Fall is often a season of change.
The leaves on the trees change color before falling to make room for new growth. The weather cools from the heat of the summer. Children begin school in new classrooms with new teachers.
But as you go into this next season, you must be intentional about drawing your congregation back in, or you could accidentally turn the Summer Slump into a permanent one.
Now that the summer is ending, your members are searching for things to fill their calendars and schedules. Ensure you’ve put your ministry front and center in their minds and remind them that this is the time to reconnect.
Here are seven things you can do to make the most of the next season and see an engaged and connected congregation.
1) Update Your Website
Your website is often one of the first places people will go for information about your church. They’ll turn to it for details on upcoming events, serving opportunities, and ways to connect with your ministry.
As you enter a new season, take time to refresh your website. Update the photos, make sure your information is correct, and give directions on how to get involved.
Using a tool like Refresh Websites allows you to quickly and easily update and give your website a new life as you head into the fall.
If you want to see an increase in engagement and connection in the coming months, make sure you take the time to look over your web presence.
You never know who might walk through your doors or who might take the next step in getting involved simply because your website showed them the way.
2) Share Your Calendar
The fall can be a busy time for many families as they adjust to a new school year. With sports, holidays, and other events vying for your congregation’s attention, you need to be intentional about making sure your members know what’s happening in the life of your church.
Whether you’re planning a huge fall festival or a small weekly Bible study for senior adults, share that information regularly and in multiple ways.
Put all of your fall events, both one-time and recurring, on a single calendar that your members can access. If you use a system like Realm, you can plug all of your events in, share the information with your congregants, and ask them to sign up all in one spot.
Then, you can promote your events using your website, social media, Sunday morning announcements, weekly newsletter, and any other effective communication methods for your ministry.
People can’t come if they don’t know what’s going on. Don’t rely on word of mouth or hope that people will ask for details.
Give your congregants all of the information they need about what’s happening in your ministry so they can plan to be a part of it.
3) Recruit Volunteers
A new academic year is often the perfect time to recruit new volunteers. Many people are adding or adjusting their commitments now that school has kicked off again and have a better idea of what their calendars will allow.
You’ve got multiple events with the holidays right around the corner. Start now in your efforts to recruit those volunteers.
Encourage your members to step back into serving if they took a break during the summer or to answer the call to serve if they’ve never participated in the Body of Christ in that way.
If you let people wait too long to jump back into things, they’ll turn it into a habit, making re-engagement much more difficult later on.
Take time right at the start of this next season to spur people on toward connecting with other believers through serving the Church together.
4) Promote Your Small Groups
Much of the spiritual growth your congregants will experience won’t happen in the sanctuary. No matter how incredible your sermons are, they often won’t produce the same level of development that small groups will.
Your attendance numbers probably took a hit during the summer months. And while numbers were down for your services, your small groups likely felt the decline in participation even more.
Encourage your Bible study leaders to personally reach out to their group members and invite them to join in.
Even if a person didn’t miss a gathering all summer, a reminder that they matter and are essential to those around them will go a long way in connecting even the most dedicated member.
On the other hand, those who missed regularly may need that extra nudge to jump back in that an invitation can provide.
Take time to announce small group times or provide information about new small groups during your services. You may have some in your pews who have never been part of a small group, so designate a place for them to visit or a person to connect with who can help them get plugged in.
5) Revamp Your Services
If you’ve had the exact same order of service for months (if not years), it’s time for an update.
This isn’t to say that what you’re doing is bad. But if you continue to do the same thing over and over again, people tend to become desensitized to it. They go through the motions rather than experiencing the Spirit moving through their worship time.
Something as simple as adding a prayer or putting the time to gather the offering in a different spot may be enough to draw people out of the routine.
Consider inviting guest musicians (even ones already part of your congregation) to participate in the music portion of your services or showing short updates from the missionaries your ministry supports.
Your Sunday service is a time for your congregation to gather to worship. Jesus tells His followers that where two or more are gathered in His name, there He will be (Matthew 18:19-20).
Jesus is present in the room with your congregation on Sunday mornings. Take time during this next season to mix things up a bit and break people out of their stupor so they can experience God’s presence through worship.
6) Encourage Connection
There will always be those in your congregation who won’t connect unless someone asks them to.
A personal invitation goes a long way toward getting involved in and participating in the church’s larger work.
In your quest to re-engage your congregation after the summer ends, take time to personally invite those who’ve been absent for a while or those who haven’t been connected in the past to take the next step.
Recruit very involved people to reach out to those who haven’t connected outside of services and invite them into the fold.
Give them lists of small groups, serving opportunities, and any other ways you have for connection.
Many won’t know how to connect and engage with your congregation if you don’t give them the details, so take time this fall to draw people in.
7) Improve Communication
Even if you think your church communications are top tier, there’s always room for improvement.
As you invite your congregants to re-engage with your ministry as the summer draws to a close, consider how you communicate with them and how effective those methods are.
This is the time to add or adjust communication methods. People are going into this next season expecting change, so if you have something that isn’t working, this is the perfect time to tweak it or replace it with something new.
You don’t have to continue with something because you’re used to it. Improving your communication will help you bring your congregation together and re-engage them with your ministry.
The transition to fall is the perfect time to reconnect with your members and pull them back into connection with you. With a little intentionality, you’ll see a fully engaged and thriving congregation before the new year!
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