What is back to church Sunday?
National Back to Church Sunday is coming up and this is a great opportunity to engage your congregation and your community. The third Sunday in September each year is National Back to Church Sunday, falling on September 18th this year. National Back to Church Sunday began in 2009 as church attendance in America was declining and people starting looking for a new and creative way to invite their friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers to church. On Back to Church Sunday, churches typically work to create an especially welcoming atmosphere and go above and beyond to make sure that visitors feel seen and welcomed.
Step 1: Add your church
The first step is to make sure your church is registered on findachurchnow.com. This awesome website will help people find you. They won’t show up if they don’t know where to go, right? Plus, this is a great way to make sure that your church is findable online. If someone is searches for “Churches Near Me” and learns about Find A Church Now, you want to make sure your address comes up so that they can connect with you! It’s totally free to create your church listing, just click here and you’ll even get some downloadable resources, including promo graphics and a 7-week planning guide.
Step 2: Create a promo plan
You’ll definitely want to promote this event to your community, since the whole idea behind Back to Church Sunday is to get new people engaged with your church. Consider some creative channels of reaching people beyond your tried-and-true social media strategy (definitely still promote on social media, though!) Consider handing out cards at local fairs or markets, leaving door hangers around the neighborhood, hanging up some signs, sending cards to church members you haven’t seen in a while, or even running some Facebook ads.
Now, if all this sounds like wayyy too much work on top of all the regularly scheduled comms programming, don’t worry. We’ve got all the supplies you’ll need at churchcommunications.com/btcs-supplies. Take a look at some of the awesome stuff that’s already designed and ready to go:
There are lots of other templated designs available, or you can customize any of the items to fit your church, plus tons of other promo options, too.
Step 3: Get your members involved
Back to Church Sunday is such a great way to get your church members involved in something. It’s also a unique opportunity to get everyone– across all ages, stages, ad ministries– working towards a common goal. With some intentionality, you’ll have your senior groups and your kindergarteners all inviting their friends to church on Sunday. Make sure you’re communicating with all your ministry teams and leaders to let them know about Back to Church Sunday, have them remind people in the weeks leading up to it, and consider playing something like this invite video during your service to encourage and motivate your congregation.
Start talking with your team about creative ways you can connect with your community this Back to Church Sunday. Make sure to create a warm and safe environment for all your new visitors, and get excited about welcoming new people into your church family and introducing them to the Gospel!
