Easter is a the biggest of big days … I know that you’ve worked hard to ensure that this weekend’s services are going to be amazing. There are more people in your community that would come but they are just looking for an invite. Here are some free ways to spread the word in the last few days before Easter.

• Craigslist // This free online classified site receives millions of views every day from people looking for stuff they used to find in the classifieds. Why take not a minute and post an ad on the service in their events section about what’s happening at your church?
• Community Boards // Take those left over invite cards that you’ve been handing out on Sundays at your church to the local coffee shop or grocery store and post them up on the community board. Believe it or not people do actually look at those boards! Most of the Starbucks I’ve been in have a place to post that sort of thing.
• Email Your People … a few times // Send a few emails to your people in the days leading up to Easter. Don’t just blitz them with requests to come to the service but let them behind the scenes to see your team prepping. Let them know what you are doing to get ready and why you are so excited. Send them a few emails … repetition helps get the message through!
• Ask Your Teams to Encourage Their People // Connect with your team leaders and small group folks and ask them to reach out to their groups and encourage their people to invite friends. People expect that the staff and pastors of the church will be excited about the Easter services … but when they hear from a volunteer that they are looking forward to it … that will carry even more weight!
• Leverage Social Media // Post pictures on instagram that shows your team getting ready for the big day. Share some scripture on Facebook that inspires you as you’re thinking about Easter. Tweet quotes about Easter. Don’t just “spam” your people asking them to invite friends … but share some content that has potential to be passed along to their family and friends.
• Local Media // Often times local newspapers & radio stations are looking for content to put in their “events” listings. Do a bit of research and send them a “press release” with the details about the event. These local and “traditional” media outlets still have lots of people who connect with them!
• Change Your Email Signature // How many emails will you send between now and Easter? Put in a couple sentences about your Easter service to promote it to all those contacts! (On a similar note … make sure to change your voice mail to include information about your Easter services!)

I’m sure you have some ideas for ways to get the word out there … share them in the comments section!