Based on one survey, 82 percent of unchurched people would consider attending a worship service if a friend, neighbor or coworker invited them.
This percentage is huge.
There are no other outreach events or tactics you can use that can even come close to matching these results. Don’t believe the hype from other ideas. Asking someone is still the single best thing your church members can do to reach more people.
In the business world, this is known as word-of-mouth marketing, and it’s just as effective. I know technology can make it feel easier to reach more people (like social media advertising), and it’s definitely worth pursuing. But don’t overlook the importance of challenging your church members to invite people.
Practically speaking, as a church leader, here are ways you can equip your church members to invite people:
- Provide evangelism training
- Offer simple suggestions people can use to ask someone to visit
- Use invite cards
- Create shareable social media content
- Share stories/testimonies during your announcements or sermon
These tips are just the tip of the iceberg.
Here’s a list of 19 Ways to Encourage Your Church to Invite Others.
#5 – Optimize Your Church’s Website
“If you build it, they will come.”
This promise may have worked well in the movie Field of Dreams. But it’s worthless advice for church websites.
Here’s the actual deal:
If you promote your church’s website, people will come.
When it comes to promoting your site, there are different tactics you can use, such as posting about it on social media, including it in your church’s bulletin, or mentioning it in direct mail.
These different tactics are helpful in the short term. But the most effective thing you can do to turn your website into a tool that regularly leads new people to visit your church is to optimize your website for search engines.
