9 Creative Ways to Invite Someone to Church

In a book called The Unchurched Next Door, Dr. Thom Rainer shares the results of a national survey about inviting people to church. A whopping 82% of “unchurched” people said they would attend church if someone invited them. Yet studies have shown that only around 2% of church attendees have extended a church invitation to someone in the last year. 

As Christians, we are missing out on a huge opportunity here! Not only could we grow our churches by inviting more people, but we could also help change lives for all eternity, and it’s as simple as sending an invitation text or asking a friend to come with us to a service. 

For church leaders, encouraging your church family to invite more people to Sunday services can seem like an uphill battle. Perhaps you need to embrace some creative ways to invite someone to church and share those ideas with your church, reminding them that church growth is about Kingdom growth, and that is one of our most important responsibilities. 

Get Printed Invitation Cards

This is one of the simplest church community outreach ideas. Print some postcard-style cards with your church’s information on them, and make them available for your members to take and hand out. You can have invitation cards for normal Sunday services, for special services like Christmas or Mother’s Day, or for specific events like a camp or night of worship. Consider leaving them on the seats on Sunday, putting them near the doors, or handing them to people as they leave. Kids will get excited about handing these out to their friends, too, so be sure to have some available for them!

Plan Fun Events That People Want to Invite Others To

Need some fresh ideas for church growth? Plan a fun event! A traditional church invitation can feel a little awkward to some people, but inviting friends to a fun event that happens to be at their church is far easier. Plan a cookout, a summer camp, or a Mom’s night out. Put together holiday events, like egg hunts, Christmas parties, or a Trunk or Treat. Find something that is already popular in your community and plan your very own version of it at your church. Be sure to have invitation cards available to encourage attendees to come back for a regular church service!

Offer Incentives for Bringing a Friend

This can work for adults, but it works especially well for students and kids! Tell the kids that they’ll earn a lollipop for bringing a friend, or let the students pick a bag of chips for inviting someone from school. Perhaps you award points to the grade level that brings the most friends, and the winning grade gets a treat. For adults, you may need to get a little more creative. Maybe the guest and the friend who invited them get a free coffee or cookie from the church cafe. Perhaps adults get entered to win a drawing each month for a $10 gift card. It doesn’t have to be anything big, but it should be fun and encouraging. 

Utilize Social Media

This is a great option for both church staff and church members. When the church’s social media pages post about an upcoming event, have your staff share it on their personal pages and encourage members to do the same. Make all the posts shareable and have people send invitation texts with the social posts attached. You can also join local Facebook groups, such as “Moms in Nashville” or similar, and post information and invitations there. Moms are especially always looking for family-friendly events, and many go to those types of groups for church recommendations, so having a solid presence can be great for church growth. 

Consider “Free” Marketing

We all know that nothing is really free, but anything you can do to have your church’s name in the community is a great way to market your church for little to no recurring costs. Have t-shirts printed with your church’s name, give out bumper stickers, or hand out yard signs with your church’s information. If people love attending your church, they will willingly display anything with the church’s name on it and give you all the “free,” albeit passive, marketing you could want. 

Get Involved in the School System

Teachers and administrators have a lot of influence in the community and are great people to be connected with! Can you deliver breakfast for the teachers one day or become a sponsor for a team or school event? You may be able to host an event at the school itself, such as an egg hunt, Fourth of July party, or trunk or treat. Some schools allow churches and other organizations to advertise events through their social media, email, or folders that kids bring home, so check with local schools to explore some church community outreach ideas. 

Participate in Community Events

If you’re looking for fresh ideas for church growth, getting your name out into the community is a good place to start. Set up a booth at a local festival or sponsor a water table at a nearby race. Participate in a charity golf tournament or donate prizes for a youth sporting event. Getting your name and your people out into the community is vital when it comes to presenting more church invitations to more people. Find creative ways to invite someone to church at these events, such as by bringing invitation cards to the events and pairing them with a related treat or small giveaway, like a sports stress ball or a branded water bottle. 

Simply Ask 

This may not be groundbreaking, and it may not be the most creative way to invite someone to church, but it’s always worth trying: just ask. Just invite people. Think about the people you interact with–your co-workers, your child’s coaches and teachers, the cashier at the grocery store, the server at the restaurant… Consider just extending a church invitation and seeing what happens. The worst they can say is, “No.” Then you simply let them know that the offer will always stand and they are always welcome. 

Let Tithely Help!

Here at Tithely, we are committed to helping you reach your goals for church growth, church invitations, member retention, event management, and more. Let us help you keep track of your people so you can spend your time, energy, and resources embracing your fresh ideas for church growth. Learn more about how Tithely can help you by contacting us today. 

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