Weather or Not

I just went through all of the remaining response cards from our Christmas musical performances for this weekend. Based on the comments, those who attended were really blessed and want to see more of the same next year. The comments from last year's "Jingle in The City" were very similar, so I am not sure why we had such small crowds this year.

The weather could have had an impact, but we also had a very slow start on ticket requests this year. Typically all of our tickets are gone by mid-November, but this year we still had some tickets remaining even on opening night.

Advertising could have played a role in lower numbers. Last year our advertising team did a wonderful job of helping us get the information out to the public. This year, I was the advertising team. We followed many of the same plans that were used last year, but we just did not see a good return on our investment. I am not sure that print ads are worth the cost anymore. Very few people read newspapers anymore. We only had about 1500 ticket requests following our print ads in the local papers.

Regardless of the reasons, one thing that I did see this year was that we had many more decisions made during our least attended performances. Our two largest attended services has no decisions. I guess it is possible that the more intimate performances provided a more inviting atmosphere. In total we had 13 people accept Christ, about 40 people rededicate their lives to Christ, and about 25 people attend who are not members of any church.

Here are some of the comments from this weekend's performances:

  • The play blessed me in a very special way.
  • I loved your play. It was really beautiful and wonderful.
  • This is always such a blessing for me. We have come for three years and I love it. Sometimes everyday life is challenging but my God is always with me. I was so afraid the weather wouldn't permit the play. I really needed this.
  • It was a great outreach into the community.
  • The program was so uplifting and I am so blessed that this church is in our county.
  • Congratulations for taking on such an enormous message in such an appealing and brave way.
  • Have attended numerous times here with Christmas performances. I thoroughly enjoy all. May be interested in joining your church.
  • Outstanding performance from everyone.
  • Excellent show! Would love to see something like this one every year.
  • Ya'll are adorable. Steve is cute. An amazing performance! Great acting, singing, dancing, and writing! And great cheesy humor. Love you all! Steve is still cute.
  • Thank you, thank you. This is our second visit to Oak Grove. The first was the Norman Rockwell production [The Christmas Post]. We enjoyed it so much we had to come see the new production.
  • The performance and message was wonderful. I wish I had attended before the last day so I could have shared how special the show was.
  • This Christmas play was outstanding. I have been going to these Christmas plays for years. Each year brings many blessings. I hope you and your church continue to do Christmas plays like these for many years to come.
  • I wish everyone could see this program, especially the young people everywhere. It was wonderful.
  • Steve, you and your choir did a super job-very enjoyable. I am grateful that I braved the elements to get here.
  • I always enjoyed the Christmas tree show. This program was remarkable with Pastor's singing and the group joining.
  • The people in the play were amazing.
  • Your program was beautiful. I have not seen a religious program as beautiful as this one.
  • The play was very good, very heart touching. It had a lot of meaning, love, compassion, anointing.
  • Wonderful performance. Love the inclusion of many messages.
  • Best program since the Tree. Music and singing were excellent.
  • We won our tickets on a bus trip and we were not sure what this program was. We loved it. Glad we were here.
  • Best show yet.
  • What a great interpretation. It made it relevant to modern times.
  • Fantastic, awesome, extraordinary, outstanding. Steve and all-a wonderful performance.
  • Wonderful program. I enjoyed it so much the first time, that I had to come back again tonight.

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