As the glow of New Year’s resolutions begins to dim, February offers a timely opportunity to refocus on engaging your congregation in meaningful ways. The reality is that whether someone is new to your church or has been attending for years, life happens. People fall through the cracks and we want to offer some insightful ways to understand engagement amongst your community and church.
Here are practical strategies to foster connection, re-engagement, and a deeper sense of community within your church family.
Simple Ways To Engage And Re-Engage Congregations
Create Connection Opportunities:
Host events designed to draw people in without requiring a big commitment. Examples include:
1. A Young Adults Game Night featuring board games, snacks, and fellowship.
2. A Men’s Breakfast with a short devotional and time for sharing prayer requests.
3. A Service Project with advanced signups to help serve the community.
4. A Ladies’ Craft Night or a family movie evening.
5. A Worship Night with child care provided.
6. Plus…Use a “Plan Your Visit” button on your website to engage people before they walk in your doors.
Implement A Weekly Process For Engagement:
Leverage your systems to create a list of people to connect with weekly. These might include:
- Recent first-time guests. These people may come anywhere from Check-In to Connect Cards. When someone’s data is added to your system, thank them and let them know that you see them.
- Members who haven’t checked their family in for a service, group, or event in a while. Utilize reports to identify when people are disengaging. Automate as much of the decision-making as possible but never lose the personal touch. Emails shouldn’t be canned but personalized to show how much your church cares about them.
- Individuals who expressed interest in serving or joining a small group but haven’t taken the next step. A process-building tool in your ChMS should be able to have due dates to give your ministry leaders reminders when a particular step hasn’t been completed.
- There are many ways to connect: grab coffee with someone, send a thoughtful email, or mail a personalized card to remind them they matter.
Systems For Preventing People From Falling Through The Cracks
Church management software can play a vital role in helping you track engagement. Use tools to:
Pull Reports Regularly: Generate lists of members who haven’t checked in their kids, served, or attended a group in the past 30, 60, or 90 days. Consider why they might be absent and how you can appropriately reach out. Most church CRMs can automatically send a report to the staff to highlight these re-engagement opportunities.
Set Automated Reminders: Have systems in place to alert leaders when someone’s engagement begins to dip. This makes it easier to act quickly. This can be particularly effective for lay leaders to help your staff keep people connected.
Encourage Team Collaboration: Assign individuals to specific teams or leaders for consistent follow-up.
When you proactively track attendance and engagement, you can offer personalized care that demonstrates love and commitment to your church family.
Reaching The Disengaged With Creative Invitations
Identifying individuals who aren’t engaged at all can be daunting. Start by reviewing guest sign-ins, online contact forms, and past event rosters. Once identified, extend no-pressure invitations that emphasize fun, community, and belonging:
- Plan a “Welcome Back Sunday” with a special meal or reception with Pastors.
- Send personal invitations to low-barrier events like a movie night or outdoor picnic.
- Host a Ministry Fair where people can learn about serving opportunities or small groups and meet respective leaders.
Simple gestures like offering name tags at these events can make attendees feel noticed and valued. Plus, these occasions can be great moments to collect updated information through quick, friendly interactions.
Refining Your Vision For Fully Engaged Followers
Engagement isn’t just about attendance. It’s about discipleship and transformation. Take time to reflect and pray as a staff on what a fully engaged follower of Jesus looks like in your church. Do they:
- Attend services regularly?
- Serve in a ministry?
- Participate in a small group?
- Give faithfully?
- Take on leadership roles?
Once you’ve defined these markers, share the vision with your team and congregation. Provide clear next steps so people know how they can grow in their faith journey and make a lasting Kingdom impact.
Leveraging Technology To Enhance Communication And Engagement
Email tools are invaluable for staying connected. Use these tools to:
Segment Your Audience: Tailor messages to specific groups—new members, young families, or ministry leaders—to make communications more relevant and engaging.
Create Appealing Emails: Work with your graphics person to create consistent images that can be used in email templates. A beautifully crafted email can visually and verbally draw people in to discover more about your church’s offerings.
Evaluate Open Rates and Engagement Metrics: Low open rates or high unsubscribe numbers may indicate outdated contact information. Prompt your team to update records or verify details during personal conversations.
Automate Follow-Ups: Use email templates to thank first-time guests, share event details, or encourage small group participation. Consistency matters and automation can lighten the load.
Staying Focused On The Bigger Picture
Ultimately, engagement is about stewarding the people God has entrusted to your church. By combining creativity with technology, you can:
- Make informed decisions.
- Free up time for personal connections.
- Focus on nurturing discipleship and community.
Let this February be a month of renewed commitment to your church’s mission. As you implement these strategies, remember the promise of Galatians 6:9: “your faithful efforts will bear fruit in due season.” Stay the course and watch as lives are transformed by the love of Christ.
Thank you for your commitment and dedication to The Kingdom! If you need to evaluate or update your software to reach your ministry goals, Book a Demo with our team!
Already a part of the TouchPoint Family and would like more information on Engagement Insights through TouchPoint’s church software? Save your seat at February’s Webinar to hear from Andrew Triplett, TouchPoint’s Head Of Consulting, to understand how Engagement Insights can support your mission.
