Every Christmas season, you likely have at least a few of your church members hanging out on the sidelines. Even as you read this first sentence, their faces fill your mind. They’re on the outside looking in.
What if you could get more of your church involved in your outreach this year? You’d not only be able to make a larger impact on your community; you’d make the holiday season more meaningful for a larger number of your congregants.
The good news is that the holiday season, with all of its focus on giving to others, gives you more opportunity than any other time of the year to get your least involved people into the outreach efforts of your church.
When you get more people involved this Christmas, you’ll get the opportunity to step into next year with a renewed sense of purpose and unity.
This blog post will walk you through …
- How to leverage planning and communication to mobilize involvement.
- Why and how to offer different types of involvement.
- How to use technology to coordinate outreach across your church
- How to simplify the involvement process so more people get involved.
Plan Early and Communicate Often
One major challenge in engaging more people in your holiday outreach is the sheer busyness of the season. To overcome this, it’s crucial to plan your holiday calendar well in advance. The sooner you start, the better. Waiting until December can mean many in your congregation won’t be able to participate because of already packed schedules. Getting ahead of the game ensures more people can join in and contribute.
And as you build out that outreach schedule, be sure to communicate your plans to the whole congregation. Don’t just reserve your outreach calendar for your leaders. You need to make sure everyone saves those dates. Get started with these three action steps as quickly as possible.
- Create a holiday calendar. Whenever you get dates for your events, put them on a central calendar where everyone can see them. Put a physical holiday activities calendar in several central locations on your campus. Most importantly, place a digital version of your calendar on your website and/or your mobile app.
- Share your calendar on your key internal communications channels. Use as many internal channels as you can to share these dates and times. Put a note in your bulletin, on your website, on social media, etc. Your most effective channel is likely verbal announcements at your worship service.
- Develop a communications plan for the rest of the holiday season. Don’t just stop with your holiday calendar. You need a plan to keep congregants informed about upcoming plans on a weekly basis.
By planning early and communicating often, you’ll knock down one of the biggest excuses people give about not taking part: No one told me this was happening!
Offer a variety of outreach opportunities
God didn’t make any two people in your congregation the same. We’re all different. We all have different interests, personalities, and passions. One reason it’s tough to get everyone involved in Christmas outreach efforts is that we tend to focus on just a few different types. Instead, consider giving people a variety of options to choose from.
For example:
- Options for introverts: Introverts usually like quieter activities where they can make a more meaningful connection with a smaller amount of people. This can include visiting shut-ins in your community or sitting down with other introverts to write Christmas cards or assemble hygiene kits for the homeless. Remember, many introverts don’t mind meeting new people. They would just prefer to engage with one new person at a time rather than a whole collection of people.
- Options for extroverts: Ask an extrovert to sit down and write 25 Christmas cards and you’ll nearly guarantee they won’t do it again next year. Extroverts get energized by people. They like big groups of people. They’ll be most excited by activities where they can meet new people—like community events, concerts, or a holiday open house.
- Options for families with small kids: These families appreciate it when your church keeps outreach simple. Many of these families want to participate in your outreach efforts, but they can’t if you don’t provide child-friendly activities. Some of these outreaches could include creating holiday crafts to distribute to neighbors or visiting a nursing home.
- Options for people with limited time: Some people want to help but struggle to figure out how they can give large amounts of time. Provide a few opportunities for people who have an hour here or there to give. Consider activities like, dropping off donations, sending Christmas cards, assembling care packages, or anything else that can be done in short bursts.
Of course, there are many other groups of people to consider, but these ideas should give you an idea of where to start. Sit down with your list of outreach activities and note the groups of people who might be interested in volunteering for it. See who you might have left out.
Leverage technology to make coordination easier
The more outreach activities you try, the harder it is to coordinate them. It’s crucial to rely on technology to iron out any problems. Fortunately, modern church management software, such as the ones developed by ACS Technologies, is designed to do just that.
For example:
- Volunteer Sign-Ups and Scheduling: Use your church management software to create and manage volunteer sign-up forms. Doing this will allow volunteers to see what roles your church needs and what times fit their schedules. You can also automatically send reminders to volunteers about their commitments.
- Event Coordination: If you’re planning any holiday outreach events, you can streamline your coordination of them through your church management system. For example, with the right system, you’ll be able to manage RSVPs and campus resources so your events will go more smoothly.
- Communication Tools: Tools like targeted emails, mobile apps, and text messaging can help you keep your volunteers in the loop.
The more outreach events you launch this year, the harder it will be to keep everything in order. You’ll never reach your church’s outreach potential without the right technology tools.
Make it easy to participate
You want to take away all the roadblocks that might keep someone from getting involved. Here’s what that means.
- Be clear about how people can sign up and what they’re responsible for doing.
- Offer training for more complicated tasks on specific projects. Not every project will need training, but it’s likely some will. Do what you can to simplify training. If you can provide enough information in a well-constructed email, don’t make a volunteer come onto campus.
- Provide as many supplies as possible. For example, if you’re doing service projects out in the community, either purchase or collect any needed tools people.
One way to ensure you’ve made participation easy is to brainstorm all the reasons people might not get involved in each project. Ask yourself if there’s anything you can do to take those excuses away.
What could your church do in the 12 days prior to Christmas?
Sometimes your church needs a common goal to get more people involved during Christmas. That’s why we’ve put together a guide to help you create a 12 Days of Christmas outreach campaign.
This unique campaign guide —complete with a helpful checklist and brainstorming worksheet— will help you mobilize your entire church to create outreach activities on 12 successive days leading up to Christmas. Download your free copy of The Power of 12 Days: An Outreach Campaign to Share Christmas Hope today.
ACS Technologies
ACS Technologies sets a new standard in church technology, offering a holistic suite of solutions that streamline administrative tasks and empower your staff to excel in their roles and your church to excel in your community.
In the ever-evolving landscape of church engagement and management, ACS Technologies rises above the rest. Our comprehensive church solutions, bespoke digital offerings, streamlined communication tools, comprehensive ministry consulting, and training make us the trusted choice for over fifty thousand churches. Experience the ACS Technologies advantage and elevate your church’s online presence, connectivity, and generosity today. Join us in redefining church technology for the digital age, where your ministry’s success becomes our shared mission.
