Helpful Hints in planning a Wildgame Dinner or a Sportsman's Banquet

Determine the purpose of your Banquet- This may sound like a given, however this is the critical first step. The banquet’s purpose sets the tone for the planning of the event. Basically there are two types of banquets that we will be discussing today.
Banquets designed to reach the lost. Banquets designed to challenge Christians
For our purposes today we will spend most of our time on banquets designed to reach the lost.

Find a Keynote Speaker- The speaker should be someone who relates to your target audience. Think about who you are trying to reach and book accordingly. (A professional golfer is probably not the person to reach Duck hunters). Contact the speaker with several dates in mind. Choose a speaker who handles the Word of God correctly! Make sure your speaker is knowledgeable on how to extend an invitation.

Secure a Date and Location- A week night offers fewer conflicts than a Saturday. It is easier to get a person to come straight from work to an event than compete with Friday or Saturday Activities. Many people hunt and fish on the weekends. Secure a location away from the Church. Community Centers, High School Cafeterias, Armories are all good locations.

Charge Admission- Charge a nominal fee. One of the problems of the Church today is that we don’t think like lost people. Lost people are skeptical about free events from the Church. Budget for your banquet, and charge a small fee. This gives the event value. (Fee can help with décor, cleanup, speaker cost, etc)

Create a great Environment-  There is a reason people love to go into the Bass Pro shop and Cabelas. It's like walking into Man world!  Invite local game wardens, boat dealers, taxidermists, hunting and fishing store owners,policemen, firemen, etc. to be a part. This is a chance to get your entire community involved. Have them set up displays or booths about what they do. Make the place interesting.  Put up displays of wild game, fish, and other mounts. Ask people in your community (they love to show off their mounts). Assure them that they will be taken care of. Gun displays, knife displays, arrow heads, rods and reels, etc. Contact your local Game Wardens office for ideas.

Sell tickets/Sponsor Tables- This is one of the most important things to do. If people buy a table they will have ownership, positive peer pressure to bring people and accountability to fill the table. You can also get Church members to sell tickets. Think about selling tickets (or buying them to give away) other than at Church. Sporting goods store, hang outs, etc.

Music or Video –It is a good idea to have some music or video (Hunting or fishing) playing in the background. This helps people relax. Play some positive secular music ( Remember lost people don’t know or care about Church songs). Play it while people are in line and while they are eating.

Follow up Team- Have a team of men who will be able to make contact (phone, email, or mail) within one week of the banquet for people who make decisions that night. Mail out packets to people who want more info on your Church. Have a plan to disciple new converts! Don't just stick them in the old men's sunday school.

Decision Cards- These are important. Use the Decision Cards as your door prize card. Hand them out after the invitation. Each person needs their own pencil. Have them fill out the card all together at one time after the invitation. Cards should have: Name, address, phone, email, age. (see example) Use the decision card to draw for door prizes so that you are insured to get every card in the room.

Secure Good Door Prizes-  Go for  Quality not Quantity. You would rather hand out 5 good door prizes than 100 things people don't care about. Guided fishing trips, gift certificates, hunting supplies, shotguns, trolling motors, tools, rods, reels, etc. (Many door prizes can be donated).

Committees- Prayer, food preparation, food servers, setup, cleanup, door prizes, sound system, photography, displays, follow up, etc.
Get Sunday school classes to donate desserts. Secure wild game appetizers or meal. (Ask Chris for contacts on wild game dealers).

Serving lines-  Never Never Never let people serve themselves! If you do it will kill the program time of your Banquet. You will need one line for every 75 people. Have a server for each food item. This will cause the line to move faster and food will not run out. Position drink stations throughout the room not in a corner, allow space for people to enter and exit so the line does not back up. Locate the desserts away from the main serving line.

Miscellaneous
Have a starting and an ending time. Stick to it.
Be intentional about preparing spiritually for this event. Pray specifically and often.
Teach your people how to share their faith.
Don’t be flippant with the things of God.

**Chris Wells started Wellspoken Ministries with a burden and passion to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He combines a blend of humor, passion, and intensity to convey his concern for those who don’t know Jesus. His messages are exciting, expositional, and inspirational with a strong evangelistic emphasis. He speaks for Wild Game Banquets, revivals, youth rallies and retreats, as well as men’s ministry events. He has spoken at over 1000 Wildgame Banquets and Men's events.

In addition to speaking at your event, Chris is also available as a consultant in the planning and implementing of your Wild Game Banquet, from vision casting to follow up.
Chris can be reached at:
864-414-9453 
chris@chriswells.org

Unsung Heroes of Wellspoken Ministries

Wow this ministry is starting its 10th year of challenging people to walk in an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ! In 9 years we I have preached across the country and have seen nearly 7,000 people come to faith in Christ! What a blessing it has been! In saying that I want to state publicly that I give our Lord Jesus the glory. He doesn't need any of us, but chooses to use us for His good will.

There are so many people that allow me to do what I do. So many behind the scenes people that help this ministry go forward. I want to thank a few of those people starting with the man who is the most unsung of all.

Larry Vaughn and I met when I was a Student Minister in Sumter SC. Larry is a devout Christian businessman and Minister. He is also my accountant. I have never met a man that radiates the total peace of our Lord than Larry. He emotes a calmness that can only come from a relationship with Christ.
God has used Larry to grow Churches and lead people to Jesus. When we first started Wellspoken Ministries I knew absolutely nothing about running a 501c3 Ministry. Larry helped me. He researched questions, problem shot for us, and talked with the people that helped us survive. In addition to that Larry has done the payroll for WSM for 9 years and never charged us a dime for it. He quietly and faithfully serves this  ministry, and is absolutely invaluable to it.

I want to thank Larry for what he does for us. I hope you will pray for him and his family as he continues to be used of God in Wellspoken Ministries and his life.

3 Things you can do to change your 2014 Christian!

I don't often do New Years Resolutions. But when I do, they are usually long on hearing and soft on doing!

We live in a culture of hearers. Especially in the Church, we value the importance of hearing don't we? I don't know how many times I've been giving instructions and I hear the words "Oh I've heard that before".  We somehow think as long as we "hear" it, we are ok. However the Book of James paints a different picture of what is really important.  It talks about doing. Check this out from James 1:22-24:

"Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror, after looking at himself, goes away and  immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it, not forgetting what they  heard, but doing it. They will be blessed in what they do."

I want to give you 3 things that will that you as a Christian can do to change your 2014!


1) Make it your absolute priority to spend time with Jesus.

Everyone who has been to church more than 5 minutes has heard this but remember it's not the hearing that matters. The really question is do you do it? I honestly  believe the vast majority know they need to spend time with God, they just don't. No one who gets into the presence of God remains the same.

2) Live what you say you believe.

The old group DC Talk said: "The single greatest cause of atheism in the world are christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, but deny him with their actions". Jesus said in the book of Luke "Why do you call me your Lord and not do the things that I say?"

3) Share your faith.

 This generation of people has been given the greatest news of the ages and yet 90% of Christians will never share their faith a single time in their lives.  We talk about what we love. We talk about what we care about. If you care about your faith in Christ, learn to share it with others.

**I hope you will read more often and in 2014 be sure to watch for our new Chris Wells Podcast!

Why I am "Happy Happy Happy" that Phil Robertson got suspended by A&E!

I hope you will excuse the pun, but anyone who knows Chris Wells knows that I am not afraid to call .....ummmm ....."A duck a duck". Furthermore any of you who follow me on social media knows that few years ago I called Phil Robertson out for making a Bennelli Shotgun commercial that used a sexily clad young lady to sell shotguns. However with that being said I hope you will take time to read why I'm glad that Phil Robertson got suspended by A&E to the end.

Just before World War 2 the United States of America was sitting on the sidelines as Europe battled evil for its very life. While the US publicly agreed with Europe in principle, little or no action was taken at all. The US was content to live in a neutral don't get anyone upset way of life. That all changed December 7, 1941 when the Japanese air force shook our nation to its very core. The wake up call shaped an entire generation of people that responded in such an overwhelmingly heroic fashion they have since been heralded as "The Greatest Generation".

The Christian Community needs just such a wake up call. Now let me dial back and say that I am not at  all equating the firing of a TV personality to Pearl Harbor. I am also not in the least worried about Phil Robertson having a job. I do think however that what has happened is a good thing and can serve as a alarm for Christians to see its time to wake up. Our world is doing just what the Word of God always says it will do:... hate the followers of Jesus.

It never ceases to amaze me how often the Christian community is shocked when "The World" shows its true colors. Listen to what Jesus says in John  15:18 "if the world hates you, keep in mind it hated me first". Mark 13:13 "Everyone will hate you because of me. but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. Listen to the NLT on Matthew 10:22 "And all the nations will hate you because you are my followers"...

Our Current America preaches tolerance for everyone except the followers of Jesus. It champions freedom of speech to EVERYONE except those who would say sin is sin. It shouts the benefits of CHANGE as long as that change doesn't involve repentance. It praises the virtues of having faith in a god as long as that god is not the HOLY God.

Yeah I think what happened to Phil is a good thing, and this is why I'm Happy Happy Happy it happened:

1) It shows when you are persecuted for standing with Jesus you are doing something right. 

The book of James begins by saying: "Dear brothers and sisters when trouble comes your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy"...

2) It shows when people are publicly persecuted for Christ it's often in preparation for coming awakening.

I don't believe it was a coincidence that in the book of Acts it mentions that a young man named Saul stood and watched as Stephen was stoned. I'm hoping Men see it's time to wake up.

3) It shows what happens when Real Men follow Jesus   

God doesn't need any of us. However,  the Bible says He chooses to use those whose hearts are completely His. Today's men are washed to and fro by the tide of society, and it is such a refreshing contrast when we see real men who cannot be moved. That only comes from following Jesus.

4) It shows Phil Robertson is in the safest place He can be. The center of the will of God

The Duck commander has yielded his life to the "Life Commander". There is no safer place a man can be. 

Have you yielded your life to Christ? My prayer is that with the suspension of  Phil, that God will use this to bring many people into relationship with Himself and that makes me "Happy Happy Happy"!

*Chris Wells is a Full time speaker and Chaplain for the BASS Elite Series. To find out more about how to get Chris to your church go to www.chriswells.org or call at 864-414-9453.

What would Jesus do? (What would you do?)

(James Wesley Wells Jr)

When I was a kid I had the privilege and the horror of having my Dad teach me in Sunday School one year. It was good because he made sure that I knew all the answers. It was bad because when your Dad is the teacher there is zero chance you are going to get away with anything in the mischievous realm. I honestly don't remember very many lessons from those years, however there is one lesson my Dad taught and lived. He told us whenever you get in a situation where you don't know what to do, ask: What would Jesus do?

Now before you think that Dad was ripping off the WWJD campaign of the 90's you need to realize that my Dad said that in the 1970s. The major point that I want to make to you today is not so much that I think my Dad invented WWJD, but my Dad lived WWJD so much so it cost him everything.

In 1979 our family owned a small grocery store that was known for having the finest meat in the county. People would shop for groceries at other stores and drive upwards of 15 miles just to buy their meat from my Dad's store. Wells Self Service was a staple in the small town I grew up in and made my father a decent living. On a fall night of that year everything changed.

Dad was the Captain of the volunteer Fire Department and was called out to a fire on the opposite side of town from where we lived. On arriving he surveyed the situation and began to radio directions to the fire truck as how to proceed. For some reason his radio wouldn't work so he started to run around the house that was on fire to give directions to the truck in person.

Now my Dad could run, and as he rounded the side of the house in the dark a freak accident occurred. He ran dead into a metal clothesline which nearly everyone had in those days. The line caught him in the mouth, lodged up into his back teeth and stuck. The force of the blow threw his feet straight up and on the way down literally cut most of his top teeth out.

As Dad hit the ground his right hip was broken, but somehow he managed to get up and make his way to the Firetruck. The story goes that the first man who saw him got sick to his stomach, and my Dad was rushed to a hospital 10 miles away. Upon arrival as they were wheeling him into the Emergency room my father noticed that his Dad's doctor was leaving. He called out to the Doctor and asked if he would look at his situation. The Doctor replied: "There is a good intern on call". My Dad answered: "Please I would like for you to see me".

The Doctor had my Dad's hip x-rayed, and determined that nothing was broken. He then sent my Dad to the Dentist to get his mouth sewed up. For the next week or so my Dad could not walk, and laid in his bed in unbearable pain. Finally my mother took him to a different Doctor who after requesting the all ready taken x-ray found the hip fracture immediately. He was told that it was too late to reset it, and as a result my Dad never walked without a cane again.

The results of that night were life changing for my Dad and my family. He soon went on disability and lost his business and his main source of income. My family went from having what they wanted to struggling to get anything we needed. In the next few months and years lawyer after lawyer contacted my Dad telling them that he had a text book law suit and should sue the Doctor for everything he could get. My Dad refused over and over again to ever bring a law suit against the Doctor's negligence.

When I turned 16 years old I was sitting down with my Dad on his day bed that he kept in our living room, and I asked him why he never would sue that Doctor. What he said made one of the greatest impacts on my life.

 My Dad said: "Son, that man was leaving and I called him back in to see me. He didn't ask for that, I did. When they asked me if I wanted to sue him I didn't know what to do. So I asked myself What would Jesus do?

As a result of that injury my father went on to have 18 major surgeries, and eventually died at age 64. I never heard him question God one time. My Dad wasn't perfect, but he truly lived:

What would Jesus do?

Why Churches should do Men's outreach on Thursdays in the Fall.

Follow @BASSChaplain

*Chris Wells is the chaplain for the BASS Elite Series and started Wellspoken Ministries in 2004. Since that time he has spoken at nearly 700 Wild Game Banquets and Men's Events all over the country. Here are some of the tips he has for getting the most out of your Men's Outreach Event.


 So many Churches today tell me they want to have a Men's event that reaches men who don't know Jesus, then strategize to do everything they can to keep lost men away. If you are truly going to have an outreach event for men that don't know Jesus, getting them there should be a main priority. I share this with Churches every year, and every Fall I have all my Saturdays booked with events and very few Thursdays. Here are some reasons Thursdays are a better option for guys who don't know Jesus.

1) Friday nights are High School Football nights. If you choose to do a Men's event on a Friday Night in the Fall you automatically lose the Dad whose son plays football and the High school football fan.

2) Fishermen and Hunters, hunt and fish on Saturdays and Sundays. A guy that has been waiting to get in the deer stand all week probably isn't going to leave early to come to your event. Tournaments don't end until 3 pm and that guy probably isn't going to rush to your event.

3) Saturday afternoon is College football day and Sunday is NFL Day. Guys who are lost are not going to attend your event over their favorite team. Football for most men in the US is not a game its a religion.

These are 3 Facts of outreach events in the Fall. Too many Christians today forget what its like to be lost. No matter how much you think they SHOULD come they won't. So plan  your events wisely. I will be offering further tips on how to do this in later Blog posts, but for now here is why Thursdays work best.

1) Thursdays are a great outreach night for guys because it doesn't knock out their weekend.

2) An event on Thursday allows them to get to be in a hunting/Fishing/Sports environment for a couple of hours.

3) It breaks up the week. This is huge because most guys are chomping at the bit to get in the woods, on the water, or see the game. Thursdays allow them to get a taste of it before the weekend.

 Having your outreach event on Thursday may not be as convenient to your Church members or Church Staff, but remember an Outreach Event is not only for you. It's for them.


** If you would like more information on booking Chris Wells as a speaker or an Outreach Consultant, he can be reached at:

Chris@chriswells.org
864-414-9453

"Least likely to write a Novel"

I once wrote a paper in High School that was very bad. Now anyone that knows me is aware that I wasn't always the brightest knife in the drawer in my high school academic career. The paper was on the character of Pearl in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.  Honestly I just wanted to get it over with, so after plagiarizing a few Cliff notes I handed in my work. My English teacher took the opportunity to teach me quite a lesson. She distributed copies of my paper to the class, and proceeded to teach a "How not to write a paper" seminar that I learned very well. I crossed off being an author from my life's goals that day.

Now I know that wasn't my teachers goal, and as God so often does, He changed my heart on the matter. So with Macbook in hand I am endeavoring to "Pen" my first Christian Fiction Novel. I tell you this because  it is an undertaking that I am embarking on in profound fear and trepidation. They say that speaking in front of people, elicits more fear than even the grim reaper. Not so for me. Writing has always been a nemesis that brought out my deepest anxieties.  So with that said I want to ask you to pray for me as I start this journey.

My goal is write a book that will reach out to the people that I identify with most. Common Sportsmen and Fishermen who as Pat Conroy wrote: "Grew up in love with the shape of Boats". My hope is that men will be entertained, inspired and even challenged to live in an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.

 I covet your prayers for the man that should have been voted least likely to write a novel.