In Part 1, we looked at powerful church management software, creating a positive giving experience, and other good habits healthy churches share. Now, let’s check out four more effective church growth strategies that you can apply to fund your vision and grow participation.
Collect contact information
New visitor retention rates are highest when you follow up within two days of the service or event they attended. When you encourage visitors to fill out a newcomer card, you’ll be better equipped to follow up within this timeframe.
The newcomer information is entered and organized in your church management system and allows you to connect with people for a variety of reasons. Utilize your powerful ChMS to provide small group information and let people sign up online. You can also share discipleship opportunities, general church knowledge, and thank people for their contributions.
Place extra attention on the welcome
You may already have greeters and welcome centers available at every service, and that’s great. But, it’s essential to step back now and then to put yourself in the shoes of your guests. Ask yourself if your church’s strategy for welcoming people is done in a way that’s genuinely inviting.
Based on how busy your church gets, greeters should be stationed beyond the front entrance. Have them in parking lots guiding newcomers as they arrive. New guests often have questions right away. They want to know where to go after parking, where child check-ins are, and restrooms and welcome centers locations.
When choosing a place for welcome centers, make sure they never bottleneck the flow of foot traffic. If the area is clogged and difficult to navigate through, people will avoid welcome centers rather than flocking towards them.
Train staff and volunteers routinely
Training staff and volunteers regularly isn’t ignored by healthy churches. While it may feel like overkill to review the same training before every service or event, repetition is a proven learning tool. The more you train staff and volunteers, the more comfortable and knowledgeable they’ll be in their position. (And visitors will notice!) When volunteers operate smoothly at their stations, and signing up on your website is easy, more people are inspired to do so!
Encourage recurring giving
It’s no wonder churches that focus on recurring donations are thriving! Recurring givers are 75% more likely to make additional one-time gifts versus occasional givers (on top of already giving 42% more annually).
Recurring giving isn’t new, and it’s not complicated. It’s when people complete a one-time set up to schedule a gift that’s automatically deducted from their credit card or bank account on a recurring basis.
It’s a best practice among healthy churches because it increases overall giving, smooths out seasonal dips in generosity, and helps forecast for upcoming funds and mission trips. Plus, it cultivates consistent generosity that fuels your vision for years to come.
By adopting these shared habits of healthy churches, you’ll implement strategies that ignite generosity and promote growth. While it takes time to build new habits, know that the results are worth it in the long run!
The first step to adopt good habits healthy churches share is to have the best tools in place. Learn more about church management software from FellowshipOne by taking a no-obligation free demo!
