Boost Attendance and Engagement with Text Messaging for Churches

SMS helps all organizations, be they big businesses or small nonprofits. Learn how text messaging services for churches can give huge benefits.

While businesses often use SMS, its many rewards also extend to religious organizations and nonprofits. Text messaging for churches can greatly enrich any group’s communication capabilities using technology with proven results. There are many ways churches can take advantage of SMS, many of which can’t be found elsewhere.

Learn more about text messaging for churches with Sakari.

Why Is Text Messaging Useful for Churches?

A robust SMS system can make communication significantly more impactful and accessible. A well-devised church texting service allows the organization to instantly communicate, greatly aiding community efforts.

The SMS Stats

Church text messaging is nothing if not efficient. It’s quick, snappy, and straightforward. As a plus, people enjoy them. But don’t take our word for it. The data is clear: every church should consider implementing SMS.

In North America, 292 million people text. That’s 80% of the total population. Everyone in your congregation is probably using SMS already. Bulk text messaging for churches allows engagement with church members quickly.

Texts have an open rate of 98%, ensuring that every SMS will likely be read. Compared to the approximate 20% open rate of emails, that’s an unprecedented level of engagement. This ensures that any church texting service will succeed in no time.

Messages are usually read within just a few minutes. When an SMS hits one’s inbox, they will likely check it out immediately. That’s peerless, immediate engagement. Keep your congregation’s head in the clouds with a quick morning text message from your church texting platform.

Ninety-four percent of people using SMS want to recommend texting tech to their peers and colleagues. Meanwhile, 97% of new adoptees report better communication.

Nothing else offers such promising results, be they emails, calls, or social media posts. Text messaging for churches is always the way to go.

Real-Life Results

Once a comprehensive SMS network is implemented, you’ll start reaping almost instant rewards. They ultimately depend upon the organization and its creativity. These benefits can include:

• Heightened Attendance: Reminders, announcements, and more inform church members about event schedules. Ensure that members who opt-in are in the know about all the latest community outreach events.
  
  
• Deeper Relationships: People choose to see texts from people they care about, such as friends and family. Having their church’s texts right by theirs makes them feel personally connected. SMS communication can help build a lasting religious community by supporting congregation members.
  
  
• More Donations: Utilize the informative power of texting to empower fundraising outreach. Let congregants know about community needs and how you’ll fulfill them.

Expect these outcomes and more with a careful and comprehensive SMS strategy. Churches have many unique ways to harness the potential of mass texting alone.

How Churches Can Take Advantage of SMS

The possibilities are endless with SMS. So long as one is willing, there are innumerable ways to use technology to converse with the congregation.

Share Inspiration

Keep the congregation inspired, excited, and reflective with faith-driven text messages. Sharing inspirational bible passages via church texting services makes it easy to send joy to the entire congregation.

Send a relevant Bible passage or religious quote to the congregation, or ensure church members remember and reflect on a meaningful Sunday sermon. Many churches opt to use MMS to attach images to bolster the effect.

Support the Congregation

A church is nothing if not for its congregation. SMS allows a church to support them like never before. If someone needs help, texting technology is a fast and widespread way to ask for community support. Have a church member who needs a ride to mass? Ask your church community for assistance.

Someone in the congregation gets sick and can’t afford healthcare? Raise funds and prayers efficiently and effectively using SMS. Many church leaders interact with members via two-way texting, with prayer requests particularly helpful.

Event Changes

One could call or email everyone attending an event about changes and cancellations. However, many people – including church members – ignore emails and don’t answer their phones. The process is also profoundly time-consuming and distracting. Enter church texting services.

The high and fast open rate of text messages makes them perfect for church communications, especially for time changes and cancellations. Planning a holiday celebration? Tell regular attendees about it.

Have to push back a family picnic an hour due to the weather?

Let them know with a text.

Surveys

Feedback is always valuable. Good constructive feedback can make events fun and engaging while helping priests and pastors make sermons more relevant. Churches can also use a mass texting service to gather surveys to get ideas on future event planning. Furthermore, they can let attendees have a hand in the church’s operations and feel part of the community.

Donation Encouragement

Whether it’s a donation or a tithe, every church must raise money to stay afloat. Few people carry cash these days, so accepting online gifts for any nonprofit organization is essential. SMS is an efficient and effective method of asking the congregation for donations quickly and easily. Simply send them a link to your website and request a gift.

Getting Started with Text Messaging for Churches

Considering raising church attendance and participation with SMS? The sooner one starts the faster results. Here is a brief perspective on how any religious organization can start with SMS.

Picking an A2P SMS Platform

Organizations, including churches, must use an application-to-person (A2P) platform to send bulk SMS messages to individuals. This allows organizations to comply with various regulations while ensuring efficiency in messaging.

Sakari is the best A2P platform for churches, offering a wide range of features like two-way texting, integrations, and MMS at an affordable price.

Choosing a Phone Number

To start a texting service, you must select a phone number. There are three types of phone numbers, each with pros and cons.

• Local Phone Number: The most cost-effective way to send SMS, local numbers are the no-frills option. They are relatively slow compared to toll-free and shortcodes but get the job done well enough for most text messaging for churches. Note that they only take a few days to be verified (an essential step for SMS).
  
  
• Toll-Free Number: These allow both call-ins and texts, specializing in drawing in callers at no cost to the dialer. They are more costly than local numbers but possess more features. Toll-free numbers send SMS messages faster than local numbers. While they take an extra few days to be verified than local numbers, it doesn’t take long to get started.
  
  
• Shortcodes: The latest and greatest in SMS, these are five to six-digit numbers that send texts at lightning speed. Their main drawback is their expense: they can cost hundreds of dollars per month. In addition, it can take weeks for shortcodes to be verified.

Getting Opt-Ins

The next step in personalized messaging is getting the congregation to “opt-in.” Unlike emails and phone calls, people must agree to receive texts from organizations. Moreover, the sender has to have physical or digital evidence.

All of this is done to reduce the amount of spam in inboxes, and cell carriers enforce the rules. This may sound cumbersome, but opt-ins are essential to ensure a healthy SMS environment.

Need ideas on how to collect opt-ins? Here are a few ways. Note that opt-ins need to be written down, and they must be specific in their wording.

Pick your text to join keywords carefully.

• Social Media Posts: Every so often, ask followers of your social media accounts to subscribe to your SMS campaign. Write something like “Send ‘LovePrayer’ to [phone number] to receive text updates about the latest church events.” It ensures compliance with the various regulatory agencies and gets the point across.
  
  
• Programs and Visitor Packets: If your church passes out paper material like brochures, packets, or programs, it’s a good idea to include a snippet mentioning your SMS system.
  
  
• Sermon Announcements: After another riveting sermon, inform the congregation about your brand-new SMS program and how they can get involved.

Feel free to get creative with your opt-ins, but ensure the recipient gives clear consent. Otherwise, you may be subject to fines or rejections.

For Text Messaging for Churches, Use Sakari

SMS can be effective for any organization, and churches are no exception. Text messaging for churches has been proven to enrich and elevate communication, and there is no better way to take advantage of SMS than Sakari. Our state-of-the-art software allows everyone, be they nationwide non-profits, multi-campus churches, or small churches, to leverage this essential modern tool.

Want to get a hands-on demonstration of our platform’s capabilities? Book a demo with us or sign up for a free trial to start building your SMS strategy today.

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