Mission Call Opening Checklist

How to use this checklist

Opening a mission call is exciting and a little chaotic. This checklist keeps the details from slipping through the cracks so you can focus on the moment. Work through it in three stages: before the call arrives, the day you open it, and the days after.

One to two weeks before

• Decide how you'll open it. Right away, or at a planned time with family and friends? Talk it over as a family so nobody is surprised.
• Create your guessing game. Set up a free MissionCallGuess game and choose how many guesses each person gets.
• Share the link. Send it to family group chats, post it for friends and your ward, and include it in party invitations.
• Invite people. Pick who will be there in person and who will join by video.
• Plan food and decorations. See our party ideas for themes that work before you know the destination.
• Pick a recorder. Ask someone to film the reading and someone else to take photos.

The day before

• Remind remote family of the time, including their time zone.
• Send one last nudge to share the guessing game link; late guesses are half the fun.
• Make sure the missionary can sign in to the missionary portal on the device they'll use.
• Set up the space so everyone can gather close.

Day of the opening

• Charge everything: the phone or laptop for reading the call, the device running the video call, and the camera.
• Test the video call and Wi-Fi before guests arrive.
• Put the guessing game on a TV so guests can watch the pins and add last-minute guesses.
• Close guessing right before the reading if you like. You can pause new guesses from your manage page.
• Start recording, gather everyone, and let the missionary read the call aloud.

Right after reading the call

• Reveal the results. On your game's manage page, choose the actual mission. MissionCallGuess measures every guess and ranks them on a leaderboard.
• Announce the winner and hand out any prize.
• Share the results link with everyone who guessed but couldn't be there.
• Take a group photo with the map.

In the days after

• Read the call packet slowly and write down every deadline. Our guide to what happens after your call walks through the usual next steps.
• Accept the call as instructed in your packet.
• Download your mailing list. Guessers who left an email want to follow the mission. Export the list from your manage page and use BCC when sending updates.
• Send thank-you notes to leaders, teachers and friends who helped along the way.
• Learn about your mission. Look it up in our mission directory to see its boundaries and nearby missions.