Grow Your Church
Church growth is essential to sustainability for the congregation because it will ensure the needed revenue source to make necessary staff, property and utility payments for the congregation's infrastructure. Knowing how to grow your church will also aid in your recruitment efforts to find the individuals and families with whom you can share your beliefs and calling.
Steps
- Add a website for your congregation. This will be a useful tool to promote your church, and it will allow you to post basic, yet helpful, information such as service hours, contact information and general or historical information about the organization. It will also allow you a means to post event schedules and a way to solicit email address sign-ups from potential new members wanting information.
- Improve the signage around your church.
- Make sure that people know who you are and what kind of church or service that you offer.
- Post your service times, and be sure and include that all are welcome to attend.
- Choose a large, legible font.
- Consider lighting for the signage.
- Think about signage where you can change the letters on a portion of it. That way you can update the message on a regular basis and communicate upcoming events or special themes for the church.
- Think about adding social media to your public relations efforts. This no-cost marketing technique will be particularly popular with the younger crowd.
- Sign up for a Facebook or Twitter account, and list general congregation information.
- Add friends and spread the word that you now have a Twitter or Facebook account.
- Post information such as upcoming sermon themes or tell the congregation and your guests about upcoming church events or fundraisers.
- Use press releases to the media to update the community on your upcoming events or any special congregational news. This is a great tool to publicize events, fund raisers or to share with your town about special anniversaries or large gifts.
- Plan an event at your church that is open to the public. Remind the congregation to invite their friends and families, to post signage and too send out press releases.
- Distribute post cards, fliers or door hangers in your immediate area.
- Make your congregants stewards of your church.
- Teach your congregants how to be disciples of your church by conducting mini-seminars, offering evangelism courses and putting tips in your program.
- Encourage them to set a goal of bringing a certain number of new guests each month.
- Keep the people who visit you by making them feel welcome.
- Make sure to have greeters at every entrance.
- Have the pastor welcome all new guests in his or her greeting.
- Collect information on the people who visit, and send emails inviting them back for future events and services.
Tips
- Consider hiring a consultant to make an assessment of your church's needs. Large churches may have to rely on the outside help of marketing firms to handle their needs.
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