Tis the Season... Make the Most of It

CHARLES CITY, Va. — In their book, The 12 Mistakes of Christmas Outreach, authors C. Michael Johnson and Tom Bowers draw upon their combined 60-plus years of experience with holistic church marketing and community outreach to help you make the most of your efforts this holiday season.

Mistake #1: Not planning for something great. Big ideas aren’t ends in themselves; they create unforeseen opportunities and often lead to new, powerful things.

Mistake #2: Doing little (or nothing). Even word-of-mouth can be exponentially more effective if the people invited to attend have a positive awareness of your church. To maintain high awareness requires a strong community presence during the strategically important Christmas season.

Ask yourself:

1. What are your broad goals for Christmas?

2. Does your plan match the scale of your goals?

3. Who are you trying to reach?

4. What path of responses do you seek?

5. Have you considered timing and schedule?

6. Does your plan fit your budget?

7. Have you pre-evaluated the true cost of your strategies?

8. How will you track and evaluate results?

9. Are you planning broadly?

Mistake #4: Breaking the “law of large numbers.” During the Christmas season, a small (but definite) percentage of the unchurched are open to your message. The trick is finding them.

The smaller your total sample, the more random and accidental your chances are of connecting with the right people. Finding a way to think bigger almost always improves cost-effectiveness.

Mistake #5: Trying to do too much. You can only do a few things well, and only one thing very well. Decide which ideas can keep until later and which have limited shelf life.

Mistake #6: Sending a Christmas message. This doesn’t mean you should ignore Christmas. (That would be a bigger mistake.) Do, however, avoid doing what everyone else is doing, or what’s “expected” of a church.

Mistake #7: Always trying something new. Ask yourself, What do you do best as a church? Next, find a remarkable, memorable way to communicate that identity. Then ask, How are these needs continually, deeply felt by the unchurched? and How are they generally expressed in their own words?

Mistake #8: Doing outreach instead of “with-reach.” In many ways, outreach no longer works because it defines the problems of the unchurched and announces answers. “Withreach,” on the other hand, seeks to discover God already at work in their lives and join Him in his efforts.

Mistake #9: Not making Christmas children-centered enough. Ask children how they’d prefer to celebrate Christmas at church. Chances are, what they suggest would also be very appealing to the unchurched.

Mistake #10: Communicating a “heartless” message. People aren’t so much seeking explanation as they are connection. They’re attracted by churches that respond to their God-created inner need — a deeply embedded inner desire — to experience community, authentic relationships, and the mystery of love.

Mistake #11: Choosing costly options. Avoid the mistake of getting less-than-optimal value for your investment by examining three factors:

Scale: Larger numbers generally provide lower cost per impression; conversely, small plans have higher unit costs.

Medium. Direct mail not only provides one of the best cost-to-impact ratios, it’s also highly adaptable and targetable.

Content. The most expensive strategy is the one that doesn’t do what’s intended.

Mistake #12: Not connecting Christmas with Easter. At Christmas, choose a creative message that connects hearts while introducing or reinforcing your church’s identity and image.

Have a built-in plan to send the same households another unique message at Easter.

To obtain a free copy of the 12 Mistakes report in its entirety, log on to www.withreach.com or call 800.595.4327.