Improving Church Email Strategy: How Kindred Helped NewSpring Double Open Rates and Grow to 12K+ Subscribers

When NewSpring Church — a multi-campus ministry reaching over 10,000 attendees weekly — set out to improve their weekly newsletter, they needed more than a design upgrade. Their subscribers weren’t just skimming; they were missing essential updates about their local campuses. That was the real issue.

At the time, their flagship newsletter "Need to Know" was sent to over 7,000 people, averaging a 25.2% open rate. Respectable, but not impactful, when most subscribers felt the emails didn’t speak to them directly.

We saw an opportunity to build a system that not only improved performance but actually served the audience it was intended for.

Our solution combined strategic content segmentation, visual clarity, and behind-the-scenes workflow innovation. We migrated the church from MailChimp to Rock RMS, built a contributor-friendly submission system, and developed clear, curiosity-driven messaging that made people want to read.

The result? Within months, open rates climbed from 25% to 45%. The list grew by 8% organically — that means zero external marketing. Within a year, NewSpring’s “Need to Know” campaign averaged a 65% open rate across over 12,000 subscribers.

How we helped NewSpring create one of the most opened church email newsletters ever

Campaign Planning & Content Strategy
Multi-Campus Comms. Coordination
Workflow & Submission System Design
Editorial Calendar Management
Email Segmentation & List Management
Newsletter Content Creation & Editing
Email Design & Template Development
Platform Integration
Subscriber Growth Strategy
Performance Tracking & Analytics
Campus-Level Event Integration
Training & Enablement for Local Staff
Approval & Quality Control Processes
Content Management System Support
Retention & Engagement Strategy
Cross-Platform Messaging Alignment
Email + SMS Campaigns

NewSpring’s subscribers didn’t need more content; they needed content that felt relevant to their lives. Our strategy turned mass messaging into personalized ministry by making each email feel local, timely, and easy to digest.

A powerful message means little if it never reaches the right person. We helped NewSpring build a content workflow that empowers each campus to contribute without adding stress to the team. The result was a smarter system that reaches more people with less friction and greater impact.

“One year after launching the new system, our open rate hit an average of 65%. The best part is that it feels easier, not harder. Our team finally has a rhythm, and our congregation actually reads the emails.”

NewSpring Church
Communications

★★★★★

Let’s build your most opened email yet.

We’ll help you build a strategy that connects, converts, and actually gets read.