Case Studies / Proven Results of Marnie's Growth & Expansion Campaigns

Woodland Bible Church's Women's Ministry Growth & Expansion Campaign

1/1/2020

Woodland Bible Church. Women’s Ministry Growth & Expansion Campaign
Warroad, MN
Marnie Swedberg, Women’s Ministry Director, 1990-2009

Goals:

Increase awareness of and participation in the women’s ministries of Woodland Bible Church.
Provide fun, entertaining, relationship building events for women and couples.
Expand the reach of the ministry beyond the church doors.
Increase funding for international missionary support.
Encourage as many women as possible in their faith journey with Christ.

Strategy:

Explore methods for cross promoting WM with other church ministries.
Utilize drama, gifts, and other creative communication methods to invite women to meetings and events.
Increase missions awareness and giving opportunities.
Host monthly meetings, baby and bridal showers, plus at least two women’s events and one couple’s party per year.
Research to discover ways to increase the involvement and attendance of women from outside the church (from other denominations and un-churched women) in events geared toward encouraging them.
Include a clear God-focus, missionary giving opportunity, and time of prayer during every meeting and event.

Outcome:

Ladies Night Out outreach campaign was launched in 2001 with overall attendance of 1,800 including women from every local church and denomination, plus many un-churched women.
Church grew from 165 to 240.
Missions giving tripled.

Tactics:

Create a handbook of all ministries in the church and host a Ministry Fair where church members and attendees could learn more about every ministry, including WM.
Discover and spotlight hidden or underutilized local talent at all events to increase attendance. (Women come out in support of their friends, family members or church).
Invite non-Woodland women to “bring” something, “help with” something, or “decorate a table.” (Increased the likelihood of their personal attendance, but also boosted the likelihood of them inviting friends and family.)
Research, develop, and organize a 9-month series of women’s events based on TV Game Shows including official theme songs, hosts, and legit prizes.
Increase missions giving by creating the habit of receiving missions offerings at every meeting and event.
Organize an annual pie auction where many pies sold for over $100 each.
Maximize the use of personal flier distribution. Each team member would take 5-20 fliers to personally hand out and invite new guests to the upcoming event. A sincere, personal invite trumps every other type of invitation.

Strategic Partners: