Samples Are Back…

Samples Are Back… by Randolph Jason for Gospel News Network

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! ~Psalms 34:8 NKJB

The other day there was a tweet floating around where someone was very excited about CostCo bringing back samples. If you have a membership to CostCo you know all about their excitement.

What if there were samples handed out, with the same enthusiasm as some of the barkers at CostCo, for a taste of life lived through Jesus Christ? What if people spread the Gospel, in small samples, like they do at CostCo?

Let’s look at the numbers. CostCo is known for sampling. Why? Because they do it well, the do it all the time and it impacts / engages the people in the store.

Sampling inspires shoppers for a variety of reasons.

The desire to “give back” after receiving a freebie, known as reciprocity, is common.

Becoming loyal to an otherwise unknown product after a satisfying experience occurs with shoppers who otherwise wouldn’t try something new for fear of wasting their money.

Then there’s the simplicity of creating a craving that didn’t exist in the first place. After all, who can eat just one bite of chocolate and not want more? ~Source

What will it take to get people to give samples of life through Jesus Christ? What if we knew we were going to be successful? What if we set our sights on target-rich environments, planned activities and then executed a strategy to harvest the fields?

Executing a successful sampling strategy begins with asking the right questions:

• • Who is your target group?
  • What are the most popular brands already being purchased by this group?
  • How do these consumers prefer to shop? Brick and mortar? Online? Subscriptions? ~Source

Each campaign should be developed for the various groups we wish to meet.  Teenagers, for example, should not be approached by someone in the 40’s-50’s. but someone from their age group. On the other hand, teenagers would be the ideal harvester sent into the field of a senior center or hospital to share with adults.  Of course, adults meeting other adults would be the way to impact a harvest field. Seniors meeting seniors and working age adults meeting their peers.

Instead of looking at this as “consumers” or a product –What are the most popular brands already being purchased by this group? – Our approach could be something like – How do we get people away from football, baseball or sports in general and replace with Jesus Christ? What are the “stats” we could use to get people’s attention?

Something like –

• “Did you know one person can change the entire world? How do you know that you are not that person? It could be you.”
• “What would suggest as to how a person could build the greatest team in the history of the world?”
• “Do you like good music? Are you familiar with “X”?
• “What if you were on a team that won every time you stepped onto the field?”
• “How would like to see your son or daughter grow up to be the number one recruiter in the community? What if they grew up to be one of the greatest recruiters ever?”

None of this is new. This struggle began when Jesus Christ first spoke His team and explained to them to go out in the field and begin harvesting. Jesus was already working, tirelessly, to heal the sick and spread the good news. Jesus merely wanted help to ensure more people would home than would stay behind.

When he saw the vast crowds of people, Jesus’ heart was deeply moved with compassion, because they seemed weary and helpless, like wandering sheep without a shepherd. He turned to his disciples and said, “The harvest is huge and ripe! But there are not enough harvesters to bring it all in. As you go, plead with the Owner of the Harvest to thrust out many more reapers to harvest his grain!” ~Matthew 9:36-38 TPT

Let’s get busy. Let’s lift up our hearts to Jesus Christ. Let’s spread the Good News that Jesus Christ is King of kings, Lord of lords and the Savior of the World.