photo
Am good to go
I’d like to be able to find resources to use.
You are welcome
Wonderful insights and materials. More grace Sir.
I love this website. It makes it so simple to reach out to souls. God bless you. Great materials. The link to operation Andrew card is broken. Will you please restore it.
I HAVE BEEN PRAYING THAT GOD WOULD FURTHER EQUIP ME IN GIVING LEADERSHIP TO OUR CHURCH’S OUTREACH MINISTRY. I MET A POWERFUL SERVANT OF GOD WHO GAVE ME THIS WEB SITE. I HAVE BEEN BLESSED BLESSED BLESSED.
THANKS SO MUCH
Chris,
Shall we not invite people to church where they can hear the gospel preached, where they can experience the love of Christ in community, where they can be challenged to read the Bible for themselves, where they can hear the message of the Cross applied to their lives, where they can serve alongside people of faith and discover the relevancy to following Christ?
Of course, Jesus didn’t invite anyone to church. There wasn’t one.
But the crowds gathered around him to hear him preach, and one can rightly assume that some crowds were formed by personal invitation among peers and friends. Read all the passages in the gospels where the crowds gathered to hear him and think about how the crowds formed.
This is not how Jesus walked!
He was demonstrating, we are denying the Power of the Gospel clearly.
This will cause swelling and not growth!
Simply said…members and not sons!
Go read the whole Ezekiel 36 to understand what the Lord can do to safe someone truly.
HI is it possible for me to get some operation andrew brochure to use in my church
I think it is a good idea which could be used to make many disciples for the Lord.
I would be glad to have more information/materials to help me use this strategy in my Church. Thanks very much.
Thanks for sharing this information about Operation Andrew. I had never heard of it previously. Sounds interesting. The church really needs to get back into discipleship training in my opinion, rather than just focus on bringing new people in the, often revolving, door.
I found it interesting that they used “social networking” in Jesus’ day! We still need to follow Christ’s example.