How Do You Improve Your Church’s Outreach?
The Bible tells us that “faith without works is dead.” (James Chapter 2). Are you praying and praying for church growth but missing out on active engagement? We know from experience with churches that there are certain action steps you must take as a pastor to improve church growth.
Sure, you can pray for miracles, but how do you put your faith into action? In this article, we suggest five practical steps to implement today that will help improve your church’s outreach.
1. Challenge People to Give and Serve
You want members who are engaged in the mission. Those who are passionate about what you do will bring others to the service. To have more members like these, try to challenge them and help them see the bigger picture.
Once they know your exact vision and needs, they will be more willing to get involved and help you succeed. So let donors know exactly how they can help. Stay connected to them with newsletters, blogs, and even online meetings to help them have a clearer picture of your church and its needs. Sending updates and regular newsletters should be part of your outreach.
However, you must be willing to challenge your members and future donors to do more. Keep them engaged by presenting your outreach projects, letting them know of your needs, and sending them updates, whether by email newsletters or in the post.
2. Make it Clear how Donors and Volunteers Can Get Involved
If church members and donors have to second-guess how they can help your church, they are not likely to be that active. Have a policy of honesty about your outreach projects. If the outreach projects need finances, let them know exactly how much they can contribute, why, and how you intend to use the funds.
Let them know how their involvement furthers your mission. Make people feel appreciated when they help and support your work. A practical way to do this is to have a page on your website with specific needs which they can donate towards. Make it visually appealing and give examples of how their gifts help in particular ways.
Use clear and direct language. (Example: Your gift of X amount helped to feed X children during our outreach.)
See this blog post on digital ways to keep in touch with your donors.
3. Be Mission-focused With all of Your Programs
People who come to your church want to see the works you are doing. If they know you are staying active and engaging them in your outreach, they will keep coming back. And most likely, they will be happy to help fund your missions.
As a pastor or leader, you need to stay focused. It’s similar to a company whose branding must be consistent across all levels. Everything you say, do, and speak must show itself clearly, in line with your greater church goals.
4. Don’t Just Preach the Word, Live It.
The most successful pastors are known for their services. They attract the crowds with their wisdom and speech. But to take your church outreach forward requires more than just good speaking. It means living what you preach. Being active and staying aligned with the needs of your church members speaks louder than any well-prepared speech you could make.
To improve your church outreach, improve yourself as a leader. Invest in training, seek out other church leaders to inspire you as you reach your goals. (Check out this interesting list of best TED talks for pastors on our blog!) Speak to your donors’ hearts, but appeal to their spirits by your deeds and the way you live. That will help improve your church’s outreach.
5. Enable Online Donation Options
Many churches are suffering from stagnation because they have not transitioned to the new way of doing things. They were reluctant to upgrade their online presence before the pandemic. When things got challenging and they could not conduct more in-person meetings, the gifts dwindled as well.
Having online donation options is really the best way to grow financially. Let donors help you easily. Make your web page stand out with a Donation Page front and center, or a call-to-action that takes them directly to your digital giving merchant, such as Paypal.
How DonorWerx Can Help
At DonorWerx, we are committed to helping you with number five on this list. Making sure that your online digital presence has all the elements it needs to thrive.
If technology is new for you, or if you simply want to improve the online services you are already using, get in touch. We offer free consultations and would be happy to Get started today! with your church today.
