The Four Laws of Inviting & Connecting
Today, we want to introduce you to the 4 Laws of Inviting and Connection. After 25+ years of working with churches and ministries, we have found that by incorporating the principles of these four laws into your ministry you will see more member engagement, better visibility and reach into your community and improved connection and engagement with visitors.
The four laws are:
- Law 1 - Create an invite culture in your church
- Law 2 - Attract & Invite Visitors to your church
- Law 3 - Make a Great First Impression
- Law 4 - Engage & Follow Up with Guests
Over the next four weeks, we will be digging into these concepts to help your church reach out, invite and connect with more people this season.
Law 1 - Creating an Inviting Culture
Not long ago, some of the Outreach team visited a local church that is close to our offices. One of the things that struck us was their commitment to inviting people to come to church.This was not just “lip service”, this was a part of their culture. As we spoke with them it became obvious that the dedication to inviting people to church started at the top. Their pastor told us that during their weekly staff meetings, each staff member is asked about who they have invited to come to church recently. It’s almost a competition to have asked the most people that week.
On top of that commitment, the church incorporates stories about these invitations into their Sunday services. We also noticed that there were small personal invitation cards readily available by every door into their worship center. We asked how they liked the cards, and the pastor picked one up and handed it to me, saying “What are you doing this Sunday? Want to come to church with me?”
It was an easy invitation to extend and an even easier one to accept!
Creating an Inviting Culture in your church is Law 1 of the Four Laws of Inviting and Connecting. It’s important that it starts at the top like this local church in Colorado Springs. Telling the stories of people who have new hope because they got an invitation to church is a great way to spread the excitement. And providing easy-to-use invitation cards that members can just grab and use helps people get engaged
So what are you doing this Sunday? Want to come to church with me?
Law 2 - Attract & Invite Visitors to your church
Christmas is one of the times of year when people in your community will be more open to attending church. But it’s still vital that we are intentional about reaching out and inviting people to be a part of our holiday events.
Law 2 of the 4 Laws of Inviting and Connection is Attract & Invite Visitors to Your Church. This may seem like an obvious step but the methods we use, and the diligence needed to be effective, are often misunderstood. To help you improve your Christmas outreach plans, we have put together four tips. If you want to dive deeper, we’ve included links to longer articles.
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Increase your church’s visibility in the community - It’s easy to become invisible to your neighbors and your church can be just another building people drive by. One solution is to update the look of your building for the holidays.
That is where easy, inexpensive outdoor banners can be a huge help. Post a large custom banner with your Christmas service information outside your building and then put up Flag banners each weekend to give your outdoor areas a more exciting look - both of these items are 50% off with your Great Christmas Invite code!
In addition, add Light Pole banners in your parking lot, street signs for directing visitors and friendly greeters with handheld signs and suddenly your church looks more attractive to potential guests.
Bonus Links:
6 Ways to Create a Super Greeter Team
Simple Ways to Warm Up Your Church this Christmas -
Create and promote “invite-able” events - Yes, Christmas is an inevitable event so that one is easy this time of year but the real key to engagement is to keep visitors coming back week after week so building upon an event is important too. Consider planning one or more of these types of events before or after Christmas and then don’t forget to promote it to your community - see number 3:
- Host a guest speaker - Everyone loves to hear a compelling story or rub shoulders with someone famous so bringing in a special speaker, athlete or comedian is a powerful way to see more visitors at church. But even if you don’t have to have a huge budget you can still create a special event by inviting a Christian community leader, a first responder or a missionary with a compelling story.
- Plan a powerful Sermon Series - A coordinate series automatically provides you with a reason for people to come back the next week - it’s like a cliffhanger! For Advent you can download the FREE 5-sermon kit (just use your code) and then plan a second series that starts in the New Year so people can build a habit of attending church each Sunday. (Subscribe to the annual sermon kit plan and you can choose from over 50 series!)
- Speak to your community’s felt-needs - If you’re in touch with what is happening in your area, you should be able to identify topics that are important to your neighbors - then you can plan special workshops, sermons or activities that target those needs. A church in an area near a Military base can host special support groups for spouses or if you are near a large population of seniors, host a health and wellness fair - whatever brings more people into your building so you can minister to them.
Use multiple inviting methods - There is no magical one-and-done effective inviting method. Different people will respond to different methods and studies show that it can take up to 7 “touches” before someone will respond to a message. If you want to increase the number of people who visit your church, you need to increase the number of times and ways you invite them.
- Direct Mail Invitations with Plan Your Visit QR code and free Texting services a mailed invitation is still the most effective way to reach thousands of homes. Plus you can save 20% on mailhouse addressing with your code!
- Social Media Ads and posts are a great way to connect with a digital audience and reinforce your printed postcards and banners. With your Great Christmas Invite code you can save 50% on a social post subscription to keep your FB and Instagram pages current and compelling.
- Personal Invitations are an inexpensive way to promote your services and get your congregation involved by inviting their friends, neighbors and coworkers to church!
Bonus Links:
Tools and Tips to Inspire Your Congregation to Invite
5 Reasons to Send a Postcard Invitation this Christmas
Social Media Posts & Ads: A Winning Combination