Does your church feel a bit disconnected during the summer months?
You’re not alone! Families are always on the go from June to August, with vacations, reunions, youth sports, and other summer activities. All this busyness can keep church members on the road and away from your services.
Most church leaders find themselves wondering during the summertime: How can we keep families connected to the ministries they care about, even when they’re not here?
It’s an important question, and at FellowshipOne we think a mobile app is a great place to find solutions!
Your church families are almost always connected to their mobile devices when they’re on the go. Throughout the summer, a dedicated app lets you meet your members where they are.
Whether you have a church app, but you think it could do more, or if you are starting from scratch, there are several ways you can put this technology to work. This will help keep your church connected during the busy summer months.
Our FellowshipOne team has identified five app strategies you can implement now for an immediate impact. Here they are:
- Lean into Livestreaming
When you make livestreaming a key feature of your church app, it lets your families be part of your services, wherever they are.
We’ve heard from vacationers who like to find a nice, quiet spot on the beach or by the lake during their summer breaks, and livestream Sunday services surrounded by God’s creation. Or families will cast services from the app onto a TV where they’re staying, so everyone can watch. Give your members this quick access to your services, and it will forge a strong summertime connection. FellowshipOne partners with ChurchStreaming.tv for livestreaming capabilities that integrate perfectly int our church app.
- Stay in Touch with Notifications
Through a well-planned mobile app, you can schedule messages throughout the summer that will be meaningful to all church members, even when they’re out of town. You can share themes and Bible verses from your upcoming sermon or offer a daily Bible verse or devotional to those who opt in to receive notifications.
This is a useful feature throughout the year – in addition to scheduled messages, you can also send push notifications to your congregation if there’s a schedule change, uplifting prayer updates, or weather alerts. But especially in the summer, notifications are a way to help your members stay connected to the Christ-driven mission they care about so much.
- Be There through Prayer Requests
Summer isn’t always fun and sunshine. People still deal with unexpected illnesses, deaths in the family, and other crises, and they need the power of prayer. (And if you’ve read travel headlines recently about this summer’s surge in flight delays and cancellations, you know that flying to or from vacation can turn into an extended, frustrating ordeal for families).
Whatever your church members are facing, you can be there for them when you equip your app with a prayer request feature. They can submit their request and know they are covered in prayer.
- Encourage Online Giving
App-based donations should always be an essential part of your online giving, and that’s especially true during the summer months. That’s because people are on the road and out of town. With robust giving opportunities through your mobile app, as well as text-to-give options and giving opportunities during your livestreams, you can empower those who care deeply about your church to sustain your ministries, even if they’re not physically present to put a gift in the offering plate.
And summer is a great time to emphasize the importance of recurring giving. People really appreciate being able to give consistently, even if summer travels or other commitments keep them away from Sunday services. Recurring giving allows them to continue giving without having to be there.
- Add Efficiency and Security with Registration Forms, Payments, and Check-Ins
Summer is a busy time for families, even when they’re not on the road. Camps, sports, and other fun activities keep young people’s schedules packed. Consequently, parents often scramble to get each child signed up and checked in for events. You can make your church’s summer activities easy for families by including registration forms, payment options, and check-in capabilities directly from your app.
Parents will appreciate the simplicity, as well as the sense of safety that mobile check-ins provide. This is another feature that especially shines in the summer, that can also be used year-round for Christmas and Easter festivities, religious education opportunities, and all the other connections you offer to your church families.
Connect Your Congregation with Your Church App
Ready to learn more about how to keep church families connected in the busy summer months? Let FellowshipOne share how your congregation can benefit from a fully integrated church app, which is included with all our church management plans. If you’re already partners with us or ready to get started, our success team is here for you. Reach out today for more information!
