Calvary Fellowship started as a home Bible study with five people. The most daunting task we had early on was figuring out how to let people know we existed. I made the mistake early on of putting all our hopes in one method rather than using different means to communicate who we were as a church and, of course, the message of the Gospel.
I see churches make this mistake all the time. They either put eggs in the Easter basket (pun intended) thinking this Superbowl of Sunday services will attract enough new people to keep the church growing throughout the year. Or they are ‘Old School’ in their thinking, believing personal evangelism is all that matters and all we need.
The key is to do what your friends did in High School when they came to your house to pick you up. They beeped the horn. We beep the horn of the church by using every means available to communicate to our community that we exist so we can to introduce them to God, who is willing forgive their sins and meet all of their needs.
Here are 4 ways every church needs to B.E.E.P. the horn to make its presence known:
B – Big Days
These are the natural high days of the church calendar. Some days, like Easter and Mother’s Day are built in to the calendar. Other big days can be manufactured to build momentum and see new people come to the church for the very first time.
E – Evangelism
Nothing can substitute individuals sharing their faith with family, friends, coworkers and classmates. However, for people to share the Gospel they must be equipped to do so and given the tools to share the message that has changed their lives.
E – Excellent Weekend Services
To the average person, your church is reduced to one hour on Sunday. The sooner we start taking Sunday more seriously, the better off our church and our community at large will be.
P – Promotion
Personal evangelism is how we reach out to those who are connected to someone in our church; but how do we reach out to those who have no connection to our church whatsoever? The answer is promotion.