I can’t believe we’re into August. As my dad always says any time after the 4th of July, “It could snow next month.” While that’s a depressing thought (at least it is for me), when it comes to church and reaching people for Christ, I get so excited about fall every year.
With the change of seasons and school starting back up, fall is a time when so many people reset and create their new schedules. So this is a great opportunity for your church to connect (and reconnect) people with Jesus.
Fall is also often a time when people realize that they’re struggling spiritually, and they become open to attending church again. They’ve been at the softball fields and/or the lake all summer—which is fun—but it’s left them spiritually dry.
As a pastor (and simply as a Christ follower), I’ll do anything to tell one more person about Jesus, and will fully utilize every opportunity to do so. Fall is one of the best opportunities I know of to reach that next person.
So how do we do this?
7 Ways to Build Momentum in Your Church This Fall
- Stay On Fire for Jesus.
Seems obvious, right? Yet, this isn’t always the case. As pastors and church leaders, we lead the way, particularly in this area. Staying passionate about Christ is so important for our own soul, for our own joy and peace. And honestly, it is the most important thing when it comes to our church as well. If we’re passionate about Jesus, it’ll spread. It’ll impact our preaching, our decision making, and set the tone for our entire church. Ask the Holy Spirit to set your heart on fire. Ask him to remind you of when you first experienced God’s love. Ask him to lead your church.
- The Greatest News.
Remind yourself that this fall you get to (not have to) share the greatest news that has ever been told. If in your preaching, you’re sharing so-so news or boring news, it’s not the gospel. Keep sharpening your preaching skills. Every week, before the Sunday you preach, gather five people to share the message with and ask for honest feedback. Every Sunday, do the hard prep work and bring the absolute best message about Jesus.
(Note: If you’re being lazy in the area of preaching, I’m praying that no new faces will come to your church. Sounds harsh, but I care that much about the lost.)
- Do the Extra 5%.
Most churches are really good at doing 95% each week. The 95% are the necessities and basics needed every Sunday. This should be considered the bare minimum. So, what’s that extra 5% that people will remember and come back for? This Sunday and the next, add the 5%. Maybe it’s a powerful holy moment in the service. Maybe it’s donuts, coffee drinks and/or breakfast sandwiches for Back to School Sunday. Maybe it is doing something special in your kids area for the week (a fun prize with a game or bounce houses). Do that extra 5%. Your people will notice.
- Hit Refresh on Your Facilities.
This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it is. Your people (especially your first-time guests) won’t vocalize this, but they will feel it. If you went to a restaurant and it was dirty, the walls were beat up, or if it looked dated, my guess is that you’d never come back. This may look like clearing out extra clutter in your entryway (you may have stuff there you probably can’t even remember why it’s there), paint touch-ups that need to be done, signage that’s dated, weeds that should be pulled.
Pro tip: Get a fresh set of eyes on your facility. There are things that others might see that have become normal to you. Make your long list, then prioritize. What needs to be done before school starts? What needs to be done before Christmas?
- Listen to Your Gut.
Your Holy Spirit-powered gut. My guess is that you have a change in your church that you know you need to make for numerous reasons that you haven’t made. Stop waiting and make the change. For the sake of reaching people with the gospel, please make the hard decision. It could be big or small. Changing a service time, a location, switching something up in the kids area, making a hire, replacing a team member, or having a conversation with an awkward or mean volunteer. Listen to your gut.
- Harness Big Sundays.
Every fall there are two great opportunities to build momentum in your church: Back to School Sunday and Fall Kickoff Sunday. Lean into these Sundays (and others, like a baptism Sunday). For Back to School Sunday, we’re giving out pins that students and teachers can add to their bags/backpacks as a simple reminder that God is with them throughout the school year. We will spend time praying over school administrators, teachers and students during the service. There are lists of idea after idea of how to really harness these Sundays to get people excited. Find what works for you and go for it.
- Invite, invite, invite.
Yes, encourage your people to invite. Yes, announce and tell people about the next message series that’s coming up in two weeks. Yes, pray for people who don’t know Christ. But pastor, make sure that you personally are inviting lost friends and family to your church. We can’t delegate inviting to others. We’re called to do so ourselves. When our lost neighbor or niece who doesn’t know Christ shows up to a service, it’ll change the entire morning for us. When they show up, we’ll listen to our gut and make the hard decision. We’ll gladly do the extra 5% ourselves. We’ll stop being lazy with preaching. It’ll help us stay on fire for Jesus.
My hope is that these words will simply get your wheels turning. This fall, what one or two (or five) things can you green light and act on? You do not need to do everything, just do something. Even small, intentional shifts can create huge momentum.