Top 5 church texting services to boost communication & engagement

Did you know that Americans send over 2 trillion text messages every year? That’s nearly 6 billion text messages every day! Texting is so popular that organizations such as businesses, schools, and even government offices have adopted texting platforms to instantly communicate with their audiences. 

Similarly, church texting has become a vital tool for religious organizations to engage with their congregations, enhance communication, and build stronger communities. It involves sending text (SMS) messages to share updates, announcements, event details, prayer requests, and other relevant information. 

By adopting church texting services as a means of outreach, churches have found an efficient and convenient way to connect with their community, share important updates, and promote events and activities.

What is a church texting service?

Imagine you’re a leader at a church using your personal phone to send group text messages to your team every week. It’s simple enough at first, but every time you need to add or remove a person from your group, you’re required to create a brand new message thread from scratch. This can result in confusion and lost messages. 

At the same time, your cell phone plan has a size limit on group texts to prevent unwanted spam messages—usually between 10 to 20 people. This means that once your group reaches that size, you can’t add more people. 

Church texting services allow your team to create groups of people for individual or mass texting. This means you can select groups like volunteer teams, parents, or small groups and quickly send them a text message with important information. You can easily see responses, previous conversations, and even send links to webpages like sign-up forms—all from your church texting dashboard. 

Sending church text messages helps leaders easily manage communications and engage with their church members in a direct and immediate manner, fostering community, enhancing communication, and facilitating outreach efforts.

Benefits of church texting

Better communication

The main benefit of church texting is that it is extremely effective. 98% of text messages get opened—five times more than emails! Communication gaps such as overlooked emails, missed phone calls, and unheard voicemails can leave your people flustered and disheartened. Being able to send a church text, on the other hand, allows for instant communication.

Extended reach

Another significant benefit of church texting is its ability to reach a wide audience instantly through mass texting. Church leaders can send one message to small to large groups of people to keep them informed about upcoming services, prayer requests, and volunteer opportunities.

Deeper engagement

Church texting services allow for increased engagement and interaction. Churchgoers can respond to messages, ask questions, and participate in discussions, fostering a sense of community and involvement. In times of crisis or personal need, church text messages help church leaders quickly offer spiritual guidance, share inspirational messages, or organize counseling sessions, creating a more accessible and responsive support system.

Increased participation

Lastly, church texting services can aid in promoting events and fundraisers. Texting out reminders, invitations, and updates, you can increase attendance at services, community initiatives, charity drives, and other gatherings. This form of communication is particularly effective for time-sensitive reminders or last-minute changes.

This direct and immediate communication ensures the right people get the right information at the right time.

Church texting

The 5 best church texting platforms

Effective communication is essential for the health of every church, and a texting solution can streamline and simplify your communication like never before. If you’re wondering which texting service your church should use, we’ve compiled the five best platforms that can take your communication to the next level. Let’s dive in!

1. Subsplash

Of all texting platforms, Subsplash offers the most modern and innovative approach to church texting. Their software allows your team to easily send and manage text messages for both church groups and individuals. It comes with an intuitive and user-friendly dashboard so you can quickly streamline your communication process, create real two-way communication, and keep your people updated on current events. 

The Subsplash Platform offers more than other stand-alone text messaging services by combining the power of church texting with:

Along with a full suite of tools to meet all of your communication needs, the Subsplash Platform also provides your church with everything needed to truly engage your community all week long—custom church apps, websites, live streaming, online giving, church management software, and much more! 

If you’re ready to streamline your communications, engage your people, and build a stronger community with the best church texting service,[.blog-contact-cta] connect with one of our ministry consultants today![.blog-contact-cta]

2. EZ texting

EZTexting is a text messaging platform designed for businesses and nonprofits to streamline their communication efforts. Their system enables groups like churches to connect with their audience through SMS marketing campaigns and instant communication. Its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features make it a popular choice among organizations seeking to optimize their text messaging strategies.

While EZTexting covers the essential SMS marketing features, it may lack some advanced church-focused features that more specialized platforms offer, such as a text and email option, integrations with a ChMS, or online group messaging to encourage community building.

3. Clearstream 

One of the better church texting platforms is Clearstream. Their texting features include mass texting, workflows, and live polls to help churches quickly communicate with their communities. They also offer integrations with some church management software and business platforms. 

Although Clearstream provides a user-friendly interface, mastering all its features and functionalities may require some time and effort. Also, their reliance on third-party integrations for things like church management and online giving requires more set up time and maintenance compared to a unified platform like Subsplash.

4. Flocknote

Flocknote is a church-focused texting platform that offers mass email and text messaging, people management, and digital giving. This allows churches to do several tasks beyond simple SMS messaging without having to use multiple platforms.

Despite having multiple features, Flocknote’s offerings could use additional features that churches often need for creating a real sense of community. For example, their platform doesn’t offer an in-app or online group messaging service or a live streaming option, and their people management lacks essential tools like child check-in. 

5. Text In Church

Another church texting and email service is Text In Church. Their platform is focused exclusively on church communication with emails, texting, and workflows for regular tasks like following up with guests. 

While their service focuses on church engagement, Text In Church is one of the more basic communication platforms for churches that lacks essential engagement tools such as group messaging, live streaming, sermon videos, and many more. 

Unleash the potential of church texting

Church leaders have long used the latest technology to increase communication, such as the Roman Roads, the Gutenberg Press, or radio and television. These innovations allowed the gospel to be spread faster and further than ever before. 

Unlock the power of seamless communication and engagement with Subsplash, the ultimate church texting and engagement platform. With a suite of powerful digital tools, you can experience the best-in-class platform that connects and grows your congregation. 

[.blog-contact-cta]Connect with one of our Ministry Consultants [.blog-contact-cta]to power up your church's outreach and maximize member engagement today!

Author

Jeff Harvey, Guest Author
www.subsplash.com

Jeff lives in Austin, TX and is a husband, father, and bonsai enthusiast. He’s served churches for over 20 years as a pastor, teacher, and missionary. He also holds a MBA from George Fox University and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish.

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