How to grow your church—17 actionable strategies & tactics

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Let’s face it—growing a church today isn’t quite what it used to be.

With the onslaught of technological advances, today’s church leaders face new challenges and opportunities for growth that are historically unprecedented.

Pastors and leaders must now juggle traditional, in-person development while also tackling the amorphous task of online growth and engagement. Without the right tools and insight, this can feel like an overwhelming or even impossible endeavor.

Fortunately, you can take some practical steps today to create a roadmap on how to grow and increase church attendance and engagement, in person and online. By focusing on fresh ideas for church growth, you’ll be better equipped to build a thriving community that lasts.

If you’re tired of chasing church growth strategies and trends that never deliver the results you hoped for, it might be time for a new approach. These 17 practical and proven tactics will show you how to grow your church in a way that’s authentic, sustainable, and tailored to today’s challenges.

Create a passionate prayer team

Prayer is the bedrock of any church growth. The first step to take when considering how to grow your church is to create a passionate prayer team who are committed to reaching their community with the gospel. 

Many pastors make the fatal mistake of trying to “grow alone”, but God has gifted your church with people who are passionate about prayer, outreach, and growth, just like you are. Creating a prayer team is a great first step to ensure you have the spiritual support needed to build a healthy church and answer God’s call.

When creating your prayer team, you may want to consider: 

• Electing a seasoned prayer team member who is gifted in leadership
• Inviting members you know who have an active and fruitful prayer life
• Inviting members from all different walks, ages, and experiences so that everyone is represented
• Scheduling weekly or monthly meetings, depending on availability
• Making it a priority for staff to join these meetings

The Bible is clear that God responds to prayer. By praying for church growth and making prayer a priority, you’re putting God’s vision for your church above any individual’s, and submitting your church under God’s authority. 

Build a strong foundation

Creating and maintaining a strong foundation is critical for growing and engaging your church community—and it's one of the most important steps in how to grow your church attendance in a sustainable way.

Three essential components when strengthening your foundation are:

• Having a clear central mission for your church 
• Creating programs and opportunities that support that common goal
• Fostering personal relationships and connections

‍Identifying a clear central mission helps unite all members toward a common goal and provides a theme to help guide the development of programs, outreach, and other church activities.

This mission can also help you bring in new members who align with your church. It can help create relationships between members—deepening their connection with their faith and with each other to build a strong, thriving community. 

Implement effective outreach strategies

Church outreach strategies help you connect in meaningful ways with your larger community. But when developing your approaches, you’ll want to start by identifying the goals for your programs. For instance, you may want outreach that helps connect you with other churches in your area or ones designed to help you reach new people who are unchurched.

Importantly, identifying what groups of people you’d like to reach or serve can allow you to develop outreach strategies with your congregants that everyone will support. Understanding how to get your church to grow often begins with intentional outreach strategies that reflect your church’s mission and invite others to be a part of it.

Make sure it is clear to newcomers what the next steps are if they want to learn more about your church, and make those steps easy to follow. Enlist the help of your existing members and equip them to be effective sources of outreach.

Some examples of effective outreach strategies include:

• Community get-togethers, which can be themed or involve a specific topic
• Annual church picnic that’s open to the community
• Volunteer events like cleaning a park or visiting a nursing home  
• Book drives or garage sales at your church’s parking lot
• Booth at your community’s county fair
• Hosted talks on topics important to your community, such as mental health, parenting, or self-defense
• Marriage retreat that’s open to anyone from the community

Build meaningful connections with the youngest members 

If you’re exploring how to grow your church fast, engaging children and youth is one of the most effective strategies. When young people feel seen, valued, and involved, they’re more likely to stay connected—and bring others with them.

Connecting meaningfully with kids helps deepen their faith, build meaningful connections with their peers and other church members, and equips them to become effective leaders and disciples. It’s an impactful investment that strengthens them and your church. 

Developing opportunities and worship that are designed for young people and their needs creates a sense of belonging to the church and shows them they are valued. 

To get them involved, consider:

• Setting up small groups specific to different youth age groups
• Involving them in brainstorming ideas to increase their involvement
• Collecting feedback on the Sunday School curriculum & opportunities available
• Encouraging them to ask friends to join them at activities
• Creating a worship service that is meaningful for them and connects with them
• Extending leadership opportunities to them as early as possible, such as youth-led worship
• Incorporating mentors who are a little older than them, but whom they can relate to

Enhance the worship experience

Your worship services are the heart of your church, bringing together most of your members and often serving as the first impression for visitors. A strong, engaging worship experience not only connects people to their faith but also plays a vital role in how to grow your church attendance over time.

To enhance the worship experience, you’ll want to consider all aspects of worship from the perspective of members and newcomers. For example:

• Welcome guests warmly, such as having greeters in the parking lot and at entrances
• Ensure pathways to the worship area, Sunday school, or other key areas are well-signed, especially if you have a larger church
• Make it clear, easy, and welcoming for newcomers to check their children into Sunday school 
• Incorporate welcome screens with announcements and key information that is easy for both members and newcomers to understand
• Evaluate your worship to make sure it’s meeting the needs of your members and community
• Make post-service announcements, whether by the leader or on screens or bulletins, clear so newcomers and members have specific next steps they can take to continue engaging with the church 
• Have a system for interacting with newcomers post-worship that makes them feel welcomed, allows them to ask questions, and then provides a follow-up either through mail or email

Build strong small groups for church growth

Small groups can be a powerful way for church members to grow and connect. But it’s important to build these groups carefully to ensure the groups don’t go stale or create cliques within your church.

To build stronger small groups, brainstorm these topics:

• Why you have small groups and ensure each group has a clear purpose and goal
• Who is best to lead the groups and provide support to ensure they continue to grow as a leader
• How the groups will be structured—for instance, are they time-limited or open-ended
• How you will evaluate the effectiveness of the group 
• How people will be able to join the group, or what is the process for forming new groups

When done well, small groups foster deeper relationships, accountability, and spiritual growth—all of which contribute to a stronger, more connected church community. They also serve as an effective pathway for integrating new members, helping them feel seen, supported, and engaged. 

If you're looking to grow your church attendance, emphasizing small groups at your church can be a powerful strategy to retain visitors, encourage regular participation, and create lasting connections within your congregation.

Create opportunities for continuous learning & training

Faith involves a lifelong journey of learning and growing—whether you’re the pastor, part of the church’s leadership, or a member. Everyone is always growing, learning, and evolving. So, it’s essential that the church also supports this endeavor through continuous learning and training, especially for the leaders within the church. 

To help foster this focus on learning, create an atmosphere of openness, enthusiasm, and curiosity. This approach starts with your most senior members and can filter down to the youth, showing them the importance of growing in their faith over time and asking questions. This also helps encourage members and newcomers to get involved and engaged in their faith and church.

Encouraging continuous learning and training creates a healthy church atmosphere for all involved. This investment strengthens leadership, builds trust, fosters accountability and spiritual maturity, and creates a solid foundation for a healthy church, making it easier to attract and retain new members.

When identifying the types of learning and training opportunities:

• Encourage feedback from leaders on what would help them be better leaders and what is working, such as through anonymous surveys
• Ask members to complete feedback surveys on what they expect in a church leader and what areas they think could be improved
• Provide training for your leaders on personal growth and interacting effectively with a range of people, such as how to handle difficult situations, criticism, or flattery, and how to enhance their patience
• Identify the types of training and learning that can help your church, for instance, training for welcoming visitors or working with volunteers
• Provide learning opportunities for your pastor to help them continue to grow in their faith and how they lead to keep your church current and thriving

Engage the people who are already there

Do you know churches’ number one overlooked resource? The people sitting in your pews. Utilizing the gifts and skills of your members fosters practical and fresh ideas for church growth, building a bridge directly to outreach. 

To get you brainstorming, here are a few examples of how to creatively engage your  members: 

• Donna is a church member and owner of a catering company. With many unhoused neighbors, she uses her resources to start a weekly soup kitchen night at the church. Her friends join, and soon a food pantry is launched! Now, your church feeds the hungry while empowering your members in their gifts—making a big community impact.
• Aaron, a teacher and new church member, is aware of the low literacy in your community. Along with some colleagues, he starts an after-school tutoring program using classrooms at your church. Soon, their families attend your church, moved by the positive impact on their children.
• Susan, a tech-savvy member, notices your church’s poor social presence and offers to help. With a refreshed brand and engaging reels, your church starts showing up in local feeds. Soon, young adults walk through the doors saying, “I found you on Instagram.” Now, you’re reaching the next generation—online and in person.

Which story excited you the most? Engaging your current church members is one of the simplest and most effective ways you can grow your church.

Pro Tip: If you're unsure what gifts and skillsets your congregation has, creating a poll is a great place to start. 

Implement feedback cycles for a healthier church

Your church members are essential to the health of your church. So it’s critical to incorporate methods for them to provide feedback. It shows that you are listening and valuing their opinions and experiences. As a result, it gets members and newcomers excited to be involved.

‍Because we all want to be heard and valued.

There’s no one way to gather feedback. The key is to try different methods until you find a combination that works for your church. Ideally, you’ll have a variety of methods to fit different people’s preferences and needs. Depending on the size of your church, you may want to assign a person or a small group to be in charge of gathering and going through the feedback before it gets disseminated to key leaders. 

Some ways to gather feedback include:

• Having kiosk stations outside the doors of your worship area with paper and pencils or a postcard with a questionnaire nearby so they can easily provide information
• Encouraging attendees to leave feedback at the close of the service and informing them of the ways they can do so
• Incorporating online tools such as surveys or email
• Making it possible for individuals to respond anonymously to encourage honest and open feedback
• Asking specific questions, especially if you’re evaluating a program or potential opportunity for the church
• Using your social media channels to ask a variety of engaging questions and to periodically remind people of other ways they can provide feedback

Additionally, be sure to provide follow-up on the feedback with your members. Let them know about the types of feedback and how you’re responding as a church. These actions show that you’re listening and incorporating their thoughts.

Get personal testimonials

Personal testimonials showcase the individual journeys your members are having with their faith. These testimonials help encourage members and newcomers. They provide hope for those who may be feeling disconnected and show how your church and community are making a difference in people’s lives for the gospel. 

Testimonials are powerful tools that build a meaningful connection quickly. Incorporating these testimonials in your social media, church website, links in emails, and during service and other special events can help you strengthen your existing community and attract newcomers.

When gathering testimonials, you may want to:

• Identify a variety of people from different backgrounds and ages within your church who are open to talking about their journey or how the church has helped them
• Ask members of your small groups or leadership committees to provide testimonials individually or as a group
• Create a list of prompts to help people who are sharing testimonials, such as a meaningful moment they had in the church or at a church event that helped strengthen their faith or connection with their beliefs
• Get your youth involved by asking them to help film short testimonials of other members and also themselves
• Capture videos of moments at events, during service, or other church activities to show your church in action 

Invite guest speakers as a church growth strategy

Guest speakers can provide fresh perspectives, insights, and energy. Speakers can also help attract newcomers, especially if they are well known or are talking about topics critical to different groups in your community. 

When hosting guest speakers, consider:

• Creating a small team to identify potential speakers and ensure topics are in line with your church’s mission
• Asking your members what types of topics or speakers they’d like to hear from
• Encouraging members to invite friends, family, or others in the community to attend talks
• Having a marketing plan in place to promote the speaker in the community, such as posting on your social media, posting it in your local newspaper, or asking local businesses to allow you to post a sign about the event

Run volunteer initiatives 

Developing a strong volunteer culture within your church is a great way to engage your current members, serve your community, and provide a pathway for those outside your church to join your members in service. 

This approach keeps everyone focused on a common goal of serving and can allow those outside your church to get to know your members and your church’s values. 

Churches that actively serve their communities often discover that this kind of outreach is a key part of how to get your church to grow, as it builds trust, visibility, and meaningful relationships.

To help generate a church culture of  community service within your church, you can:

• Team up with local nonprofits and service groups in your area, offering your church’s support
• Work with key people in your community to identify areas of need that your church can fill, such as organizing food, school supplies, or winter coat drives
• Start your own annual community service event where anyone is welcome, such as organizing to clean up a local park, packing food, or making blankets for the elderly or abuse survivors

To get even more creative ideas, check out our epic list of church volunteer opportunities! 

Set up discipleship programs for vital church growth

Mentorship and discipleship programs provide a vital way to build connections among members, provide a clear outlet for questions, promote engagement within the church among new and existing members, and show how your church values its members.

When starting mentorship or discipleship programs, you’ll want to consider:

• The purpose and goal of the programs
• Who the program serves, such as youths, special groups within your church, leaders and leaders-in-training, or other groups
• How you’ll educate the mentors on the expectations of their role, their purpose, and provide them with the resources and tools they need
• How you’ll leverage intergenerational discipleship for greater connectedness across your church’s members
• How you’ll get feedback on the programs—both from the mentors and the mentees  

Remember, in today’s digital age, discipleship is no longer limited to in-person interactions. Incorporating virtual mentorship meetings, online resources, and digital communication tools can expand the reach and impact of your programs.

If you're looking for how to grow your church online, integrating online opportunities into your discipleship programs is a powerful way to foster connection, deepen faith, and engage members—no matter where they are.

Encourage diversity in ministry

The more diverse your ministry, the more you’re able to reach a wide range of people in your community and better understand their unique needs. This increases awareness among your members and shows your community your church’s love and faith in action.

To foster diversity, you will want to:

• Evaluate your leadership teams and ensure your community’s diversity is represented
• Incorporate training and leadership education opportunities 
• Build programs and outreach that specifically meet the needs and interests of different groups within your community
• Incorporate messages of diversity within your worship services
• Be intentional about including all groups within your larger community 

Diversity is an important mark of a healthy church, signifying a community that reflects the fullness of God’s kingdom.

Offer flexible service times & live-streaming 

With so many obligations, it can be hard to attend services regularly.

But offering different service times or even live streaming your service using a platform, like Subsplash, can help.

However, you’ll need to keep in mind what your church can reasonably do. For instance, smaller churches may not be able to offer two services each Sunday. But they may be able to offer one service per month at a special day and time. 

When exploring ways to offer more flexible service times, you can:

• Survey your members to see what days and times they prefer
• Ask if there’s interest in a special service offered once a month on a day or time that’s different from the normal worship
• Record or stream services and post them on your website, YouTube, and social media for those who can’t attend in person

Families, students, single visitors, and more often prefer different service times to accommodate their various lifestyles and needs. Offering only one service (such as 10 a.m. only) can severely limit your availability, making potential visitors go elsewhere. 

Upgrading to two service times and live streaming your services can make it easier for more people to stay connected to your church community, even with differing schedules. 

Create a digital outreach strategy

Another essential aspect of outreach today is digital presence. Today, people find your church online before ever walking through your door. So, how discoverable is your church? Do you have a church growth strategy for digital engagement?

If you’re unsure how to reach visitors online, here are a few ideas: 

• Utilize a church app - Centralizing communication and resources helps people stay connected throughout the week. With tools like on-demand sermon videos, event registration, online giving, and group messaging, a church app makes it easier for churches to connect and engage with their congregants. 
• Stream your services - Life is busy, and not everyone can attend in person. By live streaming your services, you keep people connected and engaged no matter where they are.
• Use targeted ads - Reaching the right people at the right time is more effective than a general invite. By using targeted ads, you can connect with nearby residents looking for a church like yours.
• Keep your social media platforms active - By keeping your social media active with engaging content, you create a welcoming online presence that connects with both new and returning visitors in the digital world. 
• Create online giving opportunities - Making it easy for people to give by removing obstacles to giving is crucial in our digital world. By offering online giving opportunities, you can increase your donations!

Learning how to grow your church online is no longer optional—it’s essential. 

If you’re looking for how to grow your church fast, focusing on digital strategy can make a major difference. It’s also an important step for reaching younger generations. 

Plant a new church

Church planting is a way of growing a church. In some cases, it may be the process of starting a new church by organizing a group of members in a specific location. But it can also be the process of spreading an existing church into new locations.

Spreading into new locations can help make it easier for people in your community to attend your church so you can grow and reach more individuals. 

However, planning is essential for church planting to work. For instance, you don’t want to grow where there isn’t a need or stretch your church’s resources too thin.

When considering whether church planting is the right choice for you, you may want to:

• Build relationships in the unchurched community where you’d like to grow, like organizing activities, talking to leaders in that community, and encouraging existing members to be active in the area
• Create anonymous feedback systems so those within the new area can provide input on what their needs are and their interest in your church coming to their area
• Organize some small group activities or events that meet the needs of that community and fit with your church’s mission to see if you’re a good fit
• Identify the reason why you’re expanding to help guide you throughout the process

The big picture: church strategies are nothing new

As we see in Paul’s example throughout the New Testament, the Church has always strategized to effectively reach others for Christ. Despite new modern challenges, the good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Start with prayer. Focus on your foundation. Ask questions. Engage your members. Then take one step toward activating a strategy that fits your church’s context.

Let these 17 practical, proven ideas become sparks that ignite a transformation—and make a lasting impact in your church.

More resources you may find helpful

• [2025 Study] People are hungry for the Bible. Will your church feed them?
• 50 exciting & effective church outreach ideas
• 30 proven church growth strategies
• 7 keys to a church tech platform that drives real results
• 25 women’s ministry ideas for faith, fun, & fellowship

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