This is a question we recently received through the Ask Nelson button on the right:

What’s the Best (and Worst) Launch Date for a New Church?

Kerrick Thomas, Executive Pastor at The Journey and co-author of Launch: Starting a New Church From Scratch answers it:

Here are the top 3 best times to launch a new church:

(1) February (usually the 2nd Sunday) – everyone is back from holiday (If you go early January you are going to miss some people), short on cash so they aren’t traveling and since it’s still the beginning of the year they probably are making commitments toward self-improvement.

Another added bonus is that you get to Launch on a BIG day in February (avoid President’s Day and Super Bowl Sunday) and then you have a month or two and then it’s Easter – another opportunity to build up to a 2nd BIG day (sort of a 2nd launch).

(2) A couple of weeks after school starts in the Fall – for us that’s in September.  It may be in August for you.  But everyone is settling in their kids into school and is back from traveling from the summer.  Also – people are starting new things (going back to school).  September – November is a good stretch of time to reach people when people don’t travel that much.

(3) Easter – Easter is good because more people go to church on Easter than on any other day of the year.  The problem with launching on Easter is that it’s only a short time until summer. So, you might have a big launch – but you don’t have much time to consolidate it or make another push before summer hits.  That’s why we like a February launch with Easter as the 2nd big hit.

Launch Dates to avoid at all costs:

#3   Christmas

#2   Tie: Super Bowl, July 4th, Labor Day or any other national holiday

#1   Any time other than Sunday Morning

I hope these thoughts help.  Many blessings as you prepare to launch large!

God bless…

Kerrick

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About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.