Commitment Sunday: How to Follow Up With Every Household After the Pledge Cards Come In

What is Commitment Sunday?

Commitment Sunday is the Sunday in an autumn stewardship campaign when households bring their pledge cards, or commitment cards, for the coming year. It usually closes a four-week appeal. One Lutheran synod's timeline has commitment cards returned on the fourth Sunday, with the campaign dated "no later than mid November; earlier if possible" (NJ Synod).

It is the end of the ask, not the end of the work. As one church-leadership resource puts it: "think of Commitment Sunday not as the endpoint, but as the beginning of a critical period of follow-up" (Church Leadership).

What does a typical stewardship campaign timeline look like?

• Weeks one to three: letters, bulletin inserts and sermons build toward the card.
• Week four, Commitment Sunday: cards come in during worship.
• The weeks after: follow-up with every household that didn't return a card, running up to Advent, which begins on 29 November 2026.
• Through the year: some dioceses keep going by mail. Charleston's toolkit runs a four-letter sequence ("Letter #2... Letter #3... Letter #4 Follow-Up Diocesan Mailing") across the year.
• The calling window: late October to December, which is exactly when parish offices are busiest.

Why does the follow-up after Commitment Sunday matter so much?

• Not every household is in church that Sunday: people travel, fall ill, or simply forget the card at home.
• Timing decides it: "A pledge that does not get a timely ask is a pledge that is more likely to slip" (CoreCause).
• Your denomination already prescribes it: the Episcopal Diocese of Washington's toolkit has a whole section on following up after the ask, the Anglican Diocese of Southwark covers "how to follow up with people who may not have engaged with your campaign yet," and Charleston publishes a telephone follow-up template.
• It is pastoral, not just financial: the Presbyterian Foundation calls stewardship "a pastoral care opportunity," and an Episcopal diocese notes that "part of knowing parishioners is knowing their financial struggles."

Who should you follow up with after Commitment Sunday?

• Households that pledged last year but not this year: the most important list, and usually the longest.
• Regular attenders who returned no card: often the easiest to complete with a single text of the online card.
• New members and recent visitors: many have never been asked before and don't know how stewardship works in your parish.
• Members who have stopped attending: the call is a chance to reconnect, and the answer may belong with a pastor.
• Older members who don't use email or text: one church administrator wrote that "some of the older members do not text, email, or know what a push notification is. If there was a voice message option, we would be able to drop that service we are currently paying for" (Capterra review).

What does a follow-up plan after Commitment Sunday look like?

1. Days one to three: thank every household that returned a card, by text or email.
2. Week one: a call to every household that didn't return one: "We missed you on Commitment Sunday. Can we text you the online card?" No answer means a voicemail in your pastor's or stewardship chair's own recorded voice, then the text.
3. Week two: a second pass to anyone who hasn't responded.
4. Week three: personal calls from your vestry, council or stewardship committee to the households the first two weeks flagged: lapsed givers, questions, hardship.
5. Before Advent: one last text to households still open, so the parish can plan next year's budget.
6. December: a year-end reminder for households who planned to complete a gift in the tax year.

We connect to Planning Center, Breeze, Pushpay, Tithely or Realm during setup, so the follow-up list comes straight from your own giving records.

What should a Commitment Sunday follow-up call say?

• Who is calling: "This is St. Mark's parish, calling on behalf of Father Tom." The call never claims to be a parishioner or a volunteer.
• What the parish has done this year: the food pantry, the youth trip, the roof. Belonging first.
• The easy step: "Can I text you the commitment card?"
• No amount, no pressure: the household decides what to give.
• Asking again is fine, shaming never is: a Methodist-affiliated seminary advises "even if you need to contact people repeatedly, avoid shaming," and an Episcopal diocese says "it is OK to ask again."
• A commitment, not a collection: Charleston's own script tells callers that "No one will call them to task if they fail to live up to their commitment."

Which households need a pastor, not a reminder?

The follow-up is where these households surface, and each one should go to a person by name the same day:

• Households in financial hardship: the ask stops, and your pastor or stewardship chair follows up privately.
• Households grieving a death: the call ends gently and the note goes straight to your clergy.
• Members who have drifted away: a conversation about coming back belongs to a person who knows them.
• Members with a concern or a complaint: passed to whoever can answer it honestly.

Can an automated call use your diocese's phone script?

Not its opening line. Charleston's template begins: "Hello, Mr., Mrs. or Ms. _____. My name is _____. I am a member of the parish and I have donated some of my time to the stewardship effort" (Diocese of Charleston). The caller's authority is being a fellow parishioner, and an automated call cannot truthfully say that.

• The automated legs: the first call on behalf of the parish, the voicemail in a known voice, the text, and the morning list.
• The peer legs stay with your volunteers: they call the households that need a fellow parishioner, from a much shorter list.

What if a household asks not to be contacted about giving?

• Honour it at once, and for good: no more stewardship calls, texts or letters to that household this season.
• Record it where everyone can see it, so a volunteer doesn't call them next week by mistake.
• Keep the relationship: they still get parish news and invitations to services and events, unless they ask to stop those too.
• Let clergy decide what comes next: sometimes a request like this is the first sign of a hard year, and your pastor may want to reach out personally.

What should the morning list show the parish office?

Every morning of the follow-up, the office gets one plain list, sorted by what each household needs next:

• Filled in the card online: nothing to do but record it.
• Will bring the card on Sunday: a reminder text on Saturday, not another call.
• Would like to talk to the pastor: passed to your clergy by name.
• Can't give this year: the ask stops, and the note goes privately to your pastor or stewardship chair.
• Grieving, ill or going through a hard time: straight to your clergy the same day.
• Moved away or joined another parish: for your membership records.
• Wrong number or remove me: fixed or removed the same day.

How do you measure the follow-up?

• Commitments received after Commitment Sunday, against the same weeks last year.
• Households reached that never returned a card, whatever their answer.
• Lapsed givers who made a commitment again.
• Pastoral needs found and followed up by a person within a few days.
• Records corrected: moves, wrong numbers and households that have joined another parish.

Letters and email vs. a phone tree vs. call, voicemail and text

Most parishes use the first two. Here is what each one covers in the weeks after Commitment Sunday.

When should a church set this up?

• Commitment Sunday in late October or November: calls can still run this season. Start now.
• Register your texting number immediately: carriers have blocked unregistered business texting since 1 December 2024, and approval takes weeks.
• Advent begins 29 November 2026: aim to finish follow-up calls before then.
• Lent begins 10 February 2027, and Easter falls on 28 March 2027: the same thread works for Easter invitations in early to mid March.
• For next year's campaign: put a consent line on the commitment card itself, and plan the follow-up in the summer.

What does it cost?

• Congregation campaigns run on the $60/month plan and up, which includes outbound calling and 220 minutes, then $0.20 a minute. Most churches run heavier months around the autumn appeal, Christmas and Easter.
• The market anchor: one church-calling vendor lists "Best value for small-medium churches ($50-200/month)" for its broadcast plans (RoboTalker).
• Compare by result, not call: a two-way conversation runs minutes where a broadcast runs seconds. Count commitments received, households reconnected and pastoral needs found.

What are the rules on calling parishioners?

A summary of public regulatory material, not legal advice. Talk to TCPA counsel before your first campaign.

• AI and prerecorded voice are both regulated under the TCPA (FCC 24-17).
• The exemption for tax-exempt organisations is narrow: up to three calls in 30 days to residential lines without consent.
• Mobiles need consent: and most of your members list a mobile.
• Put consent on the card: a single line beside the phone number on next year's commitment card and your membership form.

For collecting pledges across the year, see Pledge Fulfillment: Why Pledged Money Goes Uncollected, and How Reminder Calls Close the Gap. To see the calls, voicemails and texts for a parish, visit the churches page.