How churches can enhance their relationship reach during times of crisis

Ken Gosnell April 25, 2020

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A significant challenge facing spiritual leaders in a time of social distancing is how to connect with and manage their members and followers. Relationships are essential for church survival and kingdom impact.   

There are steps churches can take to experience growth and community influence even in the hardest times.

Chris Cocca (CEO of Strategic Sales Solutions) and I have developed seven actions that every church and faith leader should consider to enhance their relationship reach. These ideas are practical for church leaders of every size congregation.

7 ideas to enhance relationship reach for faith-based organizations

1)  Utilize a customer relationship management (CRM) tool

Many churches have never explored the benefits of using a CRM tool, which stores information on members and guests. Many churches lose members and do not retain guests because they don't gather information about families or know how to reach people who have attended their church.

CRM tools will help pastors keep vital information about members, including important dates in their lives. Good relationships start with useful information. Jesus always began relationships with people by asking questions to discover important information about that person.

2) Review membership lists

A time of quiet and slowdown is a good time to review membership logs and update or remove members who have moved on.   

Many membership rolls can become bloated with inactive members or members who are no longer in the area.

One excellent use of time during a downturn is to review all information in the CRM thoroughly. Detailed notes should be added to member profiles, and appropriate next steps about a person's spiritual growth should be considered to help the member continue to move forward along the discipleship process.

3) Reach out to past visitors and lost members

Church leaders who genuinely care for their members will use times of crisis to connect with members and past guests. A pastor who asks people how the church can serve them will be memorable and appreciated.  

Times of crisis can provide an appropriate opportunity to connect with past visitors to restart relationships. Many churches neglect previous visitors.

Former members, too, should be seen as "warm leads" because they are already connected to the church or church family. Reconnecting with a former member or visitor will allow churches to hear why the member left and potentially solve issues for the member that were not previously addressed.

Growing churches develop the habit of reconnecting with past members and visitors as part of their recruitment strategy.  

4)  Evaluate the current visitor-to-member ratio  

Every church has a visitor-to-member ratio, but most churches don't know their number.

Many churches invest time and energy developing outreach programs, but they don't then implement or execute a great visitor-to-member process. When churches are in alignment, conversions become more natural, and outreach becomes more proficient.  
 
5) Strategize about a new guest event

Crisis often draws people to the spiritual side of their lives. In times of grief, uncertainty, and confusion, a church has the opportunity to shine its light.

One idea might be to consider promoting a new guest event that might encourage people to become more familiar with the church family or the ministry. Events provide an excellent opportunity for pastors and members to reach neighbors and coworkers with an invitation to attend the event.

Community or national tragedies are a time when people pull together. Therefore, when a special event is offered, it is often understood and appreciated by everyone. A limited-time event, or even an online one, can restart relationships that have grown cold or stagnant.

6) Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the church leadership team

During a time of crisis, an evaluation of the developmental needs of each member of the pastoral staff can be profitable. An assessment of each staff member to determine the long-term cultural fit can provide clarity to know if a church has the right team to produce the right results after the crisis event.

Honest and authentic conversations with each team member can prove useful in helping the church achieve breakthroughs and make necessary corrections to the visitor experience. An ineffective team will never produce great results.

The church that develops the right pastoral team is the organization that is ready to grow membership and expand after times of contraction.

7) Train and develop church staff

A slow period can be a valuable time for the training and development of a pastoral team.

After an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of each team member, a training plan should be created and implemented. Although training should be individualized and specific for each person in the organization, a few macro-level training examples might include servant leadership, discipleship, practicing active listening, and how to discover new prospects and lead sources.

Organizations should prepare their team to be better and become more capable while the times are slowed so that when the community comes back, the church will be positioned to handle the volume of potential new visitors.

One last thought

These tips can help any church improve the effectiveness of its outreach. Churches that use a crisis to enhance their outreach processes will find themselves in a better position to increase membership after the crisis.

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Ken Gosnell is CEO and Servant Leader of CXP (CEO Experience). CXP is a premier coaching and executive roundtable business that serves Christian CEOs in Washington DC, Maryland and Florida. Ken serves leaders by helping them and their teams to have great experiences that both transform the leader and their organizations to go further faster. Learn More »

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