Home

christmas

Planning for AFTER Christmas

By on December 2, 2011 in Reaching People with No Comments

This Sunday marks the first Sunday in December and Christmas is less than four weeks away!

By now, you should have your Christmas services planned. If you don’t, now may be a good time to sit down with your team and figure it out! As important as planning for Christmas may be, we think planning for AFTER Christmas is as equally as important.

Whether you are doing a production, candlelight services, community outreach, or other Christmas-realted events, this time of the year marks a pivotal time when people begin to think about their lives and spiritual journeys.

As people find their way to your church for the first time this Christmas, how are you planning to help them lean in to the great opportunities to continue their spiritual journey at your church? Through whatever means people find their way to your church this Christmas, you have a unique opportunity to connect with people and invite them to come back.

We believe there are a few important things you can do:

1 – Capture People’s Contact Information

Whether you ask people to fill out card, tweet, or text, capturing people’s contact information at your Christmas services is key. Don’t go overboard and ask people for their date of both, social security number, or their mother’s maiden name. Just get the basics: their name, address, phone number and email. Make the means of capturing their information easy and accessible. If people give you their contact information, that means they are giving you permission to…

2 – …Follow Up Personally.

Personal follow-up is important. Do what makes sense for you and your church, but we think the more personal the better. Enlist some volunteers and make personal phone calls or send a hand-written note. Email is a good option, too. Avoid form letters or anything that could seem automated. Put some energy and enthusiasm into your follow-up and let people know how truly grateful you are that they came to your services.

3 – Plan a Dynamic Weekend Series for January

The New Year is a season of new beginnings. People are naturally thinking about a fresh start, making new year’s resolutions and commitments to get more involved with their faith. Create a spectacular weekend series that will help people as they consider re-engaing or deepening their spiritual journey. And, use the opportunity you have in your Christmas services and follow-up to let them know about it!

A Great Example of Follow-Up: Momentum Church

One church we love, who we think has some great tips for churches on follow up, is Momentum Christian Church near Atlanta.

Momentum did the standard things churches do for first-time visitors: they captured people’s information, would send a form letter, and hold a newcomers class periodically throughout the year.

A few months ago, they decided to become more intentional about their follow-up process and have seen some great results.

We had the chance to catch up with Seth Hoover, who is over their first impressions and is a teaching pastor at the church, to hear more about their process.

Each week Momentum has a volunteer host who helps host and guide the flow of their services. They decided to become strategic about the role of the host and extended it beyond the platform. With their new process in place, at the end of the service, the host would invite anyone who was new to the church to come and meet them near the front of the stage following the service.

All of the weekly hosts would be up front to welcome new guests and to give them a $5 Starbucks card as a thank-you for being there. It’s up to the first-time guest if they wanted to give their personal information, but in most cases, people do.

The following day, the volunteer host is responsible for personally emailing each guest and to thank them for being at the service, and to invite them to “More on Momentum,” their newcomers class which is now being held monthly.

Then, on Wednesday of the same week, Seth sends a personal card to each guest which includes a $10 iTunes gift card and a list of the songs that were sung in their services on Wednesday.

“Our hope with the iTunes card is that it’s a cool gift everyone wants to get, and hopefully it connects them to things we did on Sunday throughout the week.”

In a fourth point of contact with first-time visitors, the week of the “More on Momentum” classes, the volunteer host emails their original list of contacts encouraging them to attend. This informal class helps answer questions people have about the church, their beliefs, and highlights next steps people can take.

Following the class, people get their fifth and final point of contact, a letter summarizing what they learned in the More on Momentum class and a list of fun ways people can get involved in church events and volunteer opportunities.

The response to these changes has been incredible. In under one month, they’ve been able to track over 30 first-time visitors to the church, one of whom commented saying, “I always thought churches were always about taking from people, but at Momentum, they gave to me.”

While your church may not be able to invest $15 in each visitor that walks through the door, we do believe that there are things we can all learn from Momentum Church when it comes to follow-up. Every person matters and the more personal interactions you can make with guests, the better.

This Christmas, consider your follow-up process and how your church can welcome guests and invite them back to hear the life-giving message of the Gospel as they begin a New Year.

Suggested Resources: