During the Christmas holiday season you probably will see more visitors naturally but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take steps to actively seek out guests and be intentional about inviting them to church.
First, as you plan your promotions for Christmas, identify the people in your community that you want to reach. Maybe your focus is young marrieds, or families with young kids, or maybe your community is mostly older people- who you are trying to reach will impact the messaging and the method so be intentional.
Next, choose a sermon series that will appeal to this target group, and then build your promotional plan. Timing is key when it comes to promotion and staying on schedule with planning and promoting your series will ensure that your church receives a maximum return on your investment of time.
Start as early as you can. Advent begins the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend so you should begin promoting your series and special Christmas events before the turkey is sliced! Which means right now, you are already short on time – but don’t fear, there are professionals who can help, no matter your budget, and online resources that reduce the turnaround times so you can still meet your goals!
Here are some suggestions for promoting your series and/or Christmas Eve services that may be a great fit for your church:
- Direct Mail Postcards – there is still time to order a postcard invitation that will arrive before Christmas Eve. There are hundreds of designs to choose from and a friendly team of people who can help you get invitations for any budget – start here.
- Outdoor Banners – Choose from 5 sizes all printed on sturdy rip-stop vinyl. These banners are great promotional tools when placed on a busy road or on your building. Order a custom design now and start displaying it right at Thanksgiving.
- Social Media Ads – Order these soon so your community can see your invitations online and as well as in person. There are three ad package sizes that run on Facebook and Twitter and some that also include Instagram.
- Invite Cards – Choose from 4 shapes and sizes. Print three for every person in your church and encourage them to hand them to friends, family, coworkers, servers and grocery clerks. Order by Thanksgiving so you can hand them out the first two weeks of December.
- A Christmas Landing Page (a single page on your website with 100% Christmas info – including your Christmas Eve services and info pointing back to your Christmas Sermon Series). This page goes hand in hand with your social media ads so plan to have it live at the same time as your other promotions.
- Special Holiday Bulletins – Include information about your events so that your congregation is in the know and can share the information.
Need more input? Our team can still be reached by phone for a free consultation – 800-991-6011 – Monday through Friday, 8 – 5 pm MST. Or chat with us online at Outreach.com.