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How is your calendar looking? Most of us have multiple gatherings planned throughout December, so if your calendar is a bit crowded, you will fit right in! December is full of events (both fun and sacred) to choose from. As a small church, it can be challenging to successfully promote an event during the holidays, especially Christmas events. But don’t give up just yet; let’s look at some tips and strategies that will assist your small church in effectively promoting a Christmas event.
Why Promoting A Christmas Event Is So Important
During the Christmas season, our friends, co-workers, and even family members who don’t attend church are more likely to accept an invitation to church or a church-related event. Outreach.com shares that although a verbal invitation is often the most effective, other invitations during the Christmas season can also reap great rewards. Promoting a women’s ministry Christmas event may be the one invitation to church that a woman will accept all year.
For women who are members or regular attendees of your women’s ministry, the Christmas event can be a source of fellowship, support, and encouragement during a chaotic and stressful month. But, if we are not intentionally promoting the thoughtfully planned, prayed-for event, women may miss out on the chance to attend. Therefore, it is crucial that we not only organize the event but also thoroughly plan how to promote it effectively.
Tips for Successfully Promoting a Christmas Event
The following section will discuss several ideas for sharing your event with a broader audience. Some will be free, and others will be low-cost (fitting easily into your budget).
1. Create A Theme And Use Similar Color Schemes In All Promotions.
Create a theme for the event and then use it in all the ways you promote the Christmas event. Using one set of graphics consistently unifies the promotions and creates awareness and recognition. Awareness and recognition will make the event more memorable as people see it advertised in different media. Brand recognition is a powerful advertising tool. Think about your favorite soft drink. When you see those familiar colors and shapes, aren’t you tempted to reach for a cold can of soda? Use the principle to help women recognize your event and build excitement.
2. Create A Professional And Eye-Catching Invitation
Choose an online design tool app to create a polished and professional invitation. I personally use Canva for social media posts, invitations, presentations, logos, videos, and more! I chose the Professional Version, which has a yearly fee attached. But, when our church’s graphics software was discontinued, I introduced our Administrative Assistant to the free version, and she now uses Canva exclusively. There are other options available for graphic design at varying price points. Do your research and find the one that works best for you.
3. Post The Invitation You Created
Does your church have a website? Create a pop-up that displays the invitation. Post the invitation on your social media accounts and recruit others (men, women, staff, youth) in your congregation to post and share widely. Both options have the added bonus of only spending your time posting and sharing. Another option is to include the invitation in the church bulletin.
There is no added cost since the church already prints the bulletin on a routine basis. Do you have a church bulletin board? Pin your invitation to it. Does the children’s or youth ministry email parents or guardians? Ask them to attach the invitation. Consider how your church communicates with the congregation and visitors, and ask to include the invitation.
4. Door Hangers/Flyers
Once you have created your invitation, print flyers and door hangers and recruit church members to distribute them in their neighborhoods. Door hangers are quick and easy to distribute. In my experience, even the shyest and most introverted ladies are willing to go door to door and leave these on the front door handle of homes. Remember the article from OUTREACH.com that I linked in an earlier paragraph that shared statistics about the success of written invitations during the holiday season? This time of year, you are much more likely to have women respond to a door hanger or flyer invitation.
Recruit women to ask permission to post the flyers on public bulletin boards around your community. Do you have a locally owned business that will allow the church to hang a flyer in a window? Public libraries often have a bulletin board of upcoming community events where you can post the flyers. Take a few moments during your planning session and brainstorm with your team about other avenues available in your community to post/ leave flyers or door hangers. In the past, women with children participating in Little League or other team sports have been a fount of information on where to post flyers!
5. Your Church Sign
If your congregation has a sign, don’t overlook this valuable resource! Our church has a digital sign that our women’s ministry updates to share a banner message. The church down the block has a sign on which they manually change the letters. Both signs are very effective in communicating with our community. Adding the name and details for the event and adding “community welcome, call for details” consistently generates calls to both church offices. Last spring, our church office tracked 15 participants who attended our annual Ladies’ Tea based on the information we provided on the church sign.
6. Design And Print A Banner
Once you have created your graphics and invitation, you can have a banner printed. Hang the banner on church property facing the busiest intersection or road. You must outsource this option unless your church has the equipment to print the banner. However, a banner can be an effective method of promotion. Compare prices with brick-and-mortar print shops and reputable online companies. Often, you will find a significant price difference.
7. Mail Invitations
This option is especially effective if you have kept a mailing list of women who have attended past events. You can send printed or handwritten invitations. If the children’s or youth department has a mailing list, cross-reference and send an invitation to the mother, grandmother, aunt, guardian, etc., of children or youth who have attended an event or church within the last year. A handwritten invitation personalized with the woman’s name handed to the children as they leave Sunday School is a sweet idea to include women who may send their children to church but have not yet attended.
Tap Into Social Media
1. Create A Reel
A reel is a short video, usually 60-90 seconds long, that you can post on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok. If Reels are a new skill for you, don’t worry. I checked online, and all four platforms have step-by-step instructions for creating and uploading a reel. A pro tip would be to recruit one of the youth in your congregation or even a neighbor to help you create your promotion reel.
Involving her in the creation gives you a perfect segue into inviting her to attend. Bonus points for including the next generation in your women’s ministry events! No worries if you are hesitant to talk for a full minute on a social media platform! Create a string of images with graphics, pictures, and all the important information, such as date, time, location, etc., and then add a soundtrack of a favorite Christmas song.
2. Create An Event On Facebook
Creating an in-person event on Facebook is a great way to share the details of your Christmas Event. I found this helpful link for step-by-step instructions on how to create a Facebook event. Once you create the event, people can sign up, show interest in attending, and share with their friends. This is a free resource with the potential to reach many people. Recruit church members to like, share, and indicate if they are attending or even interested in attending; this will help build the buzz you need to reach more and more women.
A Different Kind Of Social
1. Word Of Mouth
Don’t overlook this proven method of inviting women. Women are social and verbal. Build a buzz within the congregation about inviting neighbors, co-workers, the lady at the grocery store, and anyone else the ladies interact with during the week. In Sunday School or Small Groups, pray corporately, asking the Holy Spirit to prompt women to invite others as they go through their day. Then, after you pray, be ready to be obedient! The Holy Spirit will honor the request to reach others with the love of Jesus; we need to be ready to move as He leads.
Promotion Is Necessary!
As leaders and volunteers in women’s ministry, we spend significant effort and time designing, planning, and implementing events for the women of our congregation and community. However, we can’t depend on the adage “build it and they will come.” Promotion of the events is necessary. Women have multiple levels of responsibility and commitment; their calendars reflect their busy schedules. December is a particularly chaotic and busy month.
As you promote your Christmas Event, keep the following in mind:
- Create a theme that can unify the different ways you advertise and promote to create brand recognition for the event.
- Use a graphic design program to create the invitation, social media posts, flyers, posters, etc.
- Take advantage of all the resources available.
- Recruit other ministries in your congregation to support your promotion of the event.
Christmas and the holiday season is a perfect time to invite women who have never attended a women’s ministry event or church. The probability that she will accept your invitation is much higher this season. I am so excited to hear how you use one or all of these tips as you promote your Christmas Event. Please send me an email at Carla@signsformysister.com and share your stories.
Serving alongside you!
Read More:
How To Host A Christmas Tea Party For Your Women’s Ministry
8 Fun Children’s Ministry Christmas Party Ideas
Easy Christmas Narrations For Your Small Church
Carla Adams is a wife, a nurse, and a women’s ministry leader. As an author and a speaker, she seeks to encourage women to use their God-given tools, talents, and gifts to serve Him and others.
