Our fellow evangelists may be interested in a card used in our last campaign. This card served three separate purposes, and proved successful for all of them. It was 3 by 4 1/2 inches in size, printed in various colors on index-card stock. We used eight different colors.
The first purpose of the card was to advertise the next week's subjects to those who were at tending, and cards were handed out to all who came to the auditorium. The front side was a lithographed miniature of our window posters used for the Sunday evening meetings. We used sixteen Sunday evening subjects, and lithographed all of them onto these cards at one time to save expense. Our Friday evening subject was printed on the back of the card. (We held Sunday and Friday evening meetings only.)
The second purpose of this card was to secure an attendance record of all who desired an attendance reward. This is explained on the back of the card. The card was kept by the recipient and returned on the following Sun day, at which time the usher handed him his new card. If he attended both meetings, he would check the box, "I attended Friday." This saved punching cards and gave us a week-by- week attendance check on all interested people.
The third purpose of the card was to secure literature requests. Anyone desiring literature would check the box, "Send me tonight's printed subject." Many of our evangelists feel that our usual method of getting literature re quests, having the ushers pass out cards and collecting them again, is rather awkward, time consuming, and monotonous. This card gives a refreshing relief. We did not make a single distribution or collection of literature cards in our last series, and yet we had more literature requests than ever. During the announcements the audience was reminded to sign for literature, of course, and the cards were often referred to, but no extra time was consumed. The door ushers received the cards. each time and passed out the new ones.
After the Sunday meeting the cards were all segregated alphabetically, and transferred to a master list for the attendance records. All literature requests were noted.
As the meetings progress other items may be added, such as reserved seat requests for special meetings, prayer requests, and visit re quests, making this a multipurpose card for supplementing the information on the interested ones and ascertaining their desires in other matters. A person who habitually fills in this card weekly is more apt to fill in the new items than one who is directly asked to do so when a card is put in his hand at the meeting.
This card may be used for almost everything except decisions. We have had good success with another card used for decisions. This is a plain card, which we hand out at the close of certain sermons to all who request a .printed replica of the visual- aid display used, during the evening, such as the changed law of God, the sanctuary, and the mark of the beast. We have found that a large part of the audience will sign such a card. Then just before the ushers collect the cards, we make an appeal, and re quest them to put a cross after their name if they desire to take their stand. This gives an up- to-the-moment list of the most interested people.
We found the following advantages in using the multipurpose evangelistic card: It made visitors more conscious of their advertising card when they carefully kept it each week. It eliminated the punching of cards at the door. It solved the problem of getting names for literature, and increased the number of addresses received. It gave the worker an exact knowledge of the number of times each visitor had attended at any given time in the series. And it saved money and time.
Beginning with the second month of the campaign, we offered, instead of a Bible, one of our books (net cost 50 cents) to all who were just starting to come. There is a considerable amount of work in segregating the cards and making the master list weekly, but willing members can usually be enlisted to do this, and it is well worth the effort.
