We know, we know, we know. It’s too early to start celebrating Christmas. But it’s not too early to start planning for it. In fact, most churches miss a massive opportunity every single Christmastime…is yours going to miss it again this year? Honestly, it may be the most important year yet to make sure your church doesn’t miss out.

Tips to keep in mind:

• Anytime people are in front of you, you need to take advantage of that opportunity to connect with them further, and that includes getting their most-important information, which is their email address and cell phone number.
• Plan ahead! Don’t wait till December to start thinking about this.
  • At a minimum, you can provide your email/text list info in your bulletin but it’s even better if you hand out a separate flyer to each person.
  • Make an announcement to provide your email/text list info, and explain “why” they should provide you with their contact info. It’s important to make it compelling!
  • Consider offering a small gift for all those that sign up so people are more willing.
• Consider the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 – this Christmas is a HUGE opportunity to reach that one lost sheep.

Links from this show:

• Matt Warner references a custom flyer and launch cards. If you’re a Flocknote user, you can access these resources (+ lots more). Here’s how!
  
• Flocknote provides training on hosting a Signup Sunday, including this Sample Announcement Script.
• In the “People Got Church Problems” segment, messaging “subgroups” is mentioned. See how to create these in Flocknote HERE! Interested in creating Boards instead? Here’s a few resources to help with that.
• Did you find Uno? Send us a photo at howdy@findinguno.com.
• Have a general question about church communication? Submit it to our hotline at Findinguno.com/ask-a-question. 

How should it feel when you walk into a church? And what does the space — the architecture, art, materials, faces, smells, sounds — communicate to us as we encounter it? Where does our mind go? Does it matter? Why is it important that it feel strange and weird? Tune in today for a fun discussion on things that make us feel…different.

Links from this show:

• Matt Sewell references the use of math in cathedral architecture. Learn more about that HERE!
• Matt Warner poses a question for the audience and would love to hear from you! To share your thoughts on the question “What attracts you to church?”, send a message in the text box at Findinguno.com/ask-a-question.
• Matt Sewell mentions an older webinar highlighting the power of text messaging, which you can watch on-demand HERE! Please note that since this is an older webinar, it does reference dates in the past and includes some outdated screenshots, but the functionality is the same. See even more up-to-date webinars at Flocknote.com/webinar.
• Did you find Uno? Send us a photo at howdy@findinguno.com.
• Have a general question about church communication? Submit it to our hotline at Findinguno.com/ask-a-question. 

A lot of churches struggle to get folks involved in their various ministries. And a lot of church members are slowly drifting out because they haven’t managed to get more deeply plugged into your community. What if in just two minutes, you could solve that? And at the same time, grow every single ministry at your church to bigger than they’ve ever been? Here’s a simple way to do it.

How to eliminate “objections” to joining other ministries:

• Reduce members’ anxiety about what they’re signing up for.
  • Sometimes they’re afraid of attending a meeting or group in fear they’re “stuck”. 
  • Let them know they aren’t committed to something right off the bat and can ease into more responsibility (if interested).
• Personally invite people.
  • Other companies/groups/organizations are doing the work and personally inviting people to things and making them seem enticing. Along with group invites, are you directing questions to particular people and making them feel personally invited?
• Make sure to follow up!
  • If they show interest, don’t leave them hanging!

Links from this show:

• Matt Warner references a few helpful ways Flocknote can help your ministry grow!
  • Host a Signup Sunday
  • Text-to-Join Keywords
  • Utilize Smart Buttons
• Did you find Uno? Send us a photo at howdy@findinguno.com.
• Have a general question about church communication? Submit it to our hotline at Findinguno.com/ask-a-question. 

We’ve all had those days. Sometimes it seems like every day is like this. You start with a nice, organized to-do list. Then five minutes into the day you’re putting out fires, responding to emails, reacting to interruptions…and then? The day is over. And none of the important stuff on your list got done. 

Sound familiar? In this episode, we give you a simple framework to help take back your day, tame the urgent, and get back to doing the most important parts of your work.

Church leaders know that some software can make life so much easier, saving time, money, and headaches. But they also know that sometimes church software does the total opposite, ending up as frustrating and counterproductive. What’s the difference? And how should your church navigate choosing various types of software to make sure you get it right?

Pitfalls church leaders get into when choosing software:

• Someone else is choosing software to solve another person’s problem.
  • Sometimes a decision-maker or IT person selects the software that may help their own personal workflow, but it doesn’t end up being useful or enjoyable to use by the people that actually need to use it on a daily basis.
• Getting too distracted by long lists of features vs focusing on which problems the tool solves.
• Choosing a tool that does everything but, in the end, is not great at any one particular thing.
  • You want to combine the right features, but not all of them.
• Not considering the company’s customer service. It should really be a major factor in your decision, not just an added bonus.
• Not thinking long-term. The tool may be great for now, but will it work for you in 5 years? 10 years? Beyond that?
• Not stepping back and looking at the big vision/purpose.

Links from this show:

• In the “People Got Church Problems” segment, Matt explains that Flocknote admins can craft one message and it can be sent as either a text message or an email (based on each member’s preferences). Learn more about this essential feature in this handy how-to guide.
• Did you find Uno? Send us a photo at howdy@findinguno.com.
• Have a general question about church communication? Submit it to our hotline at Findinguno.com/ask-a-question.