News and Information

Revival by telephone
by Eric Erickson, Harvest Unlimited

n extraordinary revival has been stirring in neighborhoods and communities. Thousands of families, who consider themselves unchurched, have been returning to churches across America.

This revival crosses denominational lines in churches large and small, in rural and urban settings. It doesn't employ big name evangelists or media campaigns. It's just neighbors connecting with neighbors, hundreds of them every day. Most, have little, if any, experience with evangelism.

What is unique about it? Church members are using the telephone to reach folks in their communities.

Harvest Unlimited has created a program that allows people to reach out to their community in a non-threatening way to express God's love. Remembering their last conversation with a telemarketer, most parishioners are apprehensive in the beginning. However, Harvest's training helps them realize that anyone can safely contact neighbors using a simple tool we use every day to communicate with family and friends. In terms of the impact on both congregations and communities, even the biggest skeptics find that the results of this "revival by phone" are nearly irrefutable.

Prayer is foundational to Harvest's program. During the invitation calls, 25 to 30 percent of recipients, complete strangers, open up and share hundreds of prayer requests. Hearing the hurts and needs of people who need answers to real-life issues transforms congregations.

If that were all that churches accomplished, they would tell you it was worth it. But, it doesn't stop there …
it gets better.

Harvest has worked with churches that have average attendances from 20 to over 2,000. The percentage of responses to callers is relatively the same. Not everyone says yes, and some may even hang up. But, if you ask anyone who's been on the phones, they'll tell you how surprisingly friendly and appreciative the people are whom they've called. Harvest stresses that the Holy Spirit has already prepared the hearts of those on the phone list. It simply helps churches identify those who are ripe and ready for the invitation.

In over just four weeks, churches typically encounter a minimum of 50 to 150 families who say, "Yes, we'll come." Even more express an interest in the church. A large number actually do attend, and many become active members of the church.

Harvest defies traditional church growth concepts. Neither denomination, style of service, nor church size is an issue. It simply works. Testimonies abound. Most churches report that many people have come to faith in Jesus Christ and been baptized, and their congregations have grown. Some have doubled in size. One church of 75 members stopped calling after only two weeks because it wasn't prepared to deal with the flood of people who said yes — 160 people came. After only a year, Sunday services were averaging over
300 people. A parish that hadn't needed a crib in years found itself decorating a nursery to accommodate young families. Frequently, people who respond haven't attended church in decades. Some have come and accepted Christ only weeks or months before they died.

Simply knowing someone cares and is praying for them has touched countless lives. A mom received a call only hours after learning her son had died in Iraq. One grandmother asked prayer for her three-month-old grandson, who died from SIDS shortly thereafter. The church reached out to her, and the pastor conducted the baby's funeral. The baby's parents had three other children and a brother with two children. All three generations that desperately needed the gospel came to church because of one phone call.

So, is it worth stepping outside your comfort zone? Just ask the families that have been changed by someone who called in an act of friendship, or check out the churches that are teeming with life and a fresh vision.