Scripts

The Follow-Up Phone Conversation

1. Introduce yourself. ‘Hello, Mr. ________. This is _________ calling. How are you?’ Let him respond. Take a few moments to establish rapport, but be brief.
2. Refer to your letter and explain your ministry plans. ‘As I mentioned in my letter, I am planning to go on a 3 month mission project sponsored by Wycliffe Associates.’
3. Share what you hope to see God do as a result of your time.
4. Be very specific to ask for a definite response. ‘In my letter I asked if you would be in a position to support me financially for the ministry project. Have you had a chance to think about that?’ (wait) If an individual decides to support you, if at all possible arrange a time to stop by and pick up the check. If the person lives out of town, ask to have the check mailed in the self-addressed stamped envelope you enclosed with your letter. If you arrange to have him send you a check and it doesn’t come, you will need to follow up with a phone call to see if it was lost in the mail. Your ministry partner’s check must be made payable to Wycliffe Associates. After getting a person’s decision, always ask him or her to refer you to other people who might like to invest in your ministry.

Here is a Sample Script for Calling Without a Letter for Small Dinner Strategies

1. “John, as you may know, one of the greatest challenges we face is raising our financial support. You have been such a blessing to us by supporting and praying for us, but there is another way that you can be a great help to us.  So that we can continue to be effective in our ministry, we need to raise some additional financial support for . . . (You can insert here what the need is).
2. What we really need is be able to meet some new people to whom we can present the excitement and impact of our ministry and see if the Lord leads them to support us. A very effective way to do that is through a small dinner.
3. Would you be willing to host a dinner for us to introduce us to two to four of your close Christian friends? Our ministry has (or We have) found that meeting people in this kind of atmosphere is a great way to introduce ourselves. (Pause and wait for an answer.) We want them to know before they come that we will be sharing about our ministry and asking for support, but they will not be asked to make a decision that night.” 

Write a Letter and Follow Up With a Phone Call 

Below is a sample script for following up the letter with a phone call: 

1. Hi John! This is Walt calling. How are you? (Small talk.) Did you get the letter I sent you? (Wait for the response.) As I mentioned in the letter, we need to raise some additional financial support for… (Insert here what the need is.). What we really need is be able to meet some new people to whom we can present the excitement and impact of our ministry and see if the Lord leads them to support us. Would you be able to host a small dinner for us?
2. Our ministry has (or We have) found that meeting people in this kind of atmosphere is a great way to introduce ourselves. (Pause and wait for an answer.) We want them to know before they come that we will be sharing about our ministry and asking for support, but they will not be asked to make a decision that night.”
3. When they say yes, suggest a choice among several dates. If the potential host suggests a dessert instead of a dinner, say, “Our collective experience has shown the results from desserts to be rather disappointing. Dinners create a different dynamic and overall have been much more successful.”
4. It is best to have the dinner during the week so as not to conflict with weekend events. However, with some people a Sunday brunch after church could work.
5. After you have agreed on the dates, add the following information:  We have found it is best to call your friends to ask them to come to the dinner. I will send (or email) you some suggestions about what to say when you invite your friends. We would also be glad to help you (and your wife) prepare the dinner.” (You will find that helping them can give you a great opportunity to build your relationship with your ministry partners, though some of your partners may want to prepare the dinner themselves.) “The dinner could begin around 6:30 or 7:00, and we should finish by 9:30. Right after dinner and before dessert, we would move to the family room or living room, where we would give a half-hour presentation.  (If you have a video of your ministry, ask whether they have a DVD player.) After the presentation, we would have a dessert.”
6. Suppose several people in the same church agree to host dinners for you. If that happens, you may need to compare their guest lists. You may find that a couple of your hosts are inviting the same people. To prevent that from happening, ask the hosts to let you know whom they plan to invite. Tell them that several people from their church are hosting dinners for you. You only want to ensure that another host is not asking the same people. If you do find an overlap, just let one of your hosts know, and ask them to come up with another person to invite.