Intro
Chances are you’ve spent months prepping for Easter services at your church. You’ve worked hard to plan service details, get the word out, and ensure your people are ready, but the work doesn’t stop there.
The truth is, while that work is necessary, one of the most important things you can do is make sure your church is ready to effectively follow up with every person who walks through your doors on Easter Sunday.
Effective follow-up could be the difference between someone attending just on Christmas and Easter, and someone plugging into your church. This is how you can help shepherd people and encourage them to take the next step in their faith.
Here are three keys to keep in mind if you hope to effectively follow up with Easter guests.
1. Use multiple methods of communication
People communicate differently. Email, text messages, social media, and phone calls are all preferred methods of communication depending on the person.
Embracing multiple methods of communication allows you to meet people where they're at.
As you think through your Easter follow-up, start by ensuring you capture as many of these communication avenues as possible. Consider creating an online Easter guest registration form and placing QR codes around the building leading to this form. (You can also offer hard copies for those who may prefer this way).
On both the digital and printed forms, ask for information like email, phone number, address, and even social handles. The more data you gather, the more options you have for communication.
Before Easter, also work to come up with a communication strategy. Will different staff members be assigned to different age groups? Will someone send a text and someone else send an email? When should texts/calls/emails go out?
Talk through these things now.
2. Automate your follow-up.
Next, one of the best ways to follow up effectively is to let your software work for you.
Use automation in your ChMS to ensure balls aren't dropped and people are connected. Here are just a few things you can do:
- Create a sequence of emails using workflows to be automatically sent to every Easter guest. Start by simply saying “Thank you for attending our Easter services” and offering one clear next step (more on this below).
- As the sequence goes on, share upcoming events, details about small groups, and contact information for staff members designed to encourage people to plug in.
- Automatically assign staff members and volunteers to different follow-up tasks. Keep track of this inside of your ChMS.
- Group people based on what actions they take. For example, if someone clicks a link about a children’s event in one of the emails, set up a workflow to automatically have your children’s minister reach out.
Remember, your software should be a tool for ministry. If it’s cumbersome, confusing, or creates more work instead of less, it may be time to make a switch.
3. Create (and communicate) clear next steps.
The final key to effective Easter follow-up is to make next steps clear.
Can people clearly articulate the next steps you're calling them to? Whether it be attending the next service, signing up for a class, or filling out a form, make this action step you're calling people to as clear as possible.
When it comes to next steps, simple is best.
Don’t bombard guests with options or multiple steps, instead, identify what’s the most important thing they should do and communicate that.
Then, create clear pathways. Have someone communicate what to do from the pulpit. Train volunteers to help guests with what’s next. Include the same information in all of your digital and printed communication.
This will help to make sure every person who enters your building knows what to do next.
Next Steps
Speaking of next steps, here’s one for you: evaluate your ChMS in light of Easter follow-up.
If you don’t have a ChMS, or if it’s falling short, it’s not too late to get set up with Ministry Brands Amplify before Easter. Don’t wait any longer to try your free demo.
Remember, following up with Easter guests is more than just a good thing to do, it could be the difference between someone getting connected with your church, and never seeing them again.
It’s an opportunity with eternal impacts and hopefully, these three keys will help you follow up effectively with those who attend your church on Easter.
