Improve Your Church’s Attendance: Mastering the 'Plan Your Visit' Framework.
Outreach and The Great Commission
Are you struggling to attract new people to your church? Has your attendance plateaued or not returned to its previous highs since 2020? If that sounds like you, with this one simple change, you can get back on track. If your church is anything like ours, the pandemic made things different. We, as church leaders, have to start playing a different game. The world has changed, and it’s time we move from playing checkers to chess. We need new and innovative strategies to help us connect with the unchurched, those far from Christ, and those looking for a new church home.
The church has, for much of my lifetime, been reactionary. We wait for people to show up to attend a service; we wait for requests to provide assistance and support for those who have a need. For many who are a part of the church, we do not fully participate in the great commission by “going.” Instead, we stay inside the church walls and, to the farthest extent, potentially serve the people in our community. So much ministry happens within the walls of our churches, but I feel we can find a way to “go” without leaving our congregation behind. What if we changed our processes a bit this year? What would it look like for your church to go on the offensive this year?
Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The church is responsible for caring and loving people when requested and even more so when they do not even realize they need it. Some of us are called as missionaries to the far ends of the world to seek out the lost and hurting proactively, but for most church leaders, we are called to minister to our congregation and the larger community in which we are rooted. The plan your visit framework is a simple way to grow your church engagement and connect people to Christ.
The Plan Your Visit framework isn't just a strategy; it's a journey into creating a more personal, welcoming experience for those seeking a church home. This approach is tailored explicitly for church staff, administrators, and pastors looking to innovate and expand their outreach efforts.
Back to the basics
If you are like most churches, you have a welcome area where you can connect with people before and after service. Having a welcome area is essential for welcoming new people and connecting them with your church, but people need to know about your church long before you encounter them in your welcome area. So, let’s zoom out and start from the beginning. How do we get people to come to church?
In business, there are only four ways people hear about a company. Alex Hormozi, in $100M Leads, calls these the core four: warm outreach, cold outreach, posting free content, and running paid ads. The same applies to your church. Your church or your congregation can reach out to people they know (warm outreach) and people they don't know (cold outreach); they can post on social and the web about the church and church events (post free content) and can run paid advertisements. The fastest way to get people to connect with your church is to market to them directly. In 2024, you only need one thing to connect to thousands of people around you. Are you ready to learn what that is?
The new mission field
If you haven’t seen any recent statistics about smartphone usage, the numbers are crazy. On average, people are on their phones 4 hours a day (https://explodingtopics.com/blog/smartphone-usage-stats#smartphone-use-in-us). What’s even crazier is that in this interconnected world, where we can strike up a connection with people in a split second, we are getting statistically lonelier and lonelier (https://fortune.com/well/2023/08/11/loneliness-study-digital-social-media/). Can you believe that?! I don’t know about you, but I have experienced this in my own life: the need for genuine friendship, the desire to feel connected and loved by people for who I am, intrinsically, not just superficial things. Because of this shift, we have a new mission field via the smartphone. Almost everyone in your church has one. It doesn’t matter the age, gender, ethnicity, or social or economic status; we all have smartphones. When put into perspective, people spend about 1 hour in church with us on Sunday and 28+ hours on TikTok, YouTube, Social Media, etc. This plan-your-visit framework is intended for your church to meet people where they are and remind them throughout the week about the one thing that can change lives: the Gospel.
Start here
If your church does not advertise on social media, start! This is where people are. They are all over social media. Many of you look into advertising on Google, especially Google Search. For most churches, tens of thousands of dollars in free advertising is available from Google (https://www.google.com/grants/). You may be asking yourself what you need to get started. All you need is a smartphone and a video of your pastor personally inviting people to church. Create a simple short-form vertical video and post it on social media. (If you are still trying to figure out the best way to create short-form videos, ask your nearest millennial or download TikTok for reference). Once you have that quick invite from your Pastor posted on social, with a link to your church’s “plan a visit” landing page (we will talk about how to craft this in a bit), throw some advertising dollars behind it to boost it beyond your congregation. Narrow the recipients down to your local zip code and see what happens.
The landing page
This is at the heart of the Plan Your Visit framework. The landing page is the core summary of your church's mission. It helps people understand your church's vision and core values and identify whether they can see themselves as part of your congregation. It is the digital counterpart to your in-person first-time guest experience.
Imagine a prospective churchgoer landing on a vibrant, engaging landing page highlighting your church’s vision: worship, teachings, kids' ministry, community groups, and more. This is the second step of the 'Plan Your Visit' funnel, a process akin to a sales funnel but deeply rooted in creating personal connections. We use the term sales funnel not because we want the landing page to feel staged but because these principles cause people to take action. The action we want people to take is to plan their visit this coming weekend. We encourage all the details on the page to point towards that single call to action. Visitors are encouraged to complete a form, capturing essential details like names, emails, phone numbers, and children's information. This allows their accompanying in-person experience to feel effortless and personalized.
Pre and post-attendance follow-up
This data is then integrated into a workflow in your ChMS, ensuring a seamless communication channel. The attendees receive a 'What to Expect This Weekend' email, followed by a personal touch - a video message, text, or phone call from a volunteer or staff member, providing a warm welcome before their visit.
These two pieces don't have to be super complicated. Start with an introductory email and text follow-up system, and as you grow, incorporate more personalized elements like welcome videos. Training a small team of dedicated volunteers can make the process more manageable and sustainable. Our workflow looks like this:
Step 1: Send a “What to expect this weekend” email follow-up.
Step 2: Send an “Excited to see you this weekend” (text or video message)
Step 3: Verify Attendance
Step 4: Follow up with an invitation back (text or video message)
Once the weekend happens, we have a bit of work to do. We hope we connected with them and that they had a great time. If we didn’t see them this weekend, we now have an opportunity to follow up. Either way, the follow-up includes personalized communication based on their visit experience or nonattendance, inviting them to return and engage further with the church.
So why all the hassle?
This framework is not just about increasing numbers; it's about building relationships and community. It allows for a more personalized approach compared to the traditional 'sit-and-wait' strategy. By engaging with potential attendees before they even step foot in the church, you demonstrate care and attention to detail that can significantly impact their experience and perception of your church.
It's natural to feel overwhelmed by the thought of implementing a new system, especially for churches with limited staff or volunteers. The key is to start small and scale gradually. Utilize the tools and resources available, like Planning Center, to automate and streamline the process. Remember, the quality of engagement is far more critical than the quantity. The basics of this framework are getting people to your website, having them fill out a form, and following up with them before and after they attend. It’s that simple.
The 'Plan Your Visit' framework is adaptable and scalable, suitable for churches of all sizes and demographics. It's not just a strategy for now; it's an investment in the future of your church's community engagement. For churches looking for comprehensive solutions, our team is ready to assist in setting up and optimizing this funnel to suit your needs. Feel free to reach out to us at info@threefold.solutions.
The 'Plan Your Visit' framework represents an approach to church engagement, blending traditional values with modern outreach techniques. It's more than a strategy; it's a commitment to making every individual feel seen, heard, and valued from their very first interaction with your church. If you found this article helpful or if you have questions, please let us know in the comments.