To invite your whole community to a church event, choose an event that serves your neighbors, then tell them where they already look: local Facebook groups, flyers in town, the newspaper or radio, your church website, and personal invitations from your members. Members inviting friends and neighbors usually brings more new people than any other single step.
What church events draw people from the community?
Some events naturally welcome neighbors who would not visit on a Sunday morning. Many churches find these work well:
- A fall festival or trunk-or-treat
- A community meal or fish fry
- Vacation Bible School
- A Christmas or Easter program
- A back-to-school supply giveaway
- A blood drive, health fair or free clinic
- A concert or gospel singing
- A grief support group or a financial class
The common thread is that each one meets a real need or offers something enjoyable, and a newcomer can attend without knowing anyone.
How do you advertise a church event to the community?
Plan to reach people in several places at once:
- Your church website. Newcomers often check it first. Make sure the event is listed with the address, time, parking and who it is for.
- Local Facebook groups. Many towns have community pages and swap groups. Read the group rules, and post a clear, friendly invitation with a photo.
- Flyers in town. Ask to post them at the post office, library, grocery store, feed store, diner, laundromat and school offices.
- Local newspaper and radio. Many small-town papers and stations run free community calendars. Send details a few weeks ahead.
- Community calendars online, such as the chamber of commerce or county website.
- Your church sign, if you are on a road people drive past.
- Personal invitations. Give members a few cards or flyers and ask each one to invite a neighbor, coworker or relative.
How do you make visitors feel welcome at a church event?
Inviting people is half the work. The other half is making the first visit easy:
- Put clear signs at the parking lot and doors, because visitors do not know which entrance to use.
- Have greeters who are warm without being pushy.
- Use name tags so visitors aren't the only ones who don't know names.
- Avoid church shorthand in your flyers and announcements. "Fellowship hall" may need a sign; "WMU" may need explaining.
- Keep it free or low-cost when you can, and say so plainly.
How do you follow up with visitors after a church event?
A sign-up sheet or a simple visitor card lets you thank people and stay in touch, as long as you ask politely and keep it optional. Within a week, send a short note or message thanking them for coming and letting them know about the next event. Do not overwhelm a first-time guest with information; one kind, personal follow-up goes further than five messages.
Example: a trunk-or-treat in a small town
Picture a church of about 75 that has held a trunk-or-treat for years, mostly for its own children. This fall the members open it up. They list it on the church website, post it in two local community groups, hang flyers at the school and the grocery store, and ask each family to invite one family from their street. Greeters stand at the parking lot with a sign, and families are invited to fill out a card for a drawing. The cards give the pastor a way to send a thank-you and an invitation to the Christmas program.
Keep inviting
Community trust grows over time. A church that shows up for its neighbors year after year, with the same welcome each time, becomes the church people think of when they are ready to visit on a Sunday.
How ChurchConnect helps
On ChurchConnect Pro, you enter an event once and it goes out by email and text and is posted to your church website, where newcomers can find it. A Facebook post, bulletin insert and flyer are written for you to share in local groups and around town. People can sign up from their phone, and the Free plan includes visitor cards and follow-up so new guests are not forgotten. New churches get Pro free for their first 30 days with no card.