This past week I asked our International Director, Bro. Burks, to put together a list to help struggling chapters retain visitors in tough times. The list he provided is based on phone calls that he and his staff have fielded; discussions with successful directors; and several years of his own personal experience as an RU Director in Virginia.  The main focus of this week’s report is how to turn visitors into students. I trust that you will consider implementing these proven strategies in developing your God-given, extremely sensitive and important visitors into active, participating students.  It is the first step to achieving any hope of turning the addicted to the God’s support group—the local church!

Issue 1: The Friday Night Atmosphere!

The official itinerary is integral to creating an atmosphere that portrays a consistent message to every visitor. That message MUST contain the following key ingredients:

1. “No matter your struggles, we are an addiction program that can help you or your loved one.” This message usually takes place twice. Once in a profound statement of sorts in the tri-talk introduction and more importantly, and with definition, in the weekly New Beginnings class.
2. The New Beginnings group leader (who should be a type A, sold-out, RU promoter) should explain the success rate of local chapters of Reformers Unanimous all across America. Some chapters may be very small in attendance compared to others. Credibility will be established if you give them a glimpse of the success rate. Jay Griffin, a Director in Milford, Ohio tells me, “of the students that completed the Stronghold book in their chapter, they had a 93% success rate.” You can safely say there are over 20,000 people any given week attending an addiction program that use the RU materials.  Our RU program graduates simply succeed and that needs to be “hammered home.”  If not, doubt sets in to the validity of a church and Bible-based program in the minds of new students.
3. They should also reiterate this again when they make their mandatory visit on their visitors that week.  Yes! Mandatory visits are expected.  If you sense your New Beginnings class teacher is ineffective, you should replace him quickly. But until you can, the Director should make those visits instead to ensure the student can speak up about any mis-perceptions.

1. An environment of transparency is needed during the first and second talks for this program to be effective. If a student comes to a chapter and the church members are perceived as perfect people without problems, it will be an immediate turn-off to potential students. I cannot stress the importance of everyone on our leadership teams viewing ourselves as student’s first, servants second, and teachers third. By our own participation in all aspects of the program and curriculum, it will create an example for students to follow.

Issue 2: We must remember that Reformers Unanimous is a milk ministry, and avoid serving strong meat.

1. It is necessary to remember that Reformers Unanimous deals with heart issues and not issues of outward conformity. We should avoid discussing hot-topic issues that would be considered strong meat and stick to the modus operandi that we are here to turn their hearts toward the Lord. Standards, for the most part are for the leadership staff to know and follow but not teach as part of RU training.  Of course, some exceptions may apply; but if so, we encourage individual coaching over entire class teaching. When faced with a student who is newer and inquisitive of such things as listed in number one above, a leader should use phrases such as, “That’s a good question, see me after class and we’ll talk about that, but right now let’s stay focused on issues we faced this week in our recovery.” Or perhaps even the phrase, “That’s a great question, let me give you some verses after class to look into that,” in order to turn the conversation in a right direction.
2. Directors should avoid attacking Christian or political figures or denominations and their leaders on Friday night. This will only tear down any influence that you may have in their life, especially those who are new.  Warning the flock is the responsibility of the Pastor, not the RU leaders.
3. It is good for the Director to occasionally remind the students that as their attendance increases, so does the chance that they will hear truths which may take as offensive. Encourage them to allow God to use inside persuasion of His Spirit and the outside pressure of the Word and authority to guide them in right truth.

Issue 3: Reactivate the 2-3-4 Plan and ensure that it is happening every single week.

1. Again, I repeat that every first-time visitor should get a visit by the director or the New Beginnings class leader before the next Friday night. I can remember those early days inviting students, from Friday night, on Saturday afternoon to come on Sunday morning to the second class and taking them to lunch with me on my dime to encourage them to return the next Friday. I had more students join our church as a result of this than any other.
2. One big mistake is the transition between the Beginner’s class and the challenge groups. It should be understood that every person that walks through the door is in the New Beginnings, or Beginners, class and are an active part of the 2-3-4 Plan. I have heard of 2 options to make sure this happens. The first is that the burden is on the Beginner’s Class leadership and Director to make sure the 2-3-4 Plan is implemented on every visitor until they get in a group. The second option is to assign every first time visitor on their second wee, to a group, whether they return or not. The leader will actively pursue them for their class. It is often true that a student doesn’t care what we know until they know that we care.  A visit shows you care.
3. Use the RU official FastTrack software to track the 2-3-4 Plan properly and hold each leader accountable to the calls, postcards, and visits every single week. If a student misses several weeks in a row, and receives no contact from the leadership, the enemy will plant seeds of doubt that we don’t care and are not concerned about their recovery. Please be sure to communicate quarterly to inactive students.

Issue 4: Encourage curriculum participation for every student.

1. 1. The best way to encourage students to do challenges is for the leadership to have completed challenges.
   2. If a student seems to be resistant in doing challenges, it is time for that leader to meet with them privately and find out the root cause. If they have memory problems or get stuck on particular challenges, then creatively find a way to shorten or go around those challenges to keep a student motivated and participating.
   3. Have a dynamic award ceremony. If the award ceremony is not exciting it may come across as something childish for a brand new student. This is a time we praise our students for doing what is right. It can be extremely profitable and a motivational technique in keeping visitors who never get good news.  Have all students come up front to get their awards and have them stay until awards are completed and a final applause is given.  Encourage participation to those still seated who may not be progressing but sensing conviction as a result.  Be careful not to condemn.
   4. If you cannot have an exciting awards ceremony every week, postpone it some weeks or have it faithfully every two weeks.

Issue 5: During the third talk, the director’s message from the Nevertheless I Live Textbook should be relevant to the struggles people face while in their addiction.

A recent phone call into my office by a student who attended an RU broke my heart.  I began to feel his pain for help but having not received it at a local chapter in which he had placed his initial hope by attendance. At this particular chapter, the director has chosen to preach sermons lasting sixty minutes while pupils fall asleep (these were his words). When I suggested he purchase our Nevertheless I Live syllabus for his own learning, his words were, “If the director of my chapter would have used this text book and taught it from his heart I know I would have gotten the help I need.” Directors, I would rather you have a 25 minute message from the RU Textbook and share 5 minutes of your heart to help the addicted every week than have you present profound truths that challenge your most matured students but lose your beginners. With the RU Friday night class being live streamed in Rockford and available for download later, there should be no excuse for each of you men to fine-tune your teaching and preaching skills by listening to the Founder and President every week in Rockford.  Brother Curington has now taught through the textbook 9 times in 14 years.  He is currently on a pace that will take him two years to go through it once.  It’s getting more relevant each year, not less.  That’s God…not the outline or the teacher.

Other Suggestions:

1.) Read something from the Founder of RU every day.  Have you experienced the blessing of Today I Lay, Umbrella Fella or his newest book on Peace?  They are relevant for YOU to be relevant to them.

2.) Read or listen on MP3 to the whole chapter that you’re teaching every Friday night that you are teaching it.  If a chapter takes three weeks, read that chapter three times (once weekly).  Then prepare days before you preach that chapter portion.   Use second talk in order to distribute and collect 2-3-4 plans and to encourage students.  A five minute refresher before you preach would be helpful at that time too.

3.) Ask God to give you wisdom on how to effectively present the Hidden Life message to your people.

4.) Always give an invitation for salvation and spiritual development.

Many chapters are successfully getting visitors weekly through the “Battle is ON” outreach, along with other techniques they have found successful. If you struggle to get visitors, please, call our office today! (815-986-0460) If your struggle is to keep them, then heed these listed checkpoints.

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Imagine that you’ve been invited to meet with the President of the United States in the Oval Office. You’d likely look forward to your appointment with great excitement. Now imagine that someone much more exciting – the God of the universe – wants to meet with you personally. This scenario is true; God really does want to meet with you, and He wants to do so every single day through a private quiet time alone.

I have had the privilege of traveling for several years, training good lay-people in local churches to start the Reformers Unanimous Addiction Program. I never teach on the “It’s Personal” Daily Journal without seeing many tears. I sense hearts being turned towards Him. Just yesterday, I received a call from a Pastor in Florida, where I had been a few weeks prior. He shared with me that the church members who were involved in their addiction outreach were experiencing revival! He contributed it to their participation in the RU Daily Journal. In fact, he told me how his wife, a 29-year old Christian, testified on Sunday night on the effect the journal was having in her own life. I can verify here testimony and place before you hundreds that would say the same thing. However, I wonder how many started journaling and stopped? I wonder how many more started but now, just pencil whip it, to “get it done”?

Keeping a journal allows the individual to review their thoughts, moments of clarity, and assist them in developing Spirit-led insight. Daily journaling is a very powerful tool to keep one in the reality of HIM. I often teach how the journal, when approached properly, will give you a “fresh” awareness of God’s presence in your life. Have you had one lately?

Those appointments with God should be a source of great joy for you. But unfortunately, quiet times can sometimes seem too intimidating to schedule or maintain regularly. Here are some ways you can enjoy your appointments with God; I can promise you they will be more enjoyable than with any President:

1. Seek God Himself rather than anything He might give you. Know that God will meet you where you are and reveal much about Himself to you if you’re sincerely seeking Him.
2. Listen carefully for God’s voice, which you’ll recognize better and better the more time you spend with Him. Wait expectantly in silence for a while for the Holy Spirit to speak. Resist the outside pressure and listen for the inside persuasion.
3. Write down your thoughts, feelings, and prayers in the journal during your quiet time to more clearly express them. Read through your Journal often.
4. Think about how much God loves you, and expect to be blessed as a result of spending time with Him. View your quiet times as cherished meetings with someone you love.
5. Realize that the more time you spend with God, the greater the intimacy you’ll develop with Him. Although the idea of a daily quiet time might seem awkward at first because you might not know what to say or how to recognize God’s voice; after a while, you’ll look forward to the appointment because it will be like meeting with your best friend.
6. Listen to the Daily Journal CD again. I promise you there are parts you have forgotten. This will refresh your look at particular section in your journal time.
7. Set aside a consistent time every day to meet with God. Choose a time at which you’re most alert and can block out distractions. I believe God always ask us for the “first.” He made it plain to give him the first fruits of our income, the first day of the week, etc. Many times, the mentors from the pages of God’s Word spoke of the first part of the day.
8. Designate a special place in which you can meet privately with God. The place can be either indoors or outdoors, such as a home office or in the woods. I suggest you have several places, as to eliminate all excuses. If you are traveling like I do extensively, look for a place as soon as you are at the location you will be sleeping. Prepare to go there when you awake.

Remember: the best evidence of the value of a Quiet Time is remembering the day you skipped it.

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