From Attendance to Engagement: Zach Interviews Rich About Transforming Your Church’s Growth Strategy

Welcome back to the unSeminary podcast. Today I’m happy to sit down with Zach Zehnder, who runs an organization called Red Letter Living. The mission of Red Letter Living is to challenge all people to become greater followers of Jesus Christ. Thousands of individuals and hundreds of churches have taken one of their 40-day discipleship challenges.

Recently, Zach interviewed me on his Red Letter Leaders webinar. Today, I wanted to bring you the highlights and key takeaways from that conversation, which centered around church growth strategies and how to leverage big days, like Easter, for church engagement.

* Creating an invite culture. // One of the most exciting topics we discussed was the potential of big days like the Super Bowl or Easter to create engagement opportunities for churches. Events are not about the spectacle; they’re about creating memorable experiences that people want to talk about and, more importantly, invite others to. This is where the concept of an “invite culture” comes into play—a church culture that encourages and equips its congregation to extend invitations to friends and family.

* Healthier churches. // unSeminary recently completed a nationwide survey of executive pastors which compared results to those from four years ago during COVID. In 2020, 86% of churches agreed they were more financially strong at the end of the year. In 2023, that number has increased to 96% feeling financially strong. Similarly, in 2023 more church leaders would describe their staff as more enthusiastic, more hopeful, and less exhausted.

* Take a risk and reach people. // On the other side of the equation, while in 2020 41% of respondents said that their church was looking towards a multiplication effort in the new year, that number decreased to 28% at the end of 2023. So while churches overall are stronger financially and staff is more rested, fewer are thinking about multiplication. Think about what you could be doing in your church now that you are healthier than you were four years ago. What can you launch, even if you’re not launching a new location or planting a church? Can you start a new service or expand on a ministry?

* Shareable weekend teaching. // If you want to grow your church, there are five areas that are levers of church growth. The first one is shareable weekend teaching. A Gallup poll revealed that three quarters of the reason why people attend religious services is because of the teaching. However, it’s very difficult for people to invite their friends if they don’t know what you’re teaching about the next week. Growing churches train, equip and mobilize their people to invite their friends.

* Leverage big days. // There are already certain days throughout the year when people are more likely to invite their friends to church, such as holidays like Easter, Mother’s Day and Christmas. The key to leveraging big days is to focus on creating experiences that are worth sharing. Do something a little bit different than the norm, such as a photo booth for families. Whether it’s a special weekend service, a community outreach, or a themed celebration, the goal is to make it so impactful that attendees are naturally inclined to tell someone about it and bring them along.

* Engagement and volunteers. // Growing churches don’t just post digital billboards on social media, they have online conversations. They have magnetic community service and get people out of their seats and into the streets to make a difference. Getting more volunteers in your church is critical. Volunteer engagement is a driver of church growth rather than an outcome of church growth. A church with a vibrant volunteer culture not only operates more effectively,