When to Text Your Church: Timing Rules That Increase Replies (and Reduce Opt-Outs)

Text at the wrong time and you'll lose subscribers.

A 10pm text feels invasive. A 6am text is startling. A text during Sunday service is annoying.

But text at the right time—and you'll get 90%+ open rates and actual responses.

Timing matters more for text than any other channel. Here's the playbook.

The Safe Sending Window

Before 9am, people are starting their day. Kids, coffee, commute. A text from church feels like an interruption.

After 8pm, people are winding down. A late text feels urgent even when it isn't—and that creates anxiety.

Stay inside the 9-8 window and you're safe.

Best response windows:

• 10am-12pm: People are settled into their day but not yet in deep work mode. Good for reminders.
• 5pm-7pm: People are transitioning from work to evening. Checking phones. Responsive.

Avoid:

• Early morning (before 8am): Startling
• Late night (after 9pm): Invasive
• During services: Disruptive
• Monday morning: People are catching up on work
• Friday evening: People are checked out

Timing by Message Type

Different messages have different optimal timing.

Event Reminders

When: 24-48 hours before the event.

Too early and they'll forget again. Too late and they can't plan.

For morning events (breakfast, workday): Send the reminder the evening before, around 6pm.

For evening events: Send the reminder the morning of, around 10am.

Volunteer Schedules

When: 48-72 hours before they're scheduled to serve.

This gives them time to swap if they can't make it. Same-morning reminders are too late to find coverage.

Midweek works well: Tuesday or Wednesday for a Sunday commitment.

Visitor Follow-Up

When: Same day as their visit, afternoon/evening. Or the next morning.

The visit is fresh. They're still thinking about you. Strike while the connection is warm.

Not three days later. By then, the moment has passed.

Urgent Updates (Cancelations, Weather)

When: As soon as the decision is made.

This is the one exception to the timing rules. If services are canceled at 6am, send the text at 6am.

People would rather be woken up than drive to a closed church.

Giving/Generosity

When: Weekday morning, 10am-12pm. Never Sunday morning.

A Sunday morning giving text feels like you're taking collection digitally. Don't do it.

Year-end giving texts: send Tuesday or Wednesday, not the holiday weekend.

Day of Week Matters

Tuesday through Thursday: Best for general messages. People are in routine mode.

Saturday: Okay for Sunday reminders. Earlier in the day (morning or early afternoon).

Sunday: Only for time-sensitive service info. Not for general announcements.

Monday: Avoid if possible. People are catching up and overwhelmed.

Friday: Only for weekend event reminders. Nothing general.

Frequency Limits

Timing isn't just about when you send—it's about how often.

General congregation: 2-4 texts per month maximum.

More than once a week is too much. People start to tune out. Then they opt out.

Volunteers: Can receive more (schedule reminders are expected), but still respect boundaries.

Rule of thumb: Before sending, ask "When was the last time this person got a text from us?"

If the answer is "two days ago," maybe this one can wait.

The Opt-Out Trigger Points

People opt out when:

• Texts are too frequent. Every week is too much.
• Texts are too long. Walls of text feel like spam.
• Texts feel irrelevant. "Why am I getting this?"
• Texts come at bad times. 10pm texts breed resentment.
• Texts feel salesy. Repeated giving asks.

Once someone opts out, they're gone. You can't re-add them. The threshold for "too much" is lower than you think.

Every text should pass the test: "Would I want to receive this, at this time, from my church?"

Batch vs. Real-Time

Batch scheduling:

Planned messages—reminders, regular communications. Write them ahead of time. Schedule them for the optimal window.

Real-time sending:

Urgent information—cancelations, breaking updates. Send immediately, regardless of time.

Most of your texts should be scheduled. It gives you time to review, test, and reconsider.

Test before sending. Send yourself a test message. Check for typos, broken links, weird formatting.

Setting Up for Success

A dedicated texting tool (like bltn) or your church management system.

If you're sending to a list that spans timezones, adjust accordingly. 10am Eastern is 7am Pacific.

Consistent formatting means less thinking each time. Faster to send, fewer mistakes.

Assign send times to message types:

Consistency builds expectations. People learn when to expect messages from you.

The Bottom Line

Text is your most personal channel. Respect that.

Send at reasonable hours. Send only when it matters. Send less often than you think you should.

The reward: a channel that actually works when you need it.