4 ways to keep your community engaged this summer

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We know that making disciples, engaging your community, and making the truth of Jesus known doesn’t take a break during the summer months. Your ministry maintains an unwavering commitment to your mission year-round, even when vacation plans are in full swing. However, don’t worry, because a decrease in church attendance doesn’t have to mean a decrease in overall engagement.

As you prepare for the summer season, a good place to start is by asking yourself this question: How are you leveraging technology to maximize engagement in order to avoid a “summer slump”?

Here are four ways to leverage the Subsplash Platform with your ministry’s strategy this summer and beyond!        

PROMOTE YOUR APP

Make sure your church knows how they can stay connected in the midst of their changing schedules! Your custom mobile app is the ultimate tool that helps keep meaningful content and important information in the hands of your community.

A combination of email, social media, announcements from the pulpit, and—most importantly—your website are just a few ways to help get the word out that your app is the go-to place for all things related to your ministry.

Already using the Subsplash Platform? Log in to your dashboard to start using the App Promo web integration—another great tool that makes it even easier to bring in new app users to stay informed and engaged with your content this summer.        

ADD A SUMMER TAB

With special summer events like Vacation Bible School, summer camps, and mission trips, it’s crucial that you make the most important messages accessible to everyone, so that they don’t get lost in the busyness of the summer months.

Adding a dedicated summer tab in your app and a page on your church’s website is an effective and simple tool. Keeping everything in one place helps your community and first-time visitors easily find information about specific summer events registration and schedules, mission trip fundraising and itineraries, summer Bible reading plans, sermon series, and more!

Your app and website are the best places to get your community connected to the content they’re looking for.

Want to see a summer page in action? Visit Interbay Community Church to see a dedicated summer webpage built in just a matter of minutes on SnapPages™.

KEEP PEOPLE UPDATED AND IN THE LOOP WITH PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

Consistently following up is key for staying connected with your community, no matter where they go this summer. Push notifications are an effective tool for fostering this important connection.

Messages like, “Hope you’re having a great summer! In case you missed yesterday’s service, you can listen to it here,” with your latest message attached, offer your community a way to stay connected regardless of their location.

Here are examples of how you could use push notifications this summer. Feel free to copy, paste, and customize these messages to set up your own push notifications in the Subsplash Dashboard.

• “Welcome to church! Here’s your updated summer bulletin. Don’t forget to register your kids for VBS by Friday!”
• “Thanks for joining us today! Check out the new summer tab in our app to stay up-to-date all summer long.”
• “Open the app to explore our summer sermon series, and take notes to follow along with today’s message.”
• “VBS is a great opportunity for kids to have fun, make friends, and learn about Jesus. Register!”        

KEEP GIVING ENGAGEMENT GOING

Charitable donations don’t have to see a decrease during the summer months, and that’s why it’s so important to have a quick and simple digital giving solution for donors with busy vacation schedules.

This summer, encourage your members to set up a recurring gift with Subsplash Giving. Just because members miss a service or two, doesn’t mean they have to miss out on the opportunity to give as an act of worship.

This is a great time of year to set up funds and causes in Subsplash Giving. Consider creating special campaigns and fundraisers to support VBS, missions trips, and summer camps.

Don’t forget to introduce text-to-give during services to remind current donors and inform visitors about setting up a gift using a simple SMS text code. This is a great way to encourage giving for those who haven’t downloaded your app yet. To get started, log in and create your text-to-give code in your dashboard, or learn more about Subsplash Giving!

For more ideas about how to maximize the Subsplash Platform this summer, schedule a call with your Client Success Manager! If you’re not already leveraging The Ultimate Engagement Platform™, [.blog-contact-cta]let’s chat![.blog-contact-cta]