ALEX SUBER
“I feel like we’re the best-kept secret in town, Alex.” This is what a pastor told me recently after he explained all of the amazing things his church was doing. They had dynamic Sunday services, a great community built around small groups, and were engaging their community beyond their four walls through service projects. Even though they had been doing all this for nearly eight years, he told me that when he introduced himself to people in his community and mentioned the church he pastored, they would respond saying they had never heard of it. While he didn’t love the fact that people had never heard of the church, I got the sense that he wore the “best-kept secret in town” as a badge of honor.
My response was simple. “Pastor, you don’t want to be the best-kept secret in town.” Being the best-kept secret in town may be a great tagline for a diner featured on the Food Network, but not for a church that is trying to impact its community. Churches should be well-known by everyone in a community as a place to find hope and help when needed. After all, everyone needs hope and help at some point in their lives. So, where do they turn when that moment comes? Hopefully, your church! But, how do they find you?
In 2024, people won’t drive around looking for entertainment, restaurants, or churches. They are using Google and Social Media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to find the best places in their area. The New York Times said that TikTok is the new search engine for Gen Z.1 So, the best way to make people aware of your church and get them to attend is by people seeing you on social media.
Now, I know what you’re thinking- “Alex, we already know this; we post on social media frequently, but it doesn’t seem to work.” You’ll get no argument from me there. Posting to these social media platforms will rarely help you reach new people, and your post likely won’t even be seen by people who follow you. Social Insider reported that in 2024, organic Facebook posts have a reach of 5.9%, and organic Instagram posts have a reach of 7.6%.2 In other words, if your church has one-thousand followers and posts about an event, on average, only 59 people will even see the post. Even fewer will like or share it. These are the people that have chosen to follow you. Now, can you imagine how many people who don’t know about you are seeing this? Likely, zero.
The reason so few people see your post is because these social platforms are for-profit companies and operate what’s known as the “attention economy.” They make their revenue by selling attention. It sounds a little dystopian, but it’s reality. The good news is, you can use their platforms to be seen by thousands of people in your area, even if you are a new church or don’t have many followers. The way to do this is by purchasing digital ads on these platforms and promoting your church, but that is only a part of the process.
If we stopped there, we may get some awareness, but that is not enough. We need more than awareness; we need next steps. The promotion is great, but people planning to attend your church this Sunday are even better. That is why I love the Plan Your Visit model of advertising and want to share how you can do it for your church! The Plan Your Visit model moves people from being aware of your church to attending. Here is the exact Plan Your Visit strategy that I’ve seen work for 300+ churches all across the country from The Bronx to rural Arizona:
Create an engaging digital ad promoting your Sunday service(s) to people in your community. I’ve found that a 10-mile radius around your service location works best.
People click on the ad and plan a visit to your church for the following Sunday by giving you their contact information and choosing the service they will attend if you have multiple services.
You follow up with these people by providing them with information about your service and answering their questions.
You meet these guests when they attend your church and transition them into your assimilation process.
By using this simple method, people can go from having never heard of your church before to becoming a member in a matter of days!
Remember the pastor I told you about at the beginning? He started using this method and went from being relatively unknown and his church being “the best-kept secret” in his community to people approaching him at the grocery store asking if he was the pastor they always see on Facebook! His church has now grown and is making a bigger impact than ever.
I hope you take this strategy and use it to reach as many people as possible! If you have any questions or would like some hands-on guidance on using social media to get more church visitors, the ChurchCandy team and I are happy to help. You can schedule a Zoom call with us at churchcandy.com.
***This article was originally published in the 2024 Destiny Magazine, Summer Edition.***
Alex serves as the Operations Director at ChurchCandy Marketing, as well as the Connections Pastor at Riverside Church. He and his wife, Hannah, have two sons and reside in Victoria, TX.
