Equipping Members to Reach Out

The best form of advertising a church can have is word-of-mouth.  Studies have shown that many unchurched people would visit a church if a close friend or family member invited them. The question then, is how can you help your church members to issue invitations effectively and in a way that they feel comfortable?

Since most people just don’t know where to start, Outreach provides churches with the tools that will equip their members to give an invitation easily and naturally. These tools include:

• Direct Mail ImpactCards
  When your church conducts a direct mail campaign, include your members in the excitement by equipping them with cards of their own. Slip a couple of the printed pieces in your worship bulletin and invite your members to use it as a hand-delivered invitation to friends or family. This will give your direct mailing an extra personal touch.
• Business card-sized InviteCards
  It’s so easy to keep business cards on hand. That’s why these perfectly sized cards are such a great communication tool. Members can keep a few in their purses or wallets and use them as a personal invitation. Each InviteCard should include a map to your church, service times and reference to your website, if you have one.
• DoorHangers
  What a great way to welcome new people to the neighborhood! Keep your information table stocked with personalized Doorhangers. Members can use these to welcome new neighbors or to blanket new housing tracks. The DoorHanger should also include a map and any other information that a newcomer needs to find your church.
• Outreach Gift Books
  A gift book is a powerful way to begin a dialogue about spiritual issues and Outreach offers a variety of low-cost books that your member will love giving their friends and family. Stock up and encourage members to keep a supply on hand.

The communication tools are a non-threatening way to invite friends, family and neighbors to church, and for them to feel more confident in the process. For the potential visitor, these tools offer a clear picture of the church, its ministries, its locations, and help circumvent barriers that keep people from deciding to attend.

Another potential point of entry into the church is through small group or home group studies. Leaders and members of these groups, equipped with InviteCards about the small group, can pass out invitations to their friends, family and co-workers asking them to attend the study, where relationships are more easily formed than in corporate worship on Sunday.

The most valuable asset of any church is its members, and by empowering them with the tools to reach out, you give them the privilege of expanding the kingdom and growing their own faith.