Please see the post Drama!Drama!Drama! for the beginning of this series.

You must get the word out about your production so you can do this in two main ways:

  • Internally, and
  • Externally

But always preface each method with prayer.

Internally you need to excite your congregation to what is coming so they need to know what you are doing. You need to communicate your vision to the fellow believer in your church so that they can invite others to come. Make sure you plan in advance giving them enough time to be effective in that purpose. Being in a small church it wasn’t that hard, for out of the hundred or so folks in my church body, about 60 were involved in the production. Still, here  are the things I did, or have learned to do:

  1. Make a public announcement from the pulpit- Ask for time to share your vision, your concept and put together a video presentation – a commercial, if you will – to show the congregation what you are going to do. This is highly effective and sets the level of expectation higher for them mostly likely increasing the chance they will invite someone. Check out my commercials:Scrounge #1, Scrounge #2 and JESUS Name Above All Names.
  2.  “Face time”- make sure you are not letting weeks go by without some kind of promotions internally. Keep it fresh on the minds of the people. Don’t let them forget!
  3. Hit the bulletins and flyers – this is the most common method the church uses to communicate. Use it.
  4. Use the EasyWorship or projector with digital media to promote before, after or during each service. – Use the digital arena to your advantage when it comes to letting people know.
  5. Create a poster and put in the foyer/entrance of your church. – This is a cool new method I used Easter 2007. I created a poster on my computer software at home and emailed it (yes emailed it) to my local Staples (Office Max and Office Depot can do the same) copy center. In the email I stated what size I wanted the poster and they printed it by lunch the next day. I then picked up this amazing movie poster to hang in the church foyer and you should have heard the reaction! It was a great way to promote the event.
  6. Use the church email list for advertising through email. – If you have this, use it. If it is regular mail, then use that also.
  7. Put it on the church website. – Use every opportunity to get the word out.

Externally you can do the following:

  1. Word of Mouth- let the congregation help you. Have them invite friends and relatives. Also, maybe the church can canvas the local neighborhood through a visitation aor witnessing program, What a great time to evangelize and get people into your churhc  – you are having a production, come see it! This gets easier after you have done a production and you see people’s reaction to it, they love drama. So ask them to come see it. They will love it and appreciate your efforts.
  2. Advertise at local Bible Books Stores with small professional flyers- Make these look great. I copied the poster images and had Staples create a couple of 8 x 10 placards that we placed through various places around town.
  3. Put an ad in local newspapers- if you can afford it, advertise where people read.
  4. Radio Spots- some local Christian radio stations let you make announcements for free.
  5. TV advertising (depending on budget of course) – this would be a weighty decision but some may be able to do so.

When I did these things, our 400 seat sanctuary was full for our production. It is just a matter of getting organized.

Let me know some of the methods you have used. Till next post.