Summer is a busy season that often results in more people missing out on church. They’re engaged in family outings, hitting the beach, and going on vacations. But when summer comes to a close and the fall weather rolls in, people often get back into a routine. This includes going to church. That makes the back-to-school season a great opportunity to re-engage churchgoers and include new members.
With great church tech at your fingertips, ShareFaith can make back-to-school engagement easy! It’s important to meet members where they are and be ready to welcome your congregation back from summer break. They’ll be looking for ways to get connected. Your church can make that happen!
Use Your Church Management Software (ChMS) for Communication
Reach your people through mass email, voicemail, and text messages. As summer winds down, you can send communications to your congregation reminding them of any upcoming events. Share the new fall sermon that they can get excited about. Include links to registration pages or your website for more info.
With your ChMS, you can use mass communication to coordinate with leaders, small groups, volunteers, and others as they return to the routine. With ShareFaith, you can track and manage these conversations through one system.
Get People Active in Small Groups and Ministries
After the hustle and bustle of summer, many church members will be looking to slow down and refocus on their spiritual growth. Promoting small groups will help loop people into the opportunities your church is offering. You can have quick sign-up options via your church app for church members to get involved. People can also search for small groups on your website and find one that fits their needs. They can filter by life stage, location, age, etc.
Enhance Student Ministries
Let parents know about your church’s back-to-school programs. Whether it’s a special service or event, small groups for high schoolers, or a celebration for students, parents will appreciate a heads-up about how to get their kids re-engaged with your church community as well. ShareFaith has everything you need when it comes to kids’ min, too! From lessons to activities to games, your young ones will love getting back to church.
Restart Core Ministries
Some churches have their core ministries (like women’s, men’s, and youth ministries) take a summer break. When school starts in the fall, it’s the perfect time to also start these ministries back up. As parents and kids return to their routines, they may want to get involved in ministry too.
Even if your ministries continued through the summer, autumn is a good time to promote the events and gatherings for any new people who attend. These are great opportunities to build connections and involvement.
Put a Post-Summer Spotlight on Stewardship
As summer winds down, it’s important to remind church members of the importance of online giving–especially the benefits of setting up recurring gifts. Since many of them were gone during the summer, they’ll understand how recurring giving can help them to remain faithful stewards.
Autumn is also a great time to remind your congregation that app-based donations, text-to-give options, and online giving are great ways to give. With all of the ministries starting back up during the fall, their donations can really make a difference. When your church provides easy options for generosity to take place, more people are likely to help.
ShareFaith’s Back-to-School Sale Makes the End of Summer Just a Bit Sweeter!
Looking for great ways to connect with your congregation? ShareFaith has everything you need, from church websites to ChMS to giving software, kids’ curriculum, and more! You can sign up to save 20% off new and upgraded annual memberships! Visit ShareFaith.com from August 1-28 and select your membership to take advantage of these Back-to-School savings.