Call Me: Last week we did our first telemarketing campaign. This was as complete step of faith on my part and despite all the negatives in telemarketing I still felt it was a good idea. We called every home in the zip codes we are targeting. The purpose of the phone call was to get the word out about our church and to find some people that can fill the vital ministries to get us up and running.

We had 98 responses which is far higher than the average for phone calls.

We sent them a follow up letter and then dropped off a gift yesterday. I had some great conversations and really got to meet some incredible people- God has plans!

The best part about talking with people is that in about 3 seconds you can determine their level of church involvement. There is the "I never go to church but can throw around a few terms to sound like I go", there is the "I'm always looking for a new church, what do you go?" and then there are the new movers, church seekers, and honest questions about God people. All are fun to talk to and all have a need in their life of Jesus Christ.

Some of my favorite questions:

- what do you believe and where were you trained? I believe that if I jump up in the air I will come back down, I believe that if I were stuck on a deserted island and only had one food to eat for the rest of my life it would be stove top stuffing. Oh theologically...great question. Where was I trained? two words P-Town, most of which is top secret and I won't be able to tell you about it.

- what are your church dues? I don't even know what to do with this one. I had never heard of church dues before and fortunately the nice lady that asked this question had called the house to say thanks for our gift and she was talking with Heather, so Heather had to answer it.

We just wanted to give you this gift. A travel coffee mug, some candy, and a New Testament - You believe in the Old Testament too right? Yes I'll be preaching out of both the old and New Testament. I only bought New Testaments because they are cheaper than the whole bible. 1/3st the bible, 1/5th the price.

- are you going to preach practical messages? I sure hope so, tell me in a few months.

- are people of all colors welcome at your church? I'm sorry you had to ask this question, of course.