Winter is one of the best times of the year to connect with your church members. With Thanksgiving just behind us, Christmas around the corner, and the celebration of a new year coming soon, everyone seems to have a fuller, more thankful heart this time of year.
Now is a great opportunity to continue strengthening relationships with seasoned members in your ministry or connect with new visitors for the first time. Let’s look at three ways you can stay connected with church members this winter.
Gatherings create opportunities for connection and fellowship.
It probably goes without saying that consistent opportunities for fellowship are one of the cornerstones of a healthy ministry. However, fellowship doesn’t have to be massive church-wide events that take months to plan. It can be as simple as church members getting together after service for lunch. Small groups being intentional about meeting together and sharing time with one another. Even hosting lunches or dinners at the church when appropriate.
All of these (and so many more) are opportunities to come together as a church family and connect with one another. And when they’re connected with each other, they’ll be more connected to your ministry.
Reach out to specific individuals in your membership.
As wonderful of a time of year this is, it can also be a dark time for certain individuals. The winter months can bring gloomy days that seem to be dark for far too long. For those who have lost loved ones or are battling depression and other illnesses, they can find themselves in darkness. This is the right time to connect with those people and shower them with your love and care. This can simply be a phone call or an invitation to an event or gathering as previously mentioned. As pastoral care ministries reach out to those individuals, document those conversations so you can refer back and reach out to them again throughout the coming months.
Lean on emails and texts.
It might be cold outside, but there’s nothing like the warm feeling you get when you receive a note from a friend. The same can be said about staying connected with your membership. If you have the capacity to send hand-written notes, that’s a nice touch but there are other options, too. Say your ministry has a texting solution, simply send texts to your membership about things that are happening in the church, or even that you just wish them a Merry Christmas. If you don’t use texting, email is still a relevant way to communicate. Similarly, church leaders can communicate with your membership or visitors, encouraging them to visit some of the events or other gatherings you’ll have going on as we close out the year.
Staying in contact with your membership during this time of year not only helps end your ministry’s year on a high note, but it helps strengthen your efforts as you move into 2022. By being intentional about reaching out and building those relationships, you’ll have a stronger and more connected membership all year long.
David is an Associate Product Marketing Manager and has been an ACS Technologies team member since 2011.
