Are people ignoring your invitations to things? If so, there are really only four possible reasons. If you’re tired of continually inviting people to participate more and go deeper, but it’s only the same ol’ people who show up, this episode is for you.

Whether it’s an invitation to a party, an invitation to go deeper in faith, or an invitation to try something new, there are four reasons people are ignoring your invitations.

1. Not targeting the right people
2. Ineffective delivery
3. No “Convincing Why”
4. Barriers

Targeting the Right People

Are you pitching stuff to the wrong audience? Are you properly segmenting your lists?

As Aristotle says, “A friend to all is a friend to no one.” If you’re friends with everyone, then what is special about your individual friendships? This logic applies to invitations.

If everyone is invited to everything, then no one, in particular, feels invited. This can be called the invitation paradox — the more people you invite at once, the smaller percentage of people will actually respond to that invitation.

The more an invitation feels catered to a particular audience, the more attractive it is and the more special the recipient feels about being invited.

Effective Delivery

It might seem oversimplified, but are your invitations actually good? Are they short, intriguing, and entertaining? Is there a clear call to action?

It is necessary for an invitation to have effective delivery, good communication practices, and an easy next step.

Convincing Why

Do your invitations have a convincing reason?

Don’t start your invitations with the “What”, start with the “Why”. Why should your people participate? Why would they be better off attending? Why is it important?

The date, time, cost, and other details are all secondary. Get your people’s attention first by telling them “Why” they should attend. Convince them!

Contrast the following invitations.

Invitation 1: Join us for our annual marriage retreat at the church hall on this date at this time, the cost is this amount per couple. It will help refresh your marriage.

Invitation 2: Is your spouse sometimes difficult to live with? (Maybe you’re the difficult one!). Do you struggle to put your marriage ahead of your job or hobbies? When was the last time you hit pause to focus on your marriage? Our annual marriage retreat does just that! Here are the details.

While the first invitation communicates the details, it fails to convince people why they should attend. Start by convincing your people why they should answer the invitation, and then they will be more interested in the details and likely to respond.

Removing Barriers

Have you removed the barriers that might be stopping people from accepting this invitation?

My schedule is too busy — Announce your event earlier so people have more time to plan and prepare.

It costs too much money — Offer discounts, ask for sponsors, or consider lowering your price.

I can’t get a babysitter — Offer child care for families.

If you’re not sure what barriers might exist, simply ask your members! Then you can get proactive about preventing those hurdles in the future and for others.

People Got Church Problems

What are the best strategies for engaging folks that have not returned to attending church post-COVID?

Here are three questions to reflect on:

1. What are you inviting them back to? Most people who have not returned were already drifting out of the church before COVID. Something has to be different to be able to convincingly invite them back. You need to be in mission mode, headed somewhere meaningful, and able to communicate that well.
2. Can you identify who they are? Most people drifted out because they weren’t already integrated into the community. It’s not just a numbers game. If you don’t know the names of the people who left, how can you invite them back? Work to further integrate your people so they don’t drift away in the future, and work together to know and personally invite people back.
3. What are you doing that you can invite them back to? Do something unique that you can invite your people back to that is fun and intriguing. This can open the door to further touch-points with them and can help people get plugged back into the community.

Links from the show

• Matthew Warner explains that these four reasons apply to all invitations, including inviting your leaders to try something new. For more on that, check out our previous episode of The Finding Uno Show: Convincing Your Pastor To Try Something New.
• In the “People Got Church Problems” section, Matthew Warner talks about Flocknote’s partnership with Word on Fire. Learn more about Word on Fire ENGAGE at Flocknote.com/engage.
• 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.