Religious congregations are gradually returning to normal as coronavirus cases begin to subside after more than a year, making now a great time for churches to use Business Texting as a way to communicate with congregation members.
According to a Pew Research Center survey released in March,
Americans are increasingly comfortable attending religious gatherings this year
now that it seems the number of new COVID-19 infections is subsiding. The
survey found that only 17% of places of worship remained closed for in-person
services in March 2021. For reference, more than one-third were closed for
in-person services as of July 2020, when COVID-19 was still a growing concern
in the U.S.
There will likely be another adjustment period for many religious attendees who need to get back in the swing of in-person worship, where COVID-19 restrictions will likely still in place into 2021. Religious leaders can make the transition back to in-person worship a little easier by staying in contact with members via text.
Worship leaders can send text messages to their members’ cell phones rather
than hoping that members diligently check their emails or happen to see your
social media posts about important announcements and upcoming events.
With business texting, religious groups and large organizations can optimize
their main phone number to send and receive SMS messages. There is no special
equipment required to get started, and providers like Text My Main Number make it
easy to get comfortable texting using an intuitive and secure dashboard.
Plus, multiple users can log
in with their credentials to read and send text messages from your main
business phone number. If your organization relies on help from volunteers,
everyone can pitch in and respond to messages when they have time.
In this post, we will share a few ideas on how churches of any size can use
landline texting to stay in contact with members as they reopen for in-person
worship and get ready for a busy year.
1. Send reminders for upcoming church services and events
Many religious worshipers have spent the better part of a year attending worship services online to cut down on large social gatherings. As more people plan to go to live, in-person worship events this year, religious organizations will need to be sure members know what time they need to arrive for services and special events.
Staff members can schedule a text message the evening or day before a big event to remind members what time services begin and encourage them to arrive a few minutes early to ensure the services stay on schedule. It may also be an easy opportunity to remind people who plan to attend to follow COVID-19 protocols, like mask-wearing and social distancing.
2. Offer daily motivation with verses and short lessons
It can be easy for people to get distracted by their busy lives during the week. With landline texting, religious leaders can encourage everyone to take some time to reflect on their faith amidst all of their other responsibilities each day. Short, regular messages can be a great way to encourage people to start their mornings on a good note or wind their days down with some time for reflection.
With landline texting, faith leaders can share daily verses or short religious lessons straight to their members’ mobile devices using their landline phone number. If someone does not wish to receive your daily messages, they can reply “STOP” to be taken off of your contact list.
3. Create templates to answer common questions
Aside from sending out important announcements, staff members or volunteers can also receive text messages that anyone sends to the church’s main phone number.
People often prefer sending a text to confirm the time of an event, or to ask about special programs rather than calling someone over the phone. To make things easy, staff members can draft template responses ahead of time to answer those kinds of common questions. When someone asks a question, you will already have a written response ready to send. Texting templates save you the time you would otherwise spend answering phone calls and responding to email messages throughout the week. Templates also help ensure information is accurate, and that there is no miscommunication.
4. Use business texting to pass along prayer requests to your congregation
Churches are often an important social support system for people in the community, and many congregations prefer to show their support for one another through prayer.
With landline texting, members can text your main phone number when they wish to request a prayer. Staff members and leaders who have access to the texting dashboard can read the message and quickly relay the request to other members by sending out a mass text.
5. Follow up each religious service with a text
Sometimes people cannot make it to a worship service. Religious leaders can follow up each service they offer with a text that summarizes the main points of their messages, the lessons that got shared, and a link to a video recording of the service that people can view right on their cell phones. These follow-up text messages help members keep a record of what they learned in one easy-to-access location on their mobile device.
Although it may be a while before our lives return completely back to normal,
religious congregations can still fulfill their vital missions and remain in
close contact with members through these confusing times. Texting is an
affordable and effective solution to communicate with people of all ages. It
also helps open a new avenue of communication with people in the community who
need help.
Click here to
learn more about how Text My Main Number can help your church or organization, and get started with business texting
today.
0 Comment