Text Message Service for Churches

How Churches Uses Text Messaging

There are dozens of ways that churches can use text messaging for their benefit. Here are a just few:

• Reminders about services.
• Promoting upcoming events.
• Notifications of important information.
• Prayer lists.
• Alerts on closings and cancellations.
• Daily or weekly bible verses.

Promotional vs Transactional Text Messages

Promotional text messages for churches are use to encourage a specific outcome, like soliciting help with the nursery. Promotional messages tend to happen before a desired event from the recipient.

Transactional text messages for churches are those that happen after a specific event. For example, it a transactional text message could be confirming a church attendees RSVP to a specific event.

Bulk/Mass Texting

Bulk messaging is a great way to send a message to every attendee of your church. You can even create lists of contacts to send mass text messages to specific lists of people. Learn more about our bulk texting feature.

Recurring Texts

Recurring texts are a great way to make sure your church attendees and members never forget about services or events. They are also a great way to keep people engaged by scheduling regular verses or devotionals. Learn more about recurring texts.

2-Way Messaging

Two-way messaging allows your church attendees to respond to your messages, whether they are sent to just one person or thousands. This allows you to quickly and easily answer questions your church attendees might have. Learn more about 2-way text messaging.

Schedule Texts

Plan all of your church text messaging ahead of time by scheduling your texts. Once a day, once a week, or monthly, you can spend time scheduling important text messages to be sent to individuals or groups. Learn more about scheduling text messages.

Organizations & User Management

TextSpot allows to you have one organization (your church) and limitless users of the messaging platform. Pastors, admin, youth leaders, and anyone that you’d like to have access to send messages can easily be added or removed from TextSpot. Learn more about organizations.

Learn more about the text messaging software features churches are using.

Benefits of Text Messaging for Churches

Your Benefits as an Organization

Effective Communication

90% of all text messages are opened within 3 minutes of being received. There is no form of church communication that is more effective. Your message will be conveyed better through SMS than any other platform.

Cost Effective

It’s relatively inexpensive to send and manage text messages for churches. You can get started for just $7/month with TextSpot.

Time Saving

Social media posts are really easy to miss and can be time consuming to manage. Utilizing SMS for your church can reduce the total number of communication channels you need to rely on, which can save your organization hours of time.

Other Specific Church Benefits

Increase attendance to your services and events by sending out reminders to people on your text messaging service list and incentivize them to invite others.

Your Audience’s Benefits

Your church members and visitors won’t miss messages and missed messages are missed opportunities for your church.

Who Should Use SMS for Churches?

Anyone within the church in charge of communication for their ministry. For most churches that consists of roles such as;

• Lead pastors
• Youth pastors
• Children’s pastors
• Admin and office
• Communications pastors

How To Be Successful

• Tell your church about how you’ll be using SMS to communicate. You want them on board.
• Get buy-in from every church leader and stick to using it for a while.
• Get feedback from your church members on what types of text communication they would prefer.

How To Collect Phone Numbers

If you have a church management system, like Planning Center, you can get all of your church members and add them as contacts to messaging platforms like TextSpot. If not, just ask for phone numbers and input them into TextSpot. You can also upload a complete list.

Getting Started with SMS for Churches

What You’ll Need

Text enabled phone number

With TextSpot, you get a free private number included. It’s also possible to get your current church phone number enabled for text messaging use on TextSpot.

SMS software

You can’t manage it from one person’s phone. You’ll need software like TextSpot to send, schedule, and manage your messages.

Gather subscriber information

Names and phone numbers of all of those you want to send text messages to.

What to Consider

• Price – If you are a small church or you are new to text messaging for churches, it’s helpful to have a low-priced option that can grow and scale with your needs. TextSpot starts at just $7/month.
• Features – You’ll want a text messaging service that has all the features your church needs to effectively use SMS.

Getting Started with TextSpot

Getting started with TextSpot is simple. You can be sending text messages in less than 5 minutes. Get started with a free trial today!