Outreach Strategies
Beyond Christmas: Extend Your Church's Outreach into Year-Round Growth
These past few years have brought a wave of challenges for every church. As a pastor, I understand the weight of trying to reach our community while also caring for those within our church who face new and unique challenges.
It's a trying time for everyone, but one thing is clear: Anxiety has become a prevalent issue in our society. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 1 in 5 Americans has experienced an anxiety disorder in the past year. This statistic holds true for the people in our communities and our churches.
So, how did we find ourselves in this situation? Economic uncertainty, political unrest, and social distancing have removed the life-on-life interactions we were accustomed to. The result? Social anxiety has taken hold, leading to a significant decline in church attendance and a noticeable drop in visitor numbers.
After three years of social distancing, people are struggling to engage in social environments. The convenience of working from home, ordering meals through apps like Uber Eats, and getting groceries curbside has kept the average American from regular social interaction.
Interestingly, the research from Barna shows that 74% of U.S. adults report that they want to grow spiritually, and 77% state they believe in a higher power. This indicates that coming out of the pandemic, people are hungrier for spiritual matters than they have been since the Jesus People movement in the 70s.
This leads us to a new post-pandemic barrier to getting people both into and out of the Church to commit to regular participation: social anxiety.
Here are three ways social anxiety prevents people from visiting churches that every pastor should be aware of:
First, the fear of social environments keeps people away. People are generally cautious about attending social events unless they feel connected and understand the value of gathering. Knowing "why" something is important is a prerequisite for these individuals to overcome their social anxiety.
Second, people want to feel known and to know someone before they step into a new environment. Building relationships before events is an excellent way to connect with people and convey the value of each gathering.
Third, people are hesitant to try new social environments without knowing the ratings and reviews. Yelp, Google ratings, Facebook star ratings – these have become the norm. People want to know what others think before trying something new.
Realize this—despite these challenges, the Church today has an incredible opportunity! If three out of four people in America desire spiritual growth, our churches can have a significant impact if we reach into their world. This is where VisitorReach comes in, helping churches:
Leadership teams that focus on nurturing the hearts and minds of our community by addressing social anxieties can greatly increase attendance and impact. This means that church pastors and leaders who are willing to make strategic shifts have the potential for significant outreach.
As one pastor wisely said, "Truthfully, we needed to be more than an attractional church and become a nurturing church." His point was clear: if your church is going to reach more people and disciple them to be stronger in the face of the challenges posed by today's digital culture and social media, your focus must change.
VisitorReach helps churches clearly communicate that people are valued. When people are distant from church and dealing with social anxiety, it’s easy for them to feel like the church doesn’t care.
However, when the church reaches out and connects with them where they’re at, it sends a powerful message: "YOU ARE VALUED." This doesn't diminish the importance of the Sunday experience; it simply creates a deeper connection by reaching out beyond Sundays.
The church needs a strategy to reach people who are socially anxious. Many pastors and leaders try to do this on their own through Facebook and even Google ads. Yet they’re often disappointed by the lack of results.
Visitor Reach is not only a strategy, it’s a solution that addresses social anxiety in people both before and after they come to your church.
Through digital outreach that leads to conversations between seekers and our pastoral team directly through our messaging app, Visitor Reach makes all the difference in people connecting long-term with our church. Once people visit, the Visitor Reach 90-Day follow-up system seamlessly guides them into membership, next-steps classes, small groups, and joining your volunteer team.
VisitorReach helps most churches engage 100-200 new visitors each month based on the digital outreach plan you choose. But it doesn't stop at just getting visitors; it helps assimilate them into the church, creating long-term relationships!
Click the link below to learn how VisitorReach can help your church attract new visitors and address the social anxiety that some people face in connecting with our church.
PS - Here is a video on how VisitorReach helped a church just like yours!
Create 100+ monthly connections with people in your area, have meaningful SMS conversations, and watch new visitors walk through your doors — All through the VisitorReach App!
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