Getting more people to come to church usually starts with a question that is a little different from “How do we advertise our church?”
The better question is: Why would someone who does not currently attend our church decide to walk through our doors?
That shift matters.
You can print flyers, post every day on social media, run adverts and invite people to special programmes, but if there is no clear reason for someone to come, the publicity may only create noise. People are more likely to respond when they can see that your church has something relevant to what they are dealing with, looking for or curious about.
Start by becoming very clear about who you are trying to reach. A church trying to reach everybody can easily end up communicating with nobody in particular. Maybe you are trying to reach young families in your area. Maybe students and young adults. Maybe people who are new to the city. Maybe people who have stopped attending church and are looking for a place to reconnect. You don’t have to exclude everyone else, but knowing who you are trying to serve helps you communicate better.
Then look honestly at the experience a first-time visitor will have.
Imagine someone sees your church online, decides to attend this Sunday, and knows absolutely nobody there. Can they easily find your location? Do they know what time the service starts? Is there a clear way to contact the church? When they arrive, does somebody notice them without making them feel like a project? Can they understand what is happening during the service? If they have children, do they know where to take them?
These things may sound small, but they matter. Inviting people is only half of the work. Making it easy for them to come back is the other half.
Your members also have a major role to play. People are often more willing to visit a church because someone they know invited them than because they saw a random advertisement. But instead of telling members, “Invite somebody to church,” give them something specific to invite people to.
For example:
> “I know you’ve been looking for a church since you moved here. We’re having a service this Sunday at 9am. I’d love you to come with me. I’ll meet you at the entrance.”
That is a much more natural invitation than sending someone a flyer and saying, “Come to church.”
It is also worth looking at what your church is putting online. If someone hears about your church today, your social media page may be their first visit before they ever enter the building. What will they find there? Only posters announcing programmes? Or can they actually get a sense of the people, teaching, worship, values and atmosphere of the church?
Show people what they can expect.
And don’t make every communication about an upcoming programme. Sometimes share something genuinely helpful. A short teaching. A thoughtful answer to a question people are asking. A testimony. A moment from a service. A practical word for parents, young people, couples or workers. Over time, this helps people understand that your church isn’t simply trying to get people into seats; you are trying to serve people.
There is another issue churches sometimes avoid because it requires honesty.
If people are coming but not returning, the problem may not be your outreach.
It may be the experience they are having after they arrive.
Perhaps nobody follows up. Perhaps the service is difficult for a first-time visitor to understand. Perhaps the person feels ignored. Perhaps everything feels centred around people who have been there for years. Perhaps the church promised one experience online and delivered something completely different in person.
Don’t respond to this by blaming visitors for being “uncommitted.” Ask them what happened.
Even a simple conversation with five or ten first-time visitors can reveal things your leadership team has stopped noticing because you are already familiar with the church.
Finally, don’t become obsessed with numbers alone.
A church can have a packed auditorium and still struggle to disciple people. The goal isn’t simply more people sitting in church this Sunday. You want people who encounter Christ, find genuine community, grow in the Word, discover their place to serve and become part of the life of the church.
So if you want more people to come, work on the whole journey:
Give people a reason to come. Make it easy to come. Give them a good reason to return. And build a church worth inviting people into.
That is usually a much healthier growth strategy than simply trying to find a better advertising campaign.
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