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5 Smart Ways to Use Tech to Connect With People In Your Church

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Maintain relationship momentum, even through the summer, by using tech to connect.

As spring turns to summer, the summer slowdown draws people out of their routines and into a more loose, disjointed, and somewhat disconnected mode. Vacations and camps take precedence in the summer months and church attendance can fluctuate. 

It is good for us to enjoy the rhythms of summer, especially if your region experiences harsh winter weather. But one thing that should be high on our church's to-do lists, is to maintain a sense of connection and togetherness amongst our people, even though our congregations aren’t always physically together.

Using tech to connect with people in your church is an easy way to make this happen. Various tech solutions can help you stay connected with your people so that they feel supported and thought of by you. 

USING TECH TO CONNECT IMPACTS FALL KICKOFF

And as a bonus, when you do this, your church will start stronger in the fall. Imagine a congregation of attendees who’ve felt supported and connected during the summer, now kicking off the fall season and returning to the predictable routine of the winter months. Tech tools can help keep ministries and projects moving, even though your team members may be less physically present. 

It can be difficult pinpointing the ways you should use tech to connect with your people, so we have identified a few smart ways to use tech. Use one idea or all of them! Just get innovative and stay connected. 

The antidote for disconnection is communication. Start the fall strong when you use tech to connect with people in your church during the summer months. Click To Tweet

5 Smart Ways to Use Tech to Connect With People In Your Church

1. Utilize a text messaging service to keep in touch seamlessly

Using a church text messaging service has several benefits but all of them revolve around the fact that text messaging allows you to keep the flow of communication open between the people and the church.

We recommend you consider using text messaging in these 3 ways:

1. One-on-one support

Even if you aren’t able to physically visit people who need support, you can stay connected with one-on-one text conversations. Using a church texting service, instead of your personal phone, means that you can keep in touch with your members while providing accountability and protecting your personal contact details.

2. Official communication with your team and members

While you should primarily use emails to send out official communications to your team and members, texting is very handy for following up with people who haven’t responded to your emails or for broadcasting meeting reminders. 

Texting is also handy to use for last-minute check-ins on deliverables, especially if you need a quick answer or turnaround. Essentially, texting can be used to keep the ball rolling with your team and ensure that operations run seamlessly. 

3. Mass texting

Mass texting is a very effective way of spreading important information to everyone in your church. Depending on your church culture, members may like to receive text messages that remind them of important events and their starting times, or even emergency information. Some churches even use mass texting to broadcast urgent prayer requests.

Of course, when it comes to mass texting, it’s important that your church refrains from sending out too many of these in the week. People tend to ignore mass texts when an organization sends too many. 

It is also a good idea to conduct a survey to find out if texting is a preferred method of communication amongst your people.

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Don’t lose relationship momentum just because summer is here. Use tech to connect and support people in your church.

2. Set reminders and follow-ups.

We all know how crucial it is to follow up on visitors or anyone in the church who needs support. But we are all human and, unfortunately, our memories often fail us. This is where tech is hugely helpful in maintaining connections with people.

You can use tech to help your memory in several ways but these two will certainly make a big impact:

Here are two easy ways to help you remember to connect with people:

1. Use church management software to set follow-up tasks.

After you’ve met with someone, you can log your notes into your church management software and record your next steps. By doing this, you’re creating less work for yourself because all your thoughts are held in one place and reminders are set to ensure you don’t overlook your next step in supporting a church member.

2. Use an automatic email sequence to follow up on first-time visitors.

It is helpful to introduce guests to your church and help them get connected to small groups and other ministries if you use a welcome series of emails that explain the various facets of what your church has to offer. If you automate your email sequence, you don’t have to worry about forgetting to send them out and you can rest assured that first-time visitors are plied with all the information they need. 

3. Use tech to connect with people and then remember important dates

You’ve heard the phrase a million times, “it’s the little things that count.” This is true, and your church is no exception. 

Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc. These dates are important to your people and so they should be important to you. Don’t miss opportunities to connect with people in your congregation and make them feel remembered and celebrated. Tech can help you do this.

Your church management software is ideal for collecting this kind of information and then reminding you that important dates are coming up. 

Top Tip: Don’t forget that some big dates for people aren’t always celebratory ones. You will want to connect with people to show support even on days that mark the death of a loved one or a tragic event.

When recording your people’s important dates, don’t forget that some won’t be celebratory. Show support and make contact even on days that mark the death of a loved one or a tragic event. Click To Tweet

4. Pray for your people by name

Even though the weather is warmer and there is a mood of ease and relaxation in the air during summer, it doesn’t mean that your people aren’t needing prayer.

During the summer months, or even throughout the year, contact 3–5 church members each week and ask them how you or your prayer team can pray for them. 

But how do you keep track of who to contact next? 

You can use tech to do this. Your church management software will have your congregation’s details recorded and organized. It’ll be easy for you to use the membership list to create a schedule and then share it with your team.

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Don’t lose relationship momentum just because summer is here. Use tech to connect and support people in your church.

5. Group chats for small groups: Use tech to connect throughout the summer

To sustain connections with people in your church, encourage your small group leaders to initiate summer group chats with their small groups. Of course, this can be a solution year-round, but initiate the idea this summer, explaining how it is an easy way for small groups to stay connected while people take vacations.  

This can be a great way for small groups of people to become closer, as they share a photo or two from their travels, or send out a prayer request, even though they aren’t able to make small group meetings in person. 

Group chats aren’t everyone’s favorite mode of communication; however, encourage your leaders to pose the idea to their small groups and suggest each group comes up with its own parameters that make each member feel comfortable.

FINAL TAKEAWAYS FOR USING TECH TO CONNECT

The antidote for disconnection is communication. Strong personal communication should be a top priority in your church because it helps people feel rooted; they feel at home and welcome. 

At first, it might feel tedious to implement these smart ways to use tech, but they will certainly keep your people more connected to your church. And come fall, your church will be stronger for it.

To discover more ideas about effective communication, read 8 Essentials for Church Communication.

CTT Staff
CTT Staffhttps://churchtechtoday.com
ChurchTechToday is the #1 church technology website for pastors, communicators, and leaders. With the goal to provide insight into a variety of topics including social media, websites, worship, media, mobile, and software, ChurchTechToday aims to shed light on how church technology can empower and position churches for impact and growth.

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