�Unifying Missionaries and Members Using
Nightly Messaging Groups
A member-created initiative.
This is not an official publication of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Church News: How these missionaries use nightly messages to enhance member connection
“Your ability to link the enthusiasm of the missionaries with the loving stability and helpful efforts of the members cannot be overemphasized …Your success will be multiplied exponentially as you harness the power of members with whom you serve.”��President Russell M. Nelson�June 26, 2018��
“Missionaries work with local leaders and members to find people to teach and lead them to the
Savior. You are united by your love for God and His children. He will magnify your efforts to
the degree that you work in unity with local leaders and members. Make working with them an
important part of your goals and plans.��PMG – p. 219
The What��Missionaries can engage and inspire ward councils and ward missionaries by sending brief, thoughtful, well-written group messages each evening using SMS, Messenger, or WhatsApp.
The Why��“Coordination should also happen in other ways during the week, including phone calls, texts, and emails.” PMG – p. 221
“A united effort and focus where missionary planning and goal setting align with ward or branch planning and goal setting can be very helpful to accomplish the work of gathering Israel.” Quentin L. Cook, PMG – p. 221
Why Nightly Missionary Messaging Groups Work
Daily contact through group messaging:
The How
The Benefits
Stakes with successful Nightly Missionary Messaging groups have common attributes:
The Messages
Hello ward family, we hope you all had a good day! We definitely had a spirit-filled day! ��MEMBERS: We got to video call with the Adams tonight and talk about Conference! We love hearing your thoughts and impressions because it strengthens our own testimonies! We are so grateful for the Adams' wonderful example of faith and we admire their love for the Savior. ��FUTURE MEMBERS: We were able to have a wonderful lesson with Anayeli about the Restoration! She seemed to really understand what we taught, and was very engaged! The Spirit was definitely present. She accepted our invitation to read the Book of Mormon!
NEEDS: Would someone be willing to get Anayeli a copy?��We love you all so much! We know that as you continue to hear Heavenly Father, you will receive answers and strength! Keep pressing forward!
Hello! We hope all is well with you and families! We had another great day today!
MEMBERS: We had a great visit with the Staton family today. We talked about temple and family history work! The spirit was so strong as we each shared why the temples are meaningful to us. We love the Statons!�
FUTURE MEMBERS: We had another great lesson with Tiffany today. We had a good discussion on the Plan of Salvation. It meant a lot to her to know she can be with her family forever. �
NEEDS: Would someone be willing to join us in our next lesson with Tiffany next Tuesday? �
We appreciate each of you so much. You and your families are in our prayers. Thank you for all you do to help build up the kingdom of God! We know the Lord is aware of the work here. We see his hand in our lives everyday!
Hello Ward Fam! We've been given a great opportunity to have our faith tested recently, but we’re learning lessons and staying focused and relying on the Lord! Miracles are coming!
FRIENDS: We reached out to Kenny today and had an excellent discussion about the Book of Mormon! We also read through the proclamation and he got a lot from it. We also talked to Danielle, who’s now on date for baptism! We talked about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, it was a very spiritual lesson!
MEMBERS: We visited Sister Hammond and had a great conversation about Gen Conference and some of the past Conference talks! We gave her a talk by Elder Ochoa called "Look Up" and invited her to read it before our next visit.
NEEDS: We have another lesson with Danielle on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., so if you are available to join us please let us know!
It’s a special time to be here! There’s so much amazing work to be done and we're very grateful that we get to serve alongside you!
Good morning ward council! We have visitors today!
Teresa is sitting 5th row in a salmon colored dress. She’s very excited to be here!
Brother Harlow’s niece is sitting next to him. She is looking for a church in the area so… ☺
Please reach out to all and help them feel welcomed!
Fellowship in real time.
We met a lady named Heather today who was super interested in coming to Church but she and her 3-year old son need a ride.
Do any of you know someone who would be available to give them a ride on Sunday?
Share needs before Sunday.
Edward Thompson came to church today and then we had a lesson with him later and he explained that the whole time he was there he just felt overwhelmed by the spirit and he said he was even shaking and that he’d never felt anything that strong before…..we had an awesome lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ and he agreed to be baptized February 22nd...it is an amazing miracle to see the spirit work on someone’s life like that!
Feel a boost of
missionary spirit.
What do missionaries say when they send Nightly Messages:
Five to seven times per week.*
I feel like it helps the ward know who were teaching and who were going by and I feel it helps the members know that were doing the Lord's work as well as helping and supporting the ward by visiting less actives, part-members and members as well as meeting new friends.
As we have been sending out nightly texts, the members seem to trust us more. It also has made the ward council more missionary minded as they've seen the success we're having.
Our ward is awesome and they wanted us to send a nightly update every single day. There were so many miracles that came from this.
Our coordination meetings were fast and effective because they already knew our friends and what the needs were.
We have definitely seen some great things come from doing the nightly texts! We've seen the ward be a lot more enthusiastic about missionary work and they're very involved and informed about who our friends are and how they can help! It's definitely been a great thing for the area!
The members love to see when we have miracles, our leaders will sometimes ask us about some of the people we mention in the texts during ward coordination.
We love the nightly texts! They help us keep the members involved and active in the missionary work. It helps our coordination meetings go so much smoother because they are already updated on everything. We have seen our members be actively involved in what we are doing. They have been able to follow up with us about our friends. Nightly texts help our members become aware and know our friends before they even meet them!
The ward members are more up to date on what is going on so weekly coordination doesn't take as long. We send regular questions so the ward members are more likely to read and respond.
The members appreciate getting to see and be involved in the missionary work on a day to day basis. We have several every week who comment about something they saw in the nightly reports. It keeps us accountable and it shows the ward that we are those missionaries who are focused on their purpose and get things done.
*These responses were gathered from a survey of Maryland Baltimore Missionaries in October, 2024.
What do missionaries say when they send Nightly Messages:
Three or four times per week.
We share an area so we switch of nights, but it seems that it helps keep the ward posted on us being out and working effectively. It sometimes feels like we don't get much response, but the ward does acknowledge that they appreciate it. So overall it's a good thing.
It's been really nice. We just straight up asked our ward Coordination what they'd like included. They said mostly they just want to know what they can do. We include that as well as miracles that we are seeing, so that even if they haven't met these people yet they know something attached to each name once they do get the chance to meet. They could be more effective if we sent them more often, so we are always working towards that!
Not many responses, but members talk about the experiences from the texts when we are with them. And they seem to enjoy getting them and hearing about our day!
The ward is so willing to help, we just need to give them an action to take at the end of the day!
More frequent coordination meetings, and help is offered. We are able to keep our coordination meetings short and effective. We received one member referral.
The members feel more excited about the work.
The ward members love them, want to read them, and actually look forward to seeing them... it's been like that for both of us in this area and our past two areas. It also makes coordination much easier because we don't have to talk about anything that isn't an action item.
What do missionaries say when they send Nightly Messages:
Once or twice per week.
“We never really get responses - people just see them & "heart it" but that's about it. The ward members seem to appreciate when we send them in when we see then at church, but we try to send them in at least once a week.”
“No one really answers them and most of the time is seems like a waste of time. But that could just be our ward.”
“It's nice to keep people updated so when Sunday comes correlation doesn't go forever.”
“Our bishop just asked us to catch them up at ward coordination he said he doesn't want a text.”
“We typically use nightly texts to cover needs for our friends in their progression on the covenant path. We haven't been able to tell how successful because we don't usually get a lot of responses.”
“Our ward correlation meetings seem to be more effective. But it's great to have the communication through the week when we do get responses!”
“Helps sunday coordination run smoothly and keeps everyone on the same page.”
“When we send nightly texts our Ward feels I formed of our work and they gave greater trust and understanding of our friends progress.”
“On the nights we do send out a text, the members are very supportive, always responding with a ‘thank you!’ and ‘keep doing a good job!’”
“It’s a good way to update the people in the ward on what is happening with your friends and on who will be coming to activities so they know to look for them and say hi. It's also a great way to ask them about needs for you friends and how they can help and also how we can help them with anything.”
“Our bishop has asked the ward to not respond to the texts so people don't get spammed. We can't really tell if they are effective or move the work forward, but we know that the members appreciate the update.”
“We just started last week. But since I have been out no one has instructed or told me how it should be done. Don't know much about the benefits but we have been trying it the past week and it seems to be going well. The stake president reached out to us letting us know he's going to try and support us the best he can.”
“We think it is helpful in getting the members excited about about the work. It also is nice because it keeps ward coordination meetings short and to the point.”
“The ward really doesn't respond, but I think it helps them know we're actually out working and excites them about the work”
Quick Takes from Leaders
“The texts give insight into how friends are doing and we learn ways others not necessarily in leadership can help contribute. I also think it’s helping encourage member referrals because we’re better connected to the missionaries.” (Elders Quorum President)
“Because the group of people being taught is always changing and the missionaries’ focus is always shifting, I appreciate having a brief text each night instead of waiting for coordination meeting. I already have an idea of who their focus is on and I can help them find ways for their friends and mine to progress.” (Branch Mission Leader)
“The nightly texts are the perfect way to end the day. My presidency loves hearing the day to day news and miracles from the full-time missionaries. They keep the gathering on our minds in a unique way and we’re so excited to see which members are getting involved in lessons, rides, meals, etc.” (Relief Society President)
Quick Takes from Leaders
“In our ward, nightly texts became so much more than just a digital bulletin board of missionary efforts, they became a collaborative dialogue between our missionaries and the ward council. We became familiar with our prospective members/friends and their needs well before baptism. We were able not only to follow their journey, but participate in it through offering ideas, designing activities based on their needs and even allowing us to have more focused prayers to help them on their journey to the covenant path. Engaging with the missionaries on a daily basis not only keeps the missionary spirit alive, but it helps ensure that the work is a joint effort and a primary focus of our ward council.” (Bishop)
“The nighties tell me specifically who to watch for at church so when they come, I am watching for them and I already know their names! I get to say I was expecting them.” (Executive Secretary)