Ice cream. Oh the very mention of the word. Soft serve. Hand dipped. Homemade. Store bought. All natural. Vanilla. Chocolate. Mint chocolate chip. 32 flavors. Ben and Jerry. Bryers. Hagen daz. One of the major food groups. Nero, during the 4th century BC, started the craze by bringing ice down from the mountains and crushing it and mixing fruit into it. By the 13th century Marco Polo brought back to Europe the milk and ice method from the Chinese. By the 18th century Italy and France was making sherbets. George Washington ate it. Thomas Jefferson's favorite was vanilla. By 1851 in was being sold in stores. Don't you love studying history? Along came the ice cream sandwich. And in particular, a company that made Klondike Bars. And their clever and nifty little catch phrase, "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" Great commercials! Oh the things people were willing to do to get a Klondike bar! Of course, the point of the advertisement was to get people to think that people would be willing to do just about anything to get one. And they sold a LOT of ice cream bars. Right now some of you might be thinking, "You are right! I would do just about anything for a Klondike Bar!" What would you do? So, how did the Klondike Bar become so successful? After all, there are dozens and dozens of ice cream companies out there that offer hundreds, if not thousands of products. How did Klondike separate themselves from the pack? Well, they took something that was well known, something that people felt like they needed, something desirable. They produced a product that was practical, unique, and affordable. They built up a loyal consumer base, and then hit a home run with the advertisement catch phrase. Make sense? Did it work? So, let's use the Klondike bar's amazing little catch phrase, change up just a little, and use it in another way, shall we? Let's go with, "what would you do to go on a Torch trip?" Well, let's see, we found something that was well known that people felt like they needed to have. Mission work is the heart and soul of Christianity and evangelism. Christians feel the need to do mission work and have a passion for it. We took the concept of mission work and made it practical, unique, and affordable. We took the words of Matthew 25 and developed a program that incorporated the things Jesus talked about in that chapter. We refined the ministries, streamlined methods, and made trips that were available for most people on a budget that most people could afford. Then we built up a loyal base, or core group, of workers that have come year after year. We don't have a clever jingle or catch phrase, at least not yet. Now, I am not saying that Torch Missions is a company with a clever Marketing and Public Relations department. Far from it. I just happen to see some things that are in common. But you know what they say, the best advertising is by word of mouth by satisfied customers. Sure, we set up booths at youth rallies and lectureships. We visit congregations and make presentations to schools, youth groups, and churches. We have pamphlets and booklets and banners and posters. We have slide shows and DVDs. But to be honest, that is not where we get most of our team members. Most of our team members are recruited by the people that have gone on our trips before. They know what we do, why we do it, and what they get from it. They believe in Torch Missions, and because of their convictions, they bring others with them to share in the experience. So, back to the question, "What would you do to go on a Torch trip?" Work a second job. Take on a paper route. Bag groceries on my day off for tips. Wash cars. Baby sit... a lot. Sell my truck. Use part of my school loan money. Cash in an insurance policy. Use the savings I built up to buy a car. Have a yard sale, and then another, and another, and another. Bake pies and cakes. Clean the church building. Build a homemade putt putt course for people to play. Put on a murder mystery dinner show. Have an auction. Sell BBQ ribs and chicken. Paint Christmas decorations. Dress up like Santa and use White Out to make my eyebrows white. Have a golf tournament. Have a spaghetti dinner and sell tickets. Flip pancakes and cook sausage. Sell refreshments at a ball game. Do yard work and cut grass. Sell doughnuts before school starts. Hand paint tennis shoes to sell. Use up all of my vacation time for the year to go on the trip. That is what you would do. You would do this and more. Because every one of these examples are true examples that someone did to go on a Torch Missions trip. Why? Because it is worth it. Pure and simple... it is worth it. Of course, there are lots of people that don't like Klondike Bars. Some people don't like them and they haven't even tried one. But their minds are made up. They look at people who are willing to do almost anything to get a Klondike Bar as someone that is weird and one brick shy of a load. They don't like it, want it, and because of that do not get it. The same thing is true for mission work to Central America. They don't like it, want it, and because of that do not get it. They think it is a waste of time and money and think you are weird and one brick shy of a load. They just don't get it. I feel sorry for them. I really do. Because once you get it, you GET IT! Have you got it? TR
Tuesday, April 12
What would you do?
Ice cream. Oh the very mention of the word. Soft serve. Hand dipped. Homemade. Store bought. All natural. Vanilla. Chocolate. Mint chocolate chip. 32 flavors. Ben and Jerry. Bryers. Hagen daz. One of the major food groups. Nero, during the 4th century BC, started the craze by bringing ice down from the mountains and crushing it and mixing fruit into it. By the 13th century Marco Polo brought back to Europe the milk and ice method from the Chinese. By the 18th century Italy and France was making sherbets. George Washington ate it. Thomas Jefferson's favorite was vanilla. By 1851 in was being sold in stores. Don't you love studying history? Along came the ice cream sandwich. And in particular, a company that made Klondike Bars. And their clever and nifty little catch phrase, "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" Great commercials! Oh the things people were willing to do to get a Klondike bar! Of course, the point of the advertisement was to get people to think that people would be willing to do just about anything to get one. And they sold a LOT of ice cream bars. Right now some of you might be thinking, "You are right! I would do just about anything for a Klondike Bar!" What would you do? So, how did the Klondike Bar become so successful? After all, there are dozens and dozens of ice cream companies out there that offer hundreds, if not thousands of products. How did Klondike separate themselves from the pack? Well, they took something that was well known, something that people felt like they needed, something desirable. They produced a product that was practical, unique, and affordable. They built up a loyal consumer base, and then hit a home run with the advertisement catch phrase. Make sense? Did it work? So, let's use the Klondike bar's amazing little catch phrase, change up just a little, and use it in another way, shall we? Let's go with, "what would you do to go on a Torch trip?" Well, let's see, we found something that was well known that people felt like they needed to have. Mission work is the heart and soul of Christianity and evangelism. Christians feel the need to do mission work and have a passion for it. We took the concept of mission work and made it practical, unique, and affordable. We took the words of Matthew 25 and developed a program that incorporated the things Jesus talked about in that chapter. We refined the ministries, streamlined methods, and made trips that were available for most people on a budget that most people could afford. Then we built up a loyal base, or core group, of workers that have come year after year. We don't have a clever jingle or catch phrase, at least not yet. Now, I am not saying that Torch Missions is a company with a clever Marketing and Public Relations department. Far from it. I just happen to see some things that are in common. But you know what they say, the best advertising is by word of mouth by satisfied customers. Sure, we set up booths at youth rallies and lectureships. We visit congregations and make presentations to schools, youth groups, and churches. We have pamphlets and booklets and banners and posters. We have slide shows and DVDs. But to be honest, that is not where we get most of our team members. Most of our team members are recruited by the people that have gone on our trips before. They know what we do, why we do it, and what they get from it. They believe in Torch Missions, and because of their convictions, they bring others with them to share in the experience. So, back to the question, "What would you do to go on a Torch trip?" Work a second job. Take on a paper route. Bag groceries on my day off for tips. Wash cars. Baby sit... a lot. Sell my truck. Use part of my school loan money. Cash in an insurance policy. Use the savings I built up to buy a car. Have a yard sale, and then another, and another, and another. Bake pies and cakes. Clean the church building. Build a homemade putt putt course for people to play. Put on a murder mystery dinner show. Have an auction. Sell BBQ ribs and chicken. Paint Christmas decorations. Dress up like Santa and use White Out to make my eyebrows white. Have a golf tournament. Have a spaghetti dinner and sell tickets. Flip pancakes and cook sausage. Sell refreshments at a ball game. Do yard work and cut grass. Sell doughnuts before school starts. Hand paint tennis shoes to sell. Use up all of my vacation time for the year to go on the trip. That is what you would do. You would do this and more. Because every one of these examples are true examples that someone did to go on a Torch Missions trip. Why? Because it is worth it. Pure and simple... it is worth it. Of course, there are lots of people that don't like Klondike Bars. Some people don't like them and they haven't even tried one. But their minds are made up. They look at people who are willing to do almost anything to get a Klondike Bar as someone that is weird and one brick shy of a load. They don't like it, want it, and because of that do not get it. The same thing is true for mission work to Central America. They don't like it, want it, and because of that do not get it. They think it is a waste of time and money and think you are weird and one brick shy of a load. They just don't get it. I feel sorry for them. I really do. Because once you get it, you GET IT! Have you got it? TR
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I have sold handmade market in a Farmer's Market every Saturday throughout the season. I feel blessed that I have been able to totally finance my trip through this and saving money.
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