Churches have two specific times when attendance far surpasses their average weekly numbers – Easter and Christmas (Eve). Many churches take these occasions for granted. But all churches should use these occasions as a launching point for re-engaging existing congregants and reaching out to new visitors. But how do you find the time to incorporate an outreach program amid all the prep required for these celebrations? By automating your follow-up processes.
You’ve done everything to promote your church’s Easter service. You’ve got systems in place to capture who is attending your services (forms, online visitor cards, etc.) The next step is to start reaching out to your Easter attendees. And this should happen right after your service has ended. That’s why it’s important to automate your engagement processes.
Your Easter service attendees include members, their friends, first-time visitors, out-of-town guests, etc. So, you need to create communication “tracks” for each group’s spiritual journey. These tracks include communications, meetings, tasks, to-dos, and conditional events (if this, then that).
Automating will help you streamline your communications and engagement. It will also free up time to do other important ministry tasks.
1) Email Follow-up
- Automate welcome emails for your Easter visitors.
- Schedule a series of emails that introduce your church and what it can offer.
- Ministries your church offers.
- Events and programs for members and guests.
- Volunteer opportunities.
- Be welcoming and focus on creating an experience they want to be a part of.
2) Text Messages
- Automate text messages to check in on your Easter visitors.
- Provide timely details for activities at your church.
- Use text to send reminders about upcoming events or a new sermon series.
- Encourage responses and questions.
3) Social Media
- Schedule social media posts thanking all your Easter attendees and visitors.
- Post pictures (greeters, Easter procession, egg hunt, choir).
- Engage and connect with visitors through visual content.
4) Follow-up Calls
- Automated follow-up calls are something to use sparingly. But it can provide a personal element to your outreach efforts.
5) Pastoral Care
- Automate reminders for your pastor to participate in your Easter outreach.
- Ensure a connection by reaching out personally to each visitor.
6) Event Registration
- Automate the registration process for events, programs, and classes to make it easy for Easter visitors to engage and be involved.
- Capturing payment during registration also decreases processing times and person hours.
- Capture additional information on your visitors on your registration form.
7) Volunteer
- Create a process to recruit and coordinate your volunteers.
- Automating this ensures there are always new volunteers coming in the door.
Integrating your ChMS and other software tools with your automation efforts diminishes errors from re-entering data and saves more time. Automation can create more work if it isn’t administered properly. Use tools that help you manage your processes, track your visitor’s information, and ensure your interactions hit the mark with your engagement efforts.
Planning and setting goals can help you measure your outreach efforts. And don’t just focus on Easter and Christmas for your efforts. Most churches have new visitors every week. So it’s crucial to continue adding tracks to ensure you’re reaching all your visitors.
Review your automation processes regularly and always ensure you balance automation and personal contact. While automation does improve efficiency, it won’t build a welcoming and inviting community on its own.
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