Simple Rules for Your Text Evangelism Strategy

Jason Alexis

Digital Strategist for PastorsLine and co-author of reTHINK.Ministry. ​​​​​​​

So, you're ready to level 2 your text strategy. Before diving in, remember these simple rules:

Usually creating a texting campaign is relegated to the advertising 'department' and would be used to sell a product. For you and the church, it will be used to promote your message and services to your members. To maximize engagement and impact, you want to use SMS technology effectively, keeping your members reading and responding to your messages.

To accomplish your goals, you should follow these simple steps to keep them tuned in to Jesus:

• Respect your members’ privacy. Never give out any of their information either on social media or in a text message. Your members may be happy to share their mobile number or allow you to do so, but never do this without their clear permission.
• Integrate your messages into social media. Sending out a text message using SMS is just a start. Sharing your messages to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook enhances the conversation and reaches even more people. Using messaging in this way creates a cross-platform campaign strategy that increases your reach and engagement.
• Develop a digital strategy, put it in place, and use it. When thinking about an effective strategy, a general rule-of-thumb is to visualize your audience as a group of smart, tech-savvy young adults. Then, focus on the strategy you’ve created instead of indiscriminate text blasting.
• Encourage conversation. Create your messages in a way that make your members think and want to provide answers or comments. These types of open messages often provide you with insight into the interests of your audience and generates  new ideas for creating conversations.
• Keep them tuned in. In most advertising campaigns, there is a bonus provided to members for speaking up or continuing a conversation. You, too, can provide bonuses by offering a point system and handing out points to those members who provide thoughtful comments. If you are trying to reach youths, you may want to create a game they can play within a conversation. Posting winners to games or celebrating those who have the highest point total during a weekend service provides a joining incentive for those not engaging in the conversation.
• Timing is everything. Choose the time of day wisely. If you want to reach a specific sub-group of your members, you will want to think about the time of the day and the day of the week that they will most likely be available to chime in on a conversation or read a message.
• Keep it simple. People tune out when a conversation becomes lengthy. Shorten the conversations up by providing new points of interest. Remember you only have about 160 characters to communicate your message. In other words, keep your messages short and to the point to increase clarity and engagement. 

To help you get started with texting for churches, download this free guide. 

Resources:

• 3 Ways You Can Use Texting for Church
• 4 Reasons to Consider Using Mobile Giving Strategies
• An Introduction to Texting for Churches
• Case Study: A Deep Dive (with Real Data) into the Use of Texting in Evangelism​