One of the major objectives of your church is to build relationships within the community of the faithful and establish trust and acceptance for all members. Communication is a foundation for establishing and maintaining relationships, and SMS marketing for churches helps you to keep lines of communication open. Text messaging allows you to connect with church members and staff through the convenience of their cell phones.

Just about everyone in America owns a cell phone and all of them can receive and send text messages. The popularity and acceptance of text messaging provides ideal opportunities to share valuable information with all or segments of your congregation. Get messages to members quickly and easily to keep them informed about the latest happenings in your church.

Examples of SMS Marketing for Churches

Keeping in contact with your congregation in between services is the best way to increase the chances they will come back next week. From service reminders and daily devotionals to prayer requests and emergency alerts, SMS has a wide range of applications for communicating to church members and staff.

Event Reminders

Use texts for weekly reminders of your church’s scheduled services to all members at one time. Congregants can even let you know if they will be unable to make it. You can even follow up with a text after the service to thank members for coming and encouraging them to come back next week. Dedicated keywords are used for group texts with information related to specific highly-attended services such as Easter and Christmas.

Prayer Requests

Life can change in an instant and church communities rely on each other for support through the best and worst of times. They are always willing and eager to add people to their prayer list. When a congregant needs a kind word or the knowledge others are thinking of them in their time of need, a text message is the best way to deliver the message and know it will be opened and read.  

Daily Devotionals

Texting allows you to connect with your members during the week between Sunday services. Give your members a daily reminder of the power of their faith every day. Provide the faithful in your congregation a daily devotional through a text message.

Text-to-Give Opportunities

The global coronavirus pandemic has hit churches financially in a number of ways. In-person restrictions and complete cancelation of services comes at a time when the churches most need the contributions from their members. Congregations are turning to text-to-give strategies to collect donations easily and safely. vorText specializes in setting up text-to-donate systems to allow your members to simply text the amount they wish to donate and it gets deposited into your account.

Contests, Sweepstakes

Text messages are great to build up some excitement for your next service. Get creative and post a contest or sweepstakes to provide some anticipation and momentum. For example, offer a special gift for everyone who wears a certain color, or prioritized seating or parking for the 10th person to correctly answer a church-related trivia question.

Group, Committee Messages

Churches are often made up of groups, committees, and subcommittees responsible for various aspects of the congregation’s operations. From publicity to event planning, each department can have a group text dedicated to information and notifications about their specific events and initiatives.

Text messages can also be used for last-minute requests for help or support. Send out a mass text asking for volunteers to work the nursery or help with a church repair project.

Provide Additional Sermon-Related Materials

Prepare your congregation for your upcoming sermon with text messages that contain information and links to additional resources. When your parishioners know a little bit more about your sermon topic beforehand, they will be more engaged in the process and get more out of your service.

Emergency, Last-Minute Updates

Text messaging is a valuable tool when emergencies and last-minute changes inevitably come up. Make a group of people or the entire congregation instantly aware of any updates in scheduling or safety issues.  

In these uncertain times, text messaging can also be used to provide COVID-19 updates within the community and provide information for in-person and virtual services.

Promote Holiday Services

SMS messaging is an ideal way to get your congregation excited about special holiday services like Christmas and Easter. Because they may be held at your normal service time, texts can help to make sure members and their families have all the latest updated information so nobody misses the celebration.

Member Welcome Text

Having a new member join your congregation is an exciting event for you, them, and the entire church community. Follow up directly with new members to welcome them to your congregation. Start the conversation and get to know them so they can feel like a valued member of the community.

Etiquette to Follow When SMS Marketing for Churches

While text messaging is a fast, convenient, and safe way to distribute important church-related information to your congregation, there are some guidelines and etiquette tips that will make your SMS marketing efforts go smoothly and effectively.

Get Permission First

Getting someone’s permission before texting them marketing and promotional materials is more than just being polite. When it comes to SMS marketing, it is the law. The Telephone Communications Protection Act requires that SMS recipients must consent to be included in your text messages services.

Text Only Relevant, Important Info

Texting too often and oversharing will lead to members opting out of your messages. Make sure you are only sending the most important messages in the shortest possible way. Limit your texting to weekly or monthly messages to avoid pestering members. Invite them to contact you if they need additional information or support between texts from you.

Contact vorText Today

Text messaging is a valuable communication tool you can use to keep your congregation informed, engaged, and excited about your next service or church event. For more information on the power of SMS marketing for churches, contact the industry specialists at vorText and get started today.