With ChurchStaq, in addition to the world-class software that allows you to efficiently manage all aspects of ministry–powerful connection tools, a customizable app, and arguably the best church giving solution on the market–we are continually thinking about how churches can effectively utilize these tools in a real-world context.

Keeping that in mind, here are some holiday event ideas that your church can implement this year. Take and use these ideas to celebrate 2020-style: finding creative ways to nurture meaningful connections with your church community.

Fall Celebrations – “Trunk or Treat” alternatives for your church.

Going door-to-door collecting treats in the traditional trick-or-treat fashion seems unlikely for most families this year. If you’re like many of our church partners, seeking to facilitate fun trick-or-treat alternatives, the “trunk-or-treat” approach is typically a great option. It could still work in 2020. Consider these options, as you plan for your Fall celebrations.

Drive-thru “Trunk-or-Treat” – Plan a time for church members to all gather in the church parking lot for a parade of Harvest-season fun! Costumed kids stay in the car while their (also costumed) parents drive them through the designated candy pickup spots, operated by enthusiastic church staff members and volunteers (all of whom will of course have appropriate safety masks and gloves). You can use rich push notifications, available as a part of your custom Church App from Pushpay, to remind families of the upcoming festivities.

Bonus Ideas – Add Fall-themed coloring pages, trivia, easy-to-sanitize games (Ring Toss from the back passenger window?), costume contests with individual and group winners, and as many decorations as you can muster (church parking lot turned spooky forest?) for a truly spectacular, and safe, Autumn celebration.

Church Dinners – Church potlucks, reimagined for 2020.

Breaking bread as a church family is a fundamental experience for virtually every community. Especially around the holidays. How do we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even the New Year over a meal, while keeping each other safe? Try these ideas, as you rethink your church’s fellowship meals.

Virtual Church Picnic – Gather your church members in a digital meeting space and share a meal. A meeting platform like Zoom will allow you to see everyone’s smiling, mask-free, faces. It’s not exactly the same as an in-person meal, but it’s the safest way to get everyone in the same “room.” To make it even more special (and further encourage attendance), send everyone a food delivery gift card so they can order a meal.

Bonus Idea – To make an event like this more personal, try the breakout room feature on the virtual meeting software to split up everyone into smaller groups for discussion and prayer. Groups of 2-3 families seems to work best for comfortable conversations.

Small Group Meals – If church logistics (and local guidelines) allow, instead of doing a traditional church-wide holiday meal, encourage and equip your Small Groups to be the place where Thanksgiving or Christmas are celebrated over dinner. As an extra precaution, make these events BYO, “bring your own.” Or, utilize a caterer that can provide boxed/individually portioned meals. Celebrating a holiday meal together in the context of Small Groups combines the special connection of in-person fellowship with, but with the ability to maintain safe spacing.

Christmas Programs – Nativities, cantatas, and carols…from a distance.

Music is such a special aspect of the Advent and Christmas seasons. Don’t we all look forward to singing our favorite carols, hymns, and Psalms? This year could provide some challenges to your church’s Christmas music tradition. Here are some ideas for how to take a creative approach to Church Christmas Programs.

Virtual Caroling – Whether your church family has a tradition of caroling door-to-door, your choir presents a beautiful program of Christmas music, or you’re in need of a new idea because 2020 has curbed all the others, virtual caroling could be the way to go. The beauty of this activity is there are a variety of approaches.

If your church has a robust production team, you can record a number of vocalists and musicians separately–utilizing their own computer webcams at home–and then editing the various videos together for a harmonious presentation. This approach is labor-intensive but rewarding.

A simpler approach would be to gather a group of carolers (masked and safely spaced, of course) to live stream a performance of traditional Christmas songs. Folks from anywhere in the world could tune in to hear. The 2020 version of door-to-door caroling.

Children’s Programs – Sad the kids won’t be able to perform the annual Nativity play? Well, maybe they still can. Have families create their own versions at home. Homemade costumes, (blankets and sheets make great tunics and cloaks), a simple manger scene in the living room, and have a family pet as a stand-in for farm animals. Snap a photograph and you’ve got a fun and interactive Christmas activity.

Families can simplify by taking a picture of their little ones in costume. Or, take a short video of the children reciting their lines or a passage of scripture. Then, compile all these videos and photos for a virtual Children’s Church Nativity Program.

2020 has presented more than its fair share of challenges. Your church’s holiday celebrations don’t have to be a casualty. With these creative ideas, you can still have robust, enjoyable, and people-focused Autumn, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and New Year celebrations.

Does managing the logistics of ministry and staying connected with your people seem even more daunting as we approach the hectic close to a hectic year? Are you prepared to execute on your end-of-year giving campaign? Pushpay and Church Community Builder exist to bring people together by strengthening community, connection, and belonging. We’re now better than ever with our all-in-one solution, ChurchStaq. Talk to an expert today to see how ChurchStaq can help you do more efficient and effective ministry.

Talk To An Expert

In past years, Pushpay has hosted various events to bring the brightest minds in the church, business, and technology spaces together to empower churches and church leaders to be strong in years and decades to come.

In 2019, it was already on our hearts and minds to shift away from the physical event experiences and move to something more digital. This would not only help us be better stewards of our resources, but would enable us to reach more people.

Likewise, churches everywhere are experiencing this pull toward digital experiences and are wrestling with how to do it—or moreso, should they do it and when. The growing demand for excellent online experiences is causing a disruption in the status quo of how churches serve their communities.

And that’s how Church Disrupt 2020 was born. A free, online event experience that brings together more than 20 thought leaders who are on the front lines of change, to deliver tools to help church leaders who are eager to learn and grow.

As the impact of COVID-19 spread its way across the globe, the message of creating digital experiences and the modernization of church has become even more pivotal. In a time when in-person conferences are being canceled or postponed, we are proud to be able to deliver impactful sessions and tools to help church leaders thrive amidst a world-wide pandemic and beyond.

Church Disrupt kicked off on May 13th,  and brought together over 21,000 registrants from more than 40 countries across the globe. Here are some of the highlights and must-read commentary from the event:

Opening with a Message of Hope from Chad Veach

Chad Veach was our first keynote and he led the way with a message of hope and assurance that church leaders are prepared for “such a time as this.” In a passionate plea of encouragement, Chad reminded viewers that this isn’t a time to be afraid or surrender, but instead, he said: “Let’s use the resources God has given us to bring hope to a hopeless society.” 

Troy Pollock, Chief Ambassador at Pushpay, sat down with Chad for a Q&A session about how Chad’s church, Zoe Church, made the pivot to go fully online and what their plans are for the future. You can access Chad’s full talk and the entire interview for free, anytime, on our online education platform, Pushpay University.

The Current and Future State of Online Church

Later in the morning viewers had the opportunity to be a fly on the wall of a discussion about the current state of online church from a few pioneering churches; Elevation Church, Churchome, North Point Ministries, and Champions Centre. Leaders from these churches discussed how they got to where they are today, the growing pains, and how it all ties back to the early Church and the work of the Apostle Paul. The digital pathways these churches have built may seem unattainable to most churches, but these innovators break down practical advice and free resources that any church can implement.

You can view the full discussion, along with all the bonus content including a discussion on the future of online church, on-demand at Pushpay University.

Clay Scroggins Shares How Churches Can Leverage the Digital Disruption

Clay Scroggins provided an incredibly practical keynote about leveraging the digital disruption churches are experiencing and making the transition to a great digital strategy. Core to his talk was the message that what we used to think of as the physical foyer is now the digital foyer. Clay explained that “People are more likely to visit our website, check out social media, or live stream a service than anything else.” 

Knowing that this emphasis on the digital foyer might scare church leaders, Clay notes that, “The physical church has a greater meaning today than it ever has before, but it’s changing rapidly. It’s being massively disrupted.”

Clay drew on experiences from retail giants like Starbucks and The Home Depot, and industries like banking and education, and described how they encountered and responded to digital disruption. He provided church leaders five shifts that every church needs to make. You can hear Clay’s five shifts and it’s full talk for free at Pushpay University.

Judah Smith Discusses Navigating Tension in Transition and Calling

Judah Smith of Churchome was another keynote speaker for Church Disrupt 2020 and he addressed another disruption many churches face—transitions in leadership. Judah grew up in the church his parents built, The City Church, and when his father passed away several years ago, Judah and his wife, Chelsea, took the reigns. Judah gave viewers a look into that transition, including the church’s transformation into Churchome, while sharing practical advice for the countless churches who struggle with their own leadership transitions.

We saw Judah onscreen again later as he shared his vision of the future Church. The present circumstances made Judah’s perspective especially fitting as he believed so much in people doing church at home that Churchome fully invested in that pivot years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. He described a future-state in which church plants are studios instead of buildings, and where churches spend thousands to reach millions. Catch all of Judah’s content from Church Disrupt 2020 and bonus material from him on-demand at Pushpay University.

Louie Giglio’s Bold Message to Leaders

Capping off Church Disrupt 2020, Louie Giglio gave a powerful and humbling message for leaders. Louie acknowledged the Church is being disrupted but shifted the focus from churches to the individual leaders within them. As Louie defined it, “Leadership and disruption are one in the same.” He described that moments of disruption are nothing new and God is always looking for leaders who are called, confirmed, and will carry the work of disruption forward into the future. 

Louie had a great encouragement to share for getting through uncertain situations and seasons like many churches are currently facing. He said, what you need to do is “absorb the reality of the situation, think back to everything you’ve experienced of God, to not wilt because of the calling and confirmation that’s on your life, and step forward making the wisest choice you can make.”

It requires a tremendous amount of confidence, humility, and prayer. Louie began and ended his session talking about prayer. He shared a 12-word prayer that he keeps in mind in times of uncertainty and explained how it helps him step forward and stand up in confidence: “I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on you.” 

Between Chad Veach opening Church Disrupt 2020 and Louie Giglio closing it out, there were so many incredible breakout sessions and interviews. Of the 21 speakers, there were too many highlights for us to mention here but the good news is that all of the event content plus even more bonus content is available on-demand free of charge at Pushpay University. Get ready to take notes, hit pause and rewind as much as you need, and share the content with your colleagues and friends. 

As our speakers emphasized again and again, today’s church experience has been disrupted. But as Clay Scroggins mentioned in his keynote, “God has given us one of the most massive technological advances we’ve ever seen to take the Gospel into people’s homes and into the very fabric of their lives.” 

If your church is looking to invest in digital pathways that meet the demands of people today, watch all the content from Church Disrupt 2020 or talk to one of our experts about how Pushpay and Church Community Builder can partner with you to know, grow, and keep your people. 

So what next?

Some first-time guests will come back, but what about the ones who won’t? How can your church follow up with those newcomers in an especially effective way before losing touch with them completely?

Here are five ways your church can help turn those Easter guests into second-, sixth-, and fifteenth-time attendees.

Surprise them with a phone call

No one is expecting a phone call. So call them. Gather all the in-app or physical connect cards you received during your Easter services and have your volunteers call to follow up with those guests. Keep things casual. Thank the person for showing up and spending Easter with your church family and let them know their presence was not taken for granted. Ask them if they’d be interested in joining for another upcoming service and let them know what the sermon topic will be to get them extra excited in returning.

Overall, though your volunteers’ goal is to encourage a repeat visit or get the first-time guest connected to a newcomers small group, make sure they keep the conversation light and casual. And if someone is unreachable by phone, feel free to leave a quick message and call back a few times within the next two week. Send a short, personal email if the person’s email address is known. Those personal touches go a long way in encouraging repeat visits and helping newcomers feel more invested in the church. Be sure volunteers are trained by senior staff before getting on the phone with people. If tough topics arise on the phone, it’s important that volunteers know to connect that person with senior staff if necessary.

Social invitation strategy

Invite people back with social media.

Having a social invitation mindset means being targeted and strategic when using social platforms to reach and engage with people. Don’t just post about upcoming sermons: Post images and short videos highlighting the leaders, staff, volunteers, and attendees at your ministry. Humanize your church and make it more relatable to outsiders, so don’t overthink it. Release content that makes people want to follow your church’s social platforms and hear more from your ministry. 

And don’t forget ads. 

Social ads are cheap, easy to create, and effective at getting your message across to people within your community—whether it’s inviting them to a newcomer brunch next Sunday, a connections class, or just for another worship service.

Facebook is a great place to start. Run Facebook ads to surrounding neighborhoods inviting people to attend again. With a strong message and real-life images from your church, you’re sure to get people within your community reaching out to your staff or going to your website for more information about your next service.

Not sure where to start? We created 211 Facebook ad templates to take the guesswork out of ad creation. Explore the free ebook, 211 Plug-And-Play Facebook Ad templates That will Grow Your Church, today.

Give good gifts

Maybe your church has a typical package or gift that gets passed out to newcomers. Don’t just stop there. Create a small token like a gift card and notepad with your church’s logo on it. You can even hand out physical resources like a CD of songs from the worship team prefaced by a welcome message by the campus pastor. Be sure to include a personal, hand-written letter thanking the newcomer for joining in your Easter celebration and offer a list of next steps like small group leaders’ contact info or volunteer opportunities.

Get volunteers together to put these packets together and write out the notes. Then hand them out during the next few worship services to people who invited guests and for returning guests. Have your members hand out these gifts to their first-time guests to encourage return visitors. Gauge how many gifts to put together based on how many newcomers you’ve had at previous Easter services, then go from there! Be sure to explain your vision and heart for newcomers during your worship services so congregants know why you’re doing it and are empowered to do the good work of bringing back their friends and family.

Use rich push notifications

Your congregants probably did a stellar job of inviting guests in for Easter. Now take it a step further by using your church app. Send out push notifications periodically in the weeks following Easter to encourage congregants to invite their guests back. It’s relatively easy for someone to invite back someone who showed up for a special worship service, but many people simply forget to follow up with a second invitation.

Make it easier for your community to make those invitations by reminding them relatively often. Rich notifications in the Pushpay custom church app allow ministries to send custom notifications to app users and even include engaging images and videos to encourage engagement. Once someone opens the push notification, lead them to a video message from the pastor that encourages visitors to come back and have your members share this video with their friends and family. Or have push notifications open to a church blog filled with simple tips for asking first-time guests to come back. Get creative. Push notifications are a simple and effective way to nurture engagement with your congregation and ask them to reach out to their friends and family on behalf of the wider church.

Ministry fair

A post-Easter ministry fair is an excellent way to bring newcomers back. These can be as elaborate as a “Brunch And Connect” event at a local stomping ground, or a short event the Sunday after Easter where ministry leaders have booths displaying information about the various ways people can get connected at the church.

Show off your community programs, in-church volunteer opportunities, classes, retreats, and small groups. Your church has a lot to offer. Bring that to the fore in a casual setting. Play some music in the background, offer sweet treats and coffee, and have your congregants invite back their newcomers. Cut your normal services back by 15 minutes and encourage people, especially newcomers, to check out the fair and discover at least one way they can get involved at the church.

Once someone is involved, even in a monthly family meal at a staff member’s home, they’re more likely to experience, first-hand, the beauty and collaborative spirit of Biblical community. As others continue to support them and work alongside them during volunteers stints or checks in on them after small group meetings, visitors are likely to become more invested in the church as a whole. And they’re more likely to keep attending.

Easter follow up made easy

Easter is an amazing time of celebration for believers. And for many non-believers, it’s a season of family, appreciating others, and togetherness. Churches do a great job of tapping into those emotions to connect people’s ideas about Easter with the saving work of Christ on the cross. Now that Easter has passed, and the sermon is still ringing in people’s ears, let’s get to work to bring those newcomers into the fold and show them what true, Bible community looks like.

Reaching people via social media is an easy and effective way to encourage return visits even months after Easter and into summer. That’s why we created free Facebook ad templates your church can use today to get started with social ads. To download these free templates, click here for 211 Plug-And-PLay Facebook Ad Templates That WIll Grow Your Church.

Of the multitude of great conferences out there, Pushpay Summit has consistently connected church leaders like you with the practical strategies and tactics for helping your church thrive in the digital age. In fact, Pushpay Summit was designed to help solve your ministry’s toughest problems, whether it’s reaching millennials, driving strong communication across various channels, or just getting your first-time visitors to come back a second time.

What to Expect From Summit 2019

Here’s a snapshot of what church leaders can expect from Pushpay Summit 2019.

Still don’t believe Pushpay Summit can hold a candle to your favorite conference? Here are a few highlights from previous Summit conferences.

Insights From Previous Summit Conferences

True leadership requires constant self-evaluation and fine-tuning

Dr. John Maxwell, an authority in leadership training and a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek bestselling author, shared some inspiring thoughts on leadership at Summit 2017, giving everyone a lot to think about. On the cutting edge of management trends and philosophies, Dr. Maxwell’s advice was rooted in timeless truths about inspiring people to give their best.

Here are a few of Dr. Maxwell’s most poignant quotes on what it takes to be an effective church leader in the modern age:

“Don’t ever be impressed with goal setting; be impressed with goal getting. Reaching new goals and moving to a higher level of performance always requires change and change feels awkward. But take comfort in the knowledge that if a change doesn’t feel uncomfortable, then it’s probably not really a change.”

“When it comes right down to it, I know of only one factor that separates those who consistently shine from those who don’t: The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure. Nothing else has the same kind of impact on people’s ability to achieve and to accomplish whatever their minds and hearts desire.”

To learn more about Pushpay Summit and the equipping keynotes and breakout sessions shared this year, click the button below to talk to one of our church tech experts.

To build your tribe, seek digital products that promote connectivity

At Summit 2018, bestselling author and marketing maverick Seth Godin spoke to conference attendees about engaging their communities with messages that actually matter. To give leaders practical methods of reaching people, Godin pulled from business solutions that can be leveraged in the church.

Godin hones in on the “tribe” and the ways in which people want to belong. The church, more than anywhere, argues Godin, is where people should feel like they belong as they participate in worship and learning.

Here’s one of Godin’s most inspiring quotes: “If failure is not an option, neither is success. The person who invented the ship also invented the shipwreck.”

See Seth Godin’s full 2018 Summit keynote here.

You don’t have to be in charge to lead

Leaders, Clay Scroggins urged at Summit 2018, don’t always have to be the ones in charge. Scroggins, lead pastor of North Point Community Church, talked to attendees about how authority and leadership aren’t mutually exclusive. To him, the essence of leadership is influence.

Clay says the three ways to gather influence, even when you’re not the top leader, involve:

1. Take responsibility for your own growth and lead yourself

2. Stay positive and own your decisions

3. Think deeply and critically about issues to reach the best solutions

See Clay Scroggin’s full 2018 Summit keynote here.

The Conference for Church Leaders Who Want to Level Up

Summit is a conference for leaders in the church who are looking for applicable skills and insights they can use today. Areas of focus span from operations and finance to communications and technology, all presented by experienced leaders who’ve shown up to share their accumulated knowledge.

If you’re looking to have a fire lit within, to start making a larger impact in your church and community, then Summit is the conference for you. Talk to one of our experts to get this year’s church leadership keynotes and breakout sessions right to your email.

This can be a struggle, especially if you’re seeing diminishing returns in your typical communication channels. Maybe you’re noticing a dip in your email opens, or your Facebook posts aren’t generating the interest that they used to.

How can you give your promotions a healthy pick-me-up in time for Christmas?

If you have a church app, you’ll find that push notifications might be just what you need to keep your church top-of-mind. They give you the ability to send messages to people who have downloaded your app but don’t have it open. And when a majority of people have their smartphone on them at all times, a push notification is a simple way to reach them.

Here are five ways you can use push notifications to increase your publicity:

1. Event reminders

The Christmas season is full of fundraisers, dinners, services, parties, and gatherings. You can have a well-managed calendar, but it doesn’t work if people neglect to use it. That’s where push notifications come in handy. They allow you to remind people of important events—even when they forget to open your app!

Use them to send out that last reminder about your Christmas Eve service or the gift wrapping outreach at the local mall.

2. Volunteer requests

On top of all the internal ministry needs this holiday, you probably have some outreach projects planned, too. That’s going to require all hands on deck. But let’s be honest, getting people to volunteer isn’t easy. It takes repeated requests—and push notifications can help avoid having to make multiple requests.

Need more volunteers to put away tables after tonight’s formal Christmas dinner? Send out a notification to everyone. They’re sure to respond.

3. Giving reminder

People are always more charitable during the Christmas season. In fact, nearly one-third of all charitable giving happens in the month of December. Push notifications allow you to make tasteful reminders about giving opportunities and year-end goals. And when you factor in their ability to simply open your app and give in seconds, you improve the likelihood of seeing a bump in year-end donations.

4. Calls to follow live media

Not everyone can make it to every service or ministry gathering, so hopefully, you’re taking advantage of streaming technology so people can catch your events live—or even watch it later. Imagine if you could let people know that your Christmas Eve service will be live in 15 minutes. With push notifications, you can. Increase the turnout for events without worrying about whether you have room in the sanctuary!

All it takes is a quick notification that says, “You don’t have to miss the First Baptist Church Christmas Eve service. Watch it from home with your family on Facebook Live in 10 minutes!”

5. Special announcements

Push notifications can be used to make a special announcement or offer specific prompts. Maybe you want to send out a reminder that parents need to have kids at the church an hour early for a final Christmas pageant run through, or you want to let everyone know that a special brunch will be served in the fellowship hall after the service. Notifications can give people the info they need but might forget.

Push Notifications Help

The nice thing about push notifications is that they don’t take the place of your other communication channels. They help drive people to those channels. You can use them to get people into your app or encourage them to check you out on social media. From there, you can share important next steps. If your church doesn’t have a full-featured, native church app, it’s not as difficult or cost prohibitive as you might imagine. Talk to an expert today!

The more visitors you can draw to your church during the holiday season, the more likely you are to have a real impact on attendees, their families, and the wider community. While you encourage regular attendees to bring their friends and family to church this Christmas, don’t forget to leverage one of the most effective outreach tools available: social media.

Here are 11 ways you can use Facebook to fill your church this Christmas season:

1. Be consistent across platforms

When you’re coming up with your Christmas sermon and seasonal plans, factor Facebook into the strategy. Change your cover image so it fits in with the design elements of your sermon series. Even the content of your Facebook updates should be related to your services. As much as possible, you want a unified theme across all platforms.

2. Use Facebook events

Use Facebook events for everything from children’s Christmas pageants to this season’s outreach projects. After you invite your congregation, they can turn around and invite their friends and families. The best part of using events as part of your Christmas outreach plan? This strategy is a pretty low-risk way for your community to invite someone to a church event without having to worry about rejection!

3. Facebook polls

Facebook polls are an easy way to get people engaging with your church’s content and encourage attendance to one of your services. Use them at Christmas time to get feedback from your members early about service times they plan to invite guests to, cool things your church can incorporate into the Christmas service to engage with newcomers, or even which songs most first-time visitors are likely to know. The idea is to gather information that will help you plan well for your Christmas service. Plus, these polls can be used to ask your community which service they plan to invite guests to and, in this way, secure their commitment to bring a friend.

4. Put Facebook advertising to work  

If you could invite everyone within a 50-mile radius of your church to one of your Christmas services, would you? With Facebook ads, you can. Yes, you’re going to spend some cash, but if you create a great ad that drives newcomers to your Christmas events, it’ll be money well spent. In fact, many growing churches use it to reach their communities digitally and target people to attend local church services based on their location or even personal interests.

5. Put Facebook Live to work for you

Some folks may not feel comfortable responding to your first invite, but they might be intrigued enough to start checking out your social media platforms. By live-streaming your Christmas services, potential newcomers get to see what they can expect at your church, increasing the chances they’ll visit in person. The great part about live streams is that the videos stay on your church’s page and are shareable throughout the season.

6. Use videos of church members

People are drawn to the experiences of others. In planning your sermon series, consider ways you can use the testimonies of real people in your church and share them on your Facebook page. Create a video of their Christmas memories or interview them about their Christmas traditions. Everyone longs to be part of a true community, and seeing people from your church sharing their stories says, “this is a place you can belong, too.”

7. Put key info on your cover image

It’s not too difficult to get people to check out your Facebook page, but you can’t guarantee that they’ll click through to your website. So make sure that all the info they’ll need to make it to your key Christmas events is visible on your cover or profile image. This might be service times or the date of special Christmas events. Don’t overload the image with information—prioritize what they need to know and give them the critical details.

8. Carefully curate your images

Images are king on Facebook. Use them as much as you possibly can with every post, but do it carefully. It’s easy to find a lot of free Christmas images, but just because they’re pretty doesn’t mean they’re working for you. A closeup, high-resolution image of Christmas ornaments with a quote over it might be pleasant to look at, but it doesn’t say anything about you and doesn’t necessarily invoke emotions. Use lots of images and use them strategically. Ask, “what does this photo say about us and what feelings does it stir up?” Find images that invoke feelings of celebration, excitement, community, and family.

9. Connect with people

There’s something special about Christmas. People are generally cheerier, more optimistic, and hopeful. Keep that in mind when you’re planning out your Facebook content. Don’t just look for stuff to fill up your posting schedule. Think about intentional, strategic posts that will connect with people. This will take an in-depth knowledge of your community and what type of online content they respond to the most.

10. Have people share your content

It should be all hands on deck over the holidays. Everyone needs to understand how Facebook works into your Christmas outreach strategy. Encourage your community to share, like, and comment on all of your church’s content. That’s the key to getting it into the feeds of their friends and family—the people you’re hoping to reach.

11. Retarget people on your website

This one takes a little bit of website know-how, but it’s worth investing in. By installing the Facebook pixel on your website, you can retarget everyone who visits your site with Facebook ads. Think about it, if they’ve visited your website, they’re already thinking about you. A well-placed follow-up ad could be the nudge they need to actually attend a service.

Bonus: Kick off the season with an event

Why not think of a big community event to kick-start your holiday season? Maybe you can raise funds with a big dinner or auction and give them proceeds to a local charity. Use Facebook events to invite people all over the community and partner with the charity to piggyback off of their Facebook page as well. This can be a simple way to get people excited about your church and the things you’re doing.

Need more help?

These ideas should get you started, but if you’re looking for more information, here are some posts to keep you informed:

• 8 Hacks for Your Church’s Social Ads
• How Your Church Can Get Better at Social Media Right Now
• 10 Effective Facebook Tips for Churches

You can also reach out to one of our experts to learn about preparing your church for a great Christmas season using excellent giving tools and a custom church app. Talk to an expert today.

When you do what you do well, your church will feed the hungry, engage the lonely, and give hope to the hopeless.

Your community will be transformed.

Eternities will be impacted.

You must do what you do well. You must level up.

Maybe you’re a senior leader who wants to reach the back row of the church. Maybe you’re an executive pastor looking for new strategies to help your church run more efficiently. Maybe you’re a communications leader who is tired of your messages bouncing off people in the community.

You keep telling yourself, “One day, I’ll get the training I need. When the pace of ministry slows down, I’ll sign up for that class. When my family responsibilities subside, I’ll register for that conference.”

But we both know, “one day” never arrives.

It’s just a way for you to procrastinate. And it’s deadly for your ministry.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Psychologists have been trying to pin down the origin of procrastination for years. It’s no easy task, but Elliot Berkman suggests we procrastinate when “the value of doing something else outweighs the value of working now.”

In other words, in the moment, you believe it’s more valuable for you to spin your wheels rather than take the step you need to level up your skills.

You could have a myriad of reasons why you’re delaying action:

• Maybe you’ve failed to put a deadline on yourself so the task has become largely abstract in your mind.
  
• Maybe you’re not really sure what the next step is. Vagueness often gives birth to procrastination.
  
• Maybe you feel inadequate to take the step.
  
• Maybe the step appears too difficult. (You figure you’ll never find the money or the time to get the training.)

The Consequences of Procrastination

Procrastination has consequences. You teach others that, but do you stop and think about the impact your own procrastination has on your ministry?
Take, for example, these three important consequences:

1. You’ll Set a Bad Example

You’re a leader. No matter what role you have in the church, people are looking at you as an example. When you procrastinate on much-needed training, you encourage others to pause their own growth. If you don’t need to grow, why do they?   

2. You’ll Miss Opportunities

Your time is limited. You won’t be on this planet forever. Your opportunities are finite. Miss them once and you may not get another shot. You may have an opportunity to use the training you need next week or next year. If you put it off, you’ll miss it.

It’s not just about you, either. The most important opportunities for your ministry will impact other people. You’ll reach new people. You’ll meet crucial needs for others. You’ll extend the work of your church into new places.

Or you won’t.

But what if you’re ready for that opportunity? What if, as you take your next step in training soon, you’ll be ready for whatever comes your way? Who will be helped tomorrow because you stopped procrastinating today?

3. You’ll Ruin Momentum

Momentum requires growth. You are not prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. You simply aren’t. What’s thriving in your ministry right now won’t continue to thrive without growth.

As you invest in your church’s future growth, you’ll ensure you can continue to move forward despite the inevitable changes in your community.

Sure, one day you’ll get around to it. One day, you’ll get the training you need. One day, when the opportunity cost of not getting the training gets bigger than the cost of taking the necessary steps, you’ll do it.

But what will be the cost of waiting for that day?

You may never know.

Your One Day Is Here

What if your one day could truly come in one day?

You shouldn’t have to clear a week on your schedule to truly level up.

That’s why Pushpay created the Summit One Day. It’s designed for busy church leaders who are tired of saying they’ll get to more training one day.

You’ll find great church conferences out there designed to inspire you. By the time the week ends, you’re ready to run through a wall. Maybe you need conferences like that from time to time.

But that’s not Summit One Day.

You see, Summit One Day isn’t for everyone. If you’re content with the ministry skills you have right now and you just need more motivation, this conference isn’t for you. If you’re looking for a sermon and a song, this is not your conference.

Summit One Day is for church leaders who want to level up their skills right away.

Hosted at McGlohon Theatre (Elevation Church’s Uptown location) in Charlotte, NC, Summit One Day equips you to do your work more effectively. Whether you’re in leadership, operations, communications, technology, or finance, you’ll get the skills you need to help your ministry grow during this conference.

Erwin Raphael McManus (Founding and lead Pastor of Mosaic Church in Los Angeles), Nona Jones (Faith-Based Partnerships Leader at Facebook), Scott Harrison (Founder and CEO of charity: water) and Pastor Steven Furtick (Founding and Lead Pastor of Elevation Church) will be there.

You’ll get communications insights from the business world in the context of the church.

You’ll find hard-to-get technology insights that you understand without an engineering degree.

You’ll learn more about how leadership in the church has changed in the last decade.

And you’ll get all of that training in just a day.

Just one day…

It’s time to celebrate. Your ONE DAY has finally come.

Each keynote roughly corresponded to one of Summit’s themes: Communications, Technology, and Leadership.

Scott Harrison: Communications Solves Impossible Problems

Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of charity: water, kicked things off on an inspiring note by discussing how communications technology has presented fresh solutions to global problems. Currently, nine-tenths of the world’s population lacks access to clean drinking water, but by leveraging technology that was unavailable only decades ago, charity: water believes they can end the water crisis within our lifetime.

Scott is a modern-day prodigal son. He grew up in a faithful Christian family, but once he turned 18 (and gained the accompanying freedoms), he took off to live in NYC, where he became a nightclub promoter and lived a life of excess—until life finally caught up with him, and he realized he wanted to give back to the world.

Scott moved to Africa and witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of life without the most basic human essential: Clean drinking water. To make it even most infuriating, sometimes that life-saving resource is only a few yards underground.

Charity: water wants to dig wells. But how they communicate their mission differs from most traditional charities. Usually, when a nonprofit reaches out about a crisis, they capitalize on guilt to procure a donation. “Most charity brands are built on shame and guilt,” says Scott. “We wanted to build a brand on inspiration.”

Charity: water tells stories, because people “don’t respond to statistics,” says Scott. Stories do more than slap a face on a charity: They involve donors in the work by identifying who, exactly, is benefiting. Now, you don’t throw money to bring down a curve—you are directly helping another human being.

Charity:water is built on the idea of complete transparency and accountability, and every penny goes the drilling of wells by local villagers. You can read more about charity:water and their amazing story, here.

Chris Heaslip: Technology Shows Us Where the Culture Is

Following up with a keynote was Pushpay’s very own Chris Heaslip, CEO and Co-Founder. Chris walked us through the history of television to show that cultural tastes have transitioned from a preference for the ideal, put-together, and perfect, to the real, authentic, and intimate. Regrettably, the church hasn’t caught up. She still expects “picture-perfect” to resonate with the culture and markets herself accordingly.

According to Chris, people used to enjoy shows like Friends, Family Matters, Full House, and Home Improvement. These showed a manicured and bubbly view of everyday life, and people ate it up. Today, it’s a different story. We like unscripted television that depict a grittier and messier view of life. “Culture in the 90s was about presenting a perfect image,” says Chris. “By the 2000s, we wanted to see reality.” The church, however, is still lost in the Full House era.
Cultural forces have transformed the entertainment industry. People have new values and new expectations. However, according to Chris, “Technology is now surpassing entertainment as the primary driver of culture.” Then he adds, “To connect with people, we must operate in the culture, not the church.”

There were more iPhones sold last year than there were babies born—by a 20 to 1 margin. Read the culture: People are living more technologically-immersive lifestyles, and the church needs to get on board. “Technology is not about technology for technology’s sake,” says Chris. “We should embrace technology because we care about people.”

Clay Scroggins: How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge

Finally, Clay Scroggins, lead pastor of North Point Community Church, lightened the mood with a comical presentation on how to lead without being in charge. In his mind, authority and leadership are two different things, and they aren’t always found together. You can start leading right now, whatever your position.

Like many of us, Clay Scroggins wanted to lead. As the senior pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA, he had an important role. But he wasn’t in charge. He served under the leadership of the church’s lead pastor, Andy Stanley.

During his Summit keynote message, Clay shared with 1,100 church leaders and staff at Summit the one key truth that changed his entire outlook: The essence of leadership is influence. Leadership wasn’t authority. Leadership centered on the ability to influence others: “I have been learning slowly that authority and leadership don’t go hand in hand,” says Clay. “Leadership oozes influence.”

Clay shared three key ways to gather influence when you’re not the top leader:

1. Lead yourself

You have to take responsibility for your own growth. “No one can lead me if I’m not willing to be motivated to lead myself,” Clay said.

2. Choose positivity

Clay told attendees their energy would be the key to influencing others. You may not like every decision that you’ve been charged with implementing, but stay positive about it. “More important than making the right decision is owning the decision and making it right,” Clay said.

3. Think critically

Influence doesn’t just come with mindless agreement. To really influence others, you have to think deeply about the issues. Clay said, “Critical thinkers notice things, they question things, and they connect things.” He urged attendees to think critically so we can make what we’re influencing better.

Clay didn’t make it to his fourth way to gather influence (i.e, “Reject passivity”), but he does mention it in his new book, How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge.

Standout Leadership Breakout Session Quotes

Blue Van Dyke

“Every leader should be able to boil down what they’re doing to one piece of paper.”
“You don’t have to focus on winning the game. What you have to win is 90 feet at a time. Eventually, we can make our way around the field.”

Holly Tate

“Two-thirds of Americans hate their jobs. But we’re here because we believe in innovation, and we can change this.”

Brad Leeper

“Generous churches led by generous staff leaders grow healthy staff leaders faster and better.”

Standout Technology Breakout Session Quotes:

Jay Kranda

“Think about how you can go from online to offline in order to provide a full experience.”
“By getting my hands and feet dirty, I started to understand the space. Make small iterations quickly. Just update the code.”

Larry Hubatka

“Technology is not a replacement for substance.”
“Technology is about time. Technology is going to be the thing that is going to accelerate our growth.”