Creative Ideas to Reach More People this Christmas
Christmas is one of the greatest opportunities to invite our friends and neighbors to church. Millions of people will flow into one of our many Christmas Eve or Christmas services and many of them will attend a church for the very first time. Why? Because someone invited them. As we prepare for celebrating one of the most historic days in our Christian faith – the birth of Christ, here are 3 effective ways we can increase our attendance this year:
Make a Phone Call
One of the ways a church can effectively invite people is to simply make a phone call. I know it sounds simple, but here is the plan.
Create Call Lists:
Your database should be full of names and contact people that have visited your church over the last couple of years. The Christmas season is a great opportunity to connect with the people who have visited and give them an opportunity to come back. Make a list of the names and phone #’s and according to how many names or in your database, you could make the list with at least 25 contacts but no more than 50.
Create Call List Packets
The Call List Packets will include all the materials needed for your Call List team members to successfully make their calls.
Each Call List Packet will have the Call List with at least 25 names but no more than 50 names with each person's contact information and it will include a Call Script. The Script will include a greeting, introduction of who and why the person is calling, and the information for all of your Christmas Eve services. (Times, locations, etc.)
The call is brief and each call team member should be sensitive to whatever may be going on with the person on the other end of the phone. The caller should not be surprised that the call may turn into an opportunity to minister to the person by either listening to them or sometimes even having the opportunity to pray with them about a current need in their life.
The Call List Packets should be given to each Call Team Member and the packets will be returned before your Christmas Eve services with any notes listed on the Call List. This is a great way to update your database but it is also a great way to let your guests and members know they are invited for your Christmas Eve services.
Recruit Your Call Team Members
Once you have created your Call List Packets, now it is time to recruit your Call Team members. You could recruit your Call Team members by a posting in your weekend program, or by making an announcement and have people volunteer in the service, or have them pick up a Call List packet as they leave the service.
When the Call Team member picks up the Call List Packet, make sure you get their name and their contact information. Also, make sure they are clear on the expectations to be on the Call Team.
This is a great way to get people who may have never been involved in serving to be engaged in a way to serve for Christmas.
Create Invite Cards
The Invite Card is a simple and effective invitation tool your members can use to invite friends, family, and coworkers to be able to invite people for the Christmas services. It would be advisable to have the cards professionally printed with all of your service times and locations.
You can have the invite cards located at every exit of your church so your members can pick them up on the way out of the services. It is good to remind them of one rule. If you take it, you have to give it to someone you want to invite to the Christmas services. These are great to give to the cashier at Target, your barista at Starbucks, the teller at your bank, the coworker who offices next to you, or even the new family who just moved into your neighborhood. Christmas is one of the few times of the year that doesn’t have to be awkward to invite someone to church.
Invite to Weekend Teaching Series
The Christmas services are a great opportunity to invite friends, family, co-workers that visited to come back as you launch a new weekend teaching series. The series could be a topic that applies to everyone in the room or it could be specialized to the people you are trying to reach.
No matter what, if people had an engaging experience during your Christmas services, then they are more apt to come back for your upcoming weekend teaching series. Be prepared for a video promo during the Christmas services with an invite, invite cards at the exits, banners or signage with the dates and topic of the new series, and video displays throughout your buildings inviting them to come back!
Make sure you do a great follow up with all your guests by either a personal call, a note, and/or email to let them know you appreciate them being a part of your Christmas services. Also, this is a great opportunity to ask your current attenders to make a personal invite to their friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors to be a part of the new series!
Don’t forget to make your Christmas environments inviting, encouraging, inspiring, and energetic! Talk with all of your volunteers and encourage them that they may be the only Jesus people will see this year - put down their phones, look up, smile, ask questions, welcome, encourage, and be the person that sees them, hears them, and makes them feel more welcomed than they have ever experienced this year!
During this season, people are experiencing so much anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout. Be the church that brings the love, the hope, and the grace that Jesus has to offer. Remember, it is the greatest time of the year as we all celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ! Let people know! Have fun and our team is praying you have a Merry Christmas!
If you or your team need any help learning more
about our First Impressions Workshops or Trainings,
please contact Monique Schmidt Weymans for more info.