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A Unique Way for Your Church to Show Up on Google

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 21:29:02 GMT

Key Takeaways

AI Overviews are reshaping how people discover Scripture. Google’s new feature summarizes complex topics—including Bible verses—at the top of search results, giving churches a fresh opportunity to reach seekers online.

Churches can compete with major sites for visibility. Thoughtful, SEO-driven content rooted in Scripture can appear in AI Overviews alongside (or above) well-known platforms like GotQuestions and YouVersion.

Longtail keywords, content freshness, and platform variety matter. Optimizing for specific queries (e.g., “what does John 3:16 mean”), keeping pages updated, and publishing across web and social platforms all boost the odds of appearing in AI summaries.

Intent-driven, biblically grounded content is key. Before writing, research what users (and Google) expect for a verse—then create clear, faithful explanations that meet that search intent.The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Picture this: a new believer is trying to understand the Bible. They started reading it, but it wasn't very clear. They may have started in Genesis and are reading in order from the first book to the last.

They Google a Bible verse to understand it better. What is the result they get?

An AI overview from Google about the verse.

This is a newer addition to Google's AI overviews, and it makes me excited for how churches can leverage their sermons and discipleship content.

Because now, it's not just the YouVersion Bible app or GotQuestions that takes the top spot. Your church has the potential to impact millions.

What are Google’s AI Overviews?

Google says that "AI Overviews help people get to the gist of a complicated topic or question more quickly, and provide a jumping off point to explore links to learn more. They were designed to show up on queries where they can add additional benefits beyond what people might already get on Search. With AI Overviews, people have been visiting a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions."

In other words, they are meant to help people start on their journey to learn more about what they search for. However, it can also mean they get an answer on a shallow level and then be done with it.

What Does a Bible Verse in AI Overview Look Like?

How many people do you think Google John 3:16 each month? According to Semrush, over 200,000 in the United States alone, and over 400,000 globally.

And that doesn't include alternatives like

John 316
John 3 16

Or any versions with questions surrounding it. It's safe to say over half a million people look up Christianity's most iconic Bible verse every month.

John 3:16 is one of the most (if not the most) cited Bible verses. So imagine someone Googling it, and they read what Google's interpretation of it is. Below was what showed up when I googled the verse.

Sure, Google may pull from other sources, but who's to say that they are Biblical sources? That they aren't heretical or simply false. I added the word "meaning" and got one similar source.

AI continues to advance, and there's never been a better time for churches to create content online that will help not only their congregation, but potentially millions. You could be in a small church of 50 people, but when you publish an article online, you could have a Billy Graham-caliber impact.

What Can Help You Show up in AI Overviews?

Ranking in AI Overviews isn't anything totally radical. The same fundamentals of SEO play a huge role in showing in AI Overviews. At the end of the day, the content has to be helpful .

That being said, I noticed a few things while writing this article.

Longtail Keyword Optimization

One of the ways you can make your content helpful + improve the chance to rank is by targeting longtail keywords.

Longtail keywords are phrases people search for instead of just one or two words.

For example:

"Church near me" is a shorter keyword
"Baptist churches in Fort Worth, TX" is a longtail keyword

Another example, as you can see from the article from Ligonier, they didn't just make the article title "John 3:16 meaning".

Instead, they made it a question. They made it something people would actually search, and it still matches the search intent (see next point).

Having the exact keyword can be helpful. But in 2025, it's not required. Just look at the other titles of the results from earlier.

Matching Search Intent

Before you try to create on a bible verse, or verses, do a quick search to see what comes up for a particular piece of scripture.

The reason for this is that it'll give you an idea of what Google thinks the intent is for that search.

I typed in a random verse in Leviticus and got the following results.

Instead of giving results from a church or YouTube, it gave more scholarly sources. That tells me that Google thinks when someone searches for Leviticus 17:11, they are looking to understand what the symbolism of blood means. So your content should match that intent.

Recency of Results

One study recently pointed to the recency of content being updated/published as a subtle ranking factor.

That doesn't mean old content is bad. But it does mean that you can leverage new, fresh content. I mean, look at the dates of what was cited by the AI Overview:

The dates range from January 1, 1998, to April 2025. I'm not saying that if you published a piece of content for "What does John 3:16 mean?" that it would rank. But I am saying that the newness can matter.

Platform Variety

You don't have to publish content on your website to show up in AI Overviews. When I googled one of my favorite verses, the top 3 results consisted of YouTube and Facebook (which surprised me). As of July 2025 , Facebook and Instagram posts became searchable by Google.

This means that no matter where the content is, you have a chance to show up somewhere for it.

Repurposing your content for other platforms helps expand your influence–SEO optimized or not.

Repurposed content is not identical content. You have to edit to the platform people are on.

(While I don't do social media content or YouTube optimization, I'll be happy to refer you to people I trust with that. I work well with other specialists.)

Get Started Creating Christian Content for AI Overviews

There's never been a better time to create Kingdom-Advancing Content than now. There's never been a more critical time than now.

Whether you're looking to create content centered around specific Bible verses or need help repurposing your sermons, I'm here to help. You can schedule a free call with me to get some ideas.

Why You Need a Communications Ministry (And Not a Comm Department)

luke@thecontentpastor.com (Luke Schumacher) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 17:30:00 GMT

Nobody, not a single (saved) soul, has said, "I want to work at a church because of the money." Hopefully, everyone you hire has a desire for ministry.

Whether it's KidMin or International Missions, the staff members at your church believe they're called to a specific part of ministry.

So, why do you treat some of your staff like order takers and not ministry participants?

Church communications have to change. Most are operated poorly, and it's time for you to change it.

The Main Problem with Church Communications

"There's just such a tension that exists with communications," said Matt Curtis, former Creative Minister and Founder of Lunchtime Heroes . "Communications is an executive-level function in an organization. It's not a service department."

That is the main problem with church communication. In most churches, communication is treated like a service rather than an executive-level function.

"Many communications departments have been really relegated to the service side of the organization," Matt said.

This means creating everything from:

Social media posts
Website edits/changes
Weekly "newsletters"
Shoot announcement videos
Banner graphics
Ministry graphics for every single ministry
Bulletin design
Intern-level work

Businesses and corporations have "Chief Marketing Officers" (CMOs) who sit at the table when making decisions. The CMO is not directly responsible for their social media or their advertising. They implement the big strategy by having experts execute the different things needed to meet that goal.

Whether you like it or not, the person with the title "communications" attached to their job has that level of responsibility.

"We're not being invited into the strategic side of [ministry]," said Matt. "Communications is about messaging. If leadership isn't communicating clearly, a natural problem will result from that."

The problem? A dramatic loss of trust.

"I want to help churches communicate clearly, effectively, and with integrity," Matt said. "The problem that we run into is that those three things aren't happening, and that's where trust begins to get eroded."

One of the ways to avoid this is by finding a way to work together.

Pastors Need to Get Out of Their Own Way

If you're a pastor, I'm going to give you some tough love. If you're not a pastor, take these with a grain of salt. Don't attack your pastor with this.

One reason there are few church communications ministries is that the senior leaders will not get out of their own way.

" I think most pastors haven’t been trained to run the operational side of an organization," said Matt. "I don't mean that to be critical. Many pastors just know how to leverage comm strategically."

There is a gap between vision/strategy and creativity. It's not the role of the creative to set the vision, strategy, and mission. It's also not the role of the lead pastor to be the editor-in-chief of everything.

"You cannot scale an organization if everything goes through the senior leader. It's just not possible," Matt said.

I attended a church where tons of talented people kept leaving. Crazy-talented musicians, brilliant tech directors, and friends with other roles were leaving.

Why?

They couldn't exercise their creative muscles because the senior leader had the absolute final say. Everything was filtered through the lead pastor. As a result, we lost lots of great talent and potential creative innovation.

Mental Shift from Communication Department to Ministry

Your communication team shouldn't be treated as a service department. They should be treated and act like a ministry.

"Churches have a potential opportunity to leverage communications to actually drive the church's mission," Matt said.

You have to shift your mindset from "Communication is here to make graphics for my ministry" to "Communication is here to further the mission of the church."

"Communications is about delivering information, answering questions, sometimes in some cases proactively, but it's making sure that the recipient has a clear understanding of what's going on," described Matt.

Sometimes, that's as a graphic. Other times, it's in video. Regardless, when you give communications a seat at the table, you're giving yourself a better chance to execute your church's vision and mission.

But to change that mindset, you must have the right person doing the job.

Characteristics of a Good Communication Ministry Leader

Think of your communication person as an air traffic controller for your church (or like the operations manager of a Chick-fil-A).

"All comm is 'Give us all of the organization's messages, and we will distribute them to the right places.' In some cases, we'll need creative. In some cases, we'll need a written word. In some cases, we'll need video content. But every destination has its own sort of requirements and demands, and you need a person who can air traffic control that," said Matt.

This means your Communication Director (and yes, director. Not a Coordinator) should be like the corporate CMO. They know the general ins and outs of what needs to be done. They know their strong suits. However, they will also rely on other team members or volunteers to nail the specifics, such as social media, video, text, etc.

"My recommendation is to have one person on your staff; that's their job, and then fund them to be able to outsource those remaining efforts," Matt said. "If you reach a point where you grow enough financially and complexity that you need somebody inside, then you start adding based on what you need."

Start with a well-rounded strategist. First, start with someone who is ministry-minded and not necessarily a subject matter expert on one sole area of communication.

Responsibilities of a Communication Ministry

My hope at this point is that you realize that your youth intern, your graphic designer, or your admin is not the communications person you need. The responsibilities and requirements are too vast for them, especially on top of their more urgent responsibilities.

If you want your church to thrive, you need three attributes in your communication ministry director.

1. Audience Research and Understanding

I'll never stop saying this: The Gospel is for everyone, but your church isn't. A Comm ministry director understands that, and they focus on who is right for your church.

"Who is your church best positioned to reach, and how do they consume content?" Matt said. "If none of the people that are in the audience that I'm trying to reach are on TikTok, it doesn't matter if I post there."

Another way to think about this is to ask these questions:

Who are the people you're trying to reach?
What language do they speak?

Your comm director is focused on people, not on fads.

They know you want to reach Gen Z, and you need to equip them with the resources they need to do that best, working with the youth pastor.

They know the state of U.S. politics and understand what your people say about it.

However, they focus on the audience and how to speak to them, not on aimlessly blasting information.

2. Creating Content

"If your team isn't allowed to do content, then you're not a ministry or department," said Matt.

As "The Content Pastor," I agree. A comm ministry is tasked with creating meaningful, engaging content—not because you need to, but because they want to meet the needs of a hurting community. They understand your audience's pain, so they have a content strategy in place.

Having a content strategy is crucial. Most churches just post and create because they have to. This is a mistake.

"Our culture increasingly demands, 'What's the purpose? What's the point? Why are we doing that?'" Matt said. "For a church to allocate resources toward content creation, there has to be some degree of a purpose that that we have behind it."

One way to do this is for them to have a volunteer team of content creators. They want to be in ministry, so they should lead others in your church.

Equipping the Saints

"It would be really interesting if churches had some vein of ministry that was equipping people and preparing them to be digital evangelists and to proclaim the message of hope," Matt said.

The responsibility to equip the saints does not fall solely on the pastor. It doesn't fall on any particular person. But your church is responsible for equipping the believers who attend to go and be disciples, to go and make disciples.

A communications director knows how to encourage volunteer team members to share their expertise, knowledge, and testimony. They know how to repurpose this for the digital world, which is struggling, hurting, and desperate for connection.

How Your Comm Ministry Has to Change

How does your Communication team need to change to go from department to ministry? Start with content creation.

"Communications needs to evolve into content," said Matt. "That's what needs to be happening in order for the church to continue to be effective."

When you start doing that, you will be known for something in your community . When you create content that meets the needs of a known audience, they'll think, "Wow, this church is willing to help me before I even think about attending. I've never encountered a church like this before."

"There are many times where we would position content as the strategy to help people outside of the church as a mechanism to basically help first, then encourage to come and join us and to see what this church is about," Matt said.

It's time to change. It's time to give Communications the responsibility it deserves. If you're a communications director or pastor who needs help creating content, I'm here to help.

How To Create Content for Your Church

luke@thecontentpastor.com (Luke Schumacher) — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 17:00:00 GMT

Have you ever had someone say something on stage that didn't resonate with the people attending your church?

Maybe it was an announcement that someone made, and they used verbiage you don't typically use. Perhaps a guest speaker inappropriately referred to something in the culture. Or the youth intern just goofed up.

When communicating with your congregation, you must understand their needs and keep them engaged in service.

The same is true online, especially when you're creating kingdom-advancing content. There is too much noise on the internet, and you can be a voice of hope.

I sat down with Mark MacDonald , church branding strategist and author of " Be Known for Something ," to discuss creating content and how churches can stay on brand when they do it.

Acronym for Helpful Church Content Creation: K.N.O.W.N.

"If someone's creating kingdom-based content, they need to do it with some guardrails up," Mark said. He offered the acronym KNOWN. "Keep it focused, Notice their needs, Offer solutions, Write with clarity, and Nurture connections. When you do that, you become known as a solution rather than just known as the church in the corner."

Keep It Focused

It's easy to get off-topic. Think of a recent time when you were telling a story. How easily did you add an extra detail or explanation that didn't need to be added?

You have to keep the message of your content focused.

"Focus the message directly on the audience, and then you'll get their engagement," said Mark.

Think about when your pastor is preaching, and he leaves a moment of silence. He lets a point linger for a bit. This sudden silence, the sudden change of pace, brings people back. It centers their focus.

Too often, especially on social media, churches try to pack too much content into too little space. Social media content isn't meant for that.

No channel is really for mismatched messages. Whether creating content for social media, a blog, a newsletter, or even a book, you must stay focused on one core idea.

Notice Their Needs (and How They Phrase it)

People won't listen to a message if they can't see how it meets a need. When I made websites for small businesses, I always had to ensure the content I wrote showed how that business met its customers' needs.

And your church is no different.

"Find out what [your audience's] perceived needs are and what they're Googling," Mark said. "Research some keywords that are being used in your areas."

There are millions of searches every month for things like "how to deal with depression," "how to be a better spouse," and "what to do with kids in {city}." I guarantee you have the answers to some of these searches. Whether it's from the Bible or your members, you can help people with these topics.

Not all searches will be "…as a Christian" or "Biblical…" but that doesn't mean you can't rank for it. It doesn't mean you can't show people to Christ.

"Few people will ever go online and type, 'help me spiritually,'" Mark said. "The church has content that will help people spiritually, but people don't have that as a perceived need.

You need to say a pain that leads them to the engagement of being able to give a solution to what they're looking for."

Offer Solutions

People are making secular searches. It's up to us to connect the secular search to the spiritual solution.

"Make sure you have a great connection between the secular [and spiritual]," Mark shared. "Make sure that you're actually creating content, engagement, and attention that leads to the gospel because that's what makes us a church."

You and I know that Jesus is the solution. Immediately saying, "You Need Jesus!" will likely turn them away. Offering a solution could be something like:

Finding friends in groups/outreach events
Free counseling services
Premarital or pre-parental classes
CPR training for teens
Mom's Day Out Care

But have a way for it to link back to knowing Jesus.

Write with Clarity

You have your topic focused. You understand their needs and problems. You have a solution to the problem. Now, it's time to put the message together. You have to write with clarity.

"Everyone needs to write with clarity," Mark said. "Confusion repels and clarity attracts."

It's easy to say that. But what does clarity actually mean? Clarity isn't about being basic. It's about being simple. It means being easy to read, digest, and act.

"A clear message will cut through all the noise that's out there, and it will capture hearts a whole lot faster than the noise that many churches are putting out," said Mark.

Nurture Connections

Once rubber has hit the road and you have the message out there, now what? Your social media, blog, email, etc., is not a standalone piece. It has to be part of a greater strategy.

If you can't follow up with readers when they make a call to action, then the content you create isn't kingdom-advancing. Just like businesses often have to "nurture" leads to be paying customers, you have to nurture people in their journey with Christ.

"It's not up to us to convert people," said Mark. "What's up to us is to engage people to the point that they will either accept or reject the Gospel message."

The way you get someone to that point is by nurturing the connection. You have to foster the relationship.

What's the First Step to Actually Create Content?

"You have to always go back to the person," said Mark. I agree.

If you want to start creating Kingdom-Advancing Content for your church, you have to focus on the person you're trying to reach. Without that ideal person in mind, the content is useless.

It's not "everyone." It's not "your city."

It's someone whose needs you know, whose needs you are equipped to meet, and whose needs you are ready to reach.

How do you know who that is? Partner with someone like Mark or myself, and we will help you get to the right place.

How to Measure Church Growth

luke@thecontentpastor.com (Luke Schumacher) — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 15:00:00 GMT

You want to grow your church, but you feel stuck. You feel like no matter what you are doing, there are no fruits to your labor. It might because you're measuring the wrong things.

Too many churches measure the wrong things to show church growth. They also fail to realize this: the results you see are lagging indicators. In other words, the work you put it in weeks/months ago are now paying off, not just one recent viral post.

I want your church to grow, to flourish. If you want that to, read about metrics you need to stop emphasizing and what you should focus on.

3 Metrics You Should Stop Relying On to Define Success

These are not necessarily bad. I don’t think they show successful church growth.

First Time Visitors (FTVs)

I don’t care how many first time visitors your church gets. It’s a vanity metric. FTVs might mean you have:

a great Google Business Profile
Decent social media/Google ads
Solid SEO
Good signage/location

FTVs are not a good indicator of church growth because there is no evidence of discipleship, new believers, or steps of faith. It shows decent marketing and advertising.

Number of Groups

Come on now. Really? This could show growth. But it really shows interests. It shows how many different interests there are within the church.

I’m all for groups, but they should meet a need. If you have to keep making more Young Married groups because there aren't enough, that is a different story. But more groups for the sake of more groups is unnessary work for whoever manages them.

Social Media Followers/Website Traffic

It feels good to see your social media and/or website traffic go up and to the right. But again, it doesn’t show spiritual growth.

It does imply a good digital strategy. It does suggest you are stewarding those resources well.

But more followers doesn’t anyways equal more disciples. More website visitors doesn’t always mean more believers.

My specialty is SEO, and while I pay attention to growing website traffic, I don’t consider it a metric of success. It’s just a piece of a greater strategy.

3 Church Growth Metrics You Should Start Measuring

If you start measuring the right things, you’ll get more insight on the spiritual condition of your congregation. You’ll be able to have a better comm/marketing plan.

First Time Disciples

What is a first time disciple?

It’s not someone who got baptized. It’s not someone who is a member. It’s not even some who gives.

A first time disciple is someone who is living out what your church defines as a disciple.

What indicates a first time disciple? Well, if they’re baptized and a member it looks like they:

Join a group and attend it regularly and are engaged
Started a group or lead Sunday school/youth Wednesday
Spend time in Scripture and share it regularly (however that looks)
Started serving in your church or are even leading a team

They bear fruit. Your discipleship metrics can be whatever you’re able to measure--but it has to be measurable.

Prayer Request Topics

Imagine what it would be like to get less prayer requests about “finances” or “job” and get more requests like “to share the Gospel w/ [person]” or “trust God about [life decision].”

Not discrediting the first types of requests. But, in my opinion, a disciple is going to pray more prayers centered around God and his movement in something instead of that thing itself. At least that’s what I try to do. A disciple is going to be vulnerable with their prayers.

Regardless, you need to measure the topics you get prayer requests for because it gives you an idea of the community you’re in. From there you can create resources, tailor sermon illustrations, and more. Pay attention to prayer requests to do more than pray. Take action based off them.

Email Subscribers & Open Rates

What makes an email subscriber different than social media follower?

Well, email is a better tool for discipleship. You aren’t competing with trending videos and other distracting content. In an inbox you’re competing with bills and promotions.

Plus, a subscriber is someone who joined your list willingly, not because you but them in your ChMS. They join because you are creating valuable email content to help them grow spiritually. (Heck, even if to them it’s “to be a better person” that still counts).

From there you can track individual open rates to see who is being fed and tailor your strategy.

What Your Next Steps Can Look Like

What metrics are you tracking that are not actually helping you achieve your ministry goals?

Do a quick audit of everything you measure and ask:

Do I use this data to make ministry-impactful decisions or just to measure?
Would not measuring this hinder spiritual growth of church-goers?
Are the dollars we spend to get this data worth the data itself?
How can I better use the data?
Who do these metrics benefit, my ego or God’s Kingdom?

From there, focus on one new metric that matters. Try and test. focus on that and less on vanity metrics. Pray. Watch God move.

The Ultimate Church SEO and Content Guide

luke@thecontentpastor.com (Luke Schumacher) — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 16:00:00 GMT

What if I told you that your church can save $30,000/year and simultaneously grow your church?

One of my clients experienced this. Their estimated website traffic cost was over $30,000 for 2024. They also experienced rapid growth during a pastoral transition.

This is because we focused on digital marketing, specifically the content on their website.

I sat down with Jono Long , founder of Faithworks, to discuss church content and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). By the end of it, you'll have the toolkit and strategy you need to achieve similar results.

The Most Essential Component of Your Church Digital Marketing

What do you think is the most crucial part of your website?

Is it having a video in your main visual area? Original photos vs. stock photos? Or, Is it having the coolest website design available?

The most essential component of your church website is content.

Your website must have content (words and media) for it to rank well. Yet many churches would rather have media than text.

"Churches are notorious for wanting content-thin websites," Jono said. "When we build websites for churches, the phrase I hear the most is we want a lot of white space."

Here's the thing: Google needs words to understand what you're about. Yes, it knows what a church is supposed to be. But what makes you unique? What makes "First [Denomination] [City]" different than "First [Same Denomination] [Neighboring City]?

"From an SEO state, if you want to show up on Google, Google needs words," said Jono.

And please, this doesn't mean having a heading like "Looking for a Church Near Me?" or "You Belong at Our Church in [City]." SEO is about appeasing Google and, most importantly, helping people. To do both of those things, you have to have helpful text that makes both an algorithm and a person understand.

Why it's Essential to Have Content-rich Websites

Google often changes its algorithm. When these changes happen, Google prioritizes quality content more and more every single time.

"The businesses, organizations, churches, nonprofits that don't see their rankings and totally fall off a cliff are the ones who have just been writing good content consistently for a long time," said Jono. "you've got to be strategic and put some words out there."

This happened with my client. Once we started posting blogs, their traffic skyrocketed after a Google update. They went from about 1,000 views per month to over 8,000.

Website Improvements for SEO Success

Remember, content is the foundation of effective SEO. The first thing you have to improve is your website's content and functionality.

Add text content where appropriate. One thing anyone in the church website space will say is to have original photos on your site.

"Give up all the stock photography," Jono said. "There are lots of pictures of the front of the building on websites, and that's just not very inviting... You need to show people what it looks like to be in the foyer or who the people are. You can answer many questions with the first image at the top of your website."

Additionally, the user experience as they transition online to offline should be simple for both them and you.

"Make a good plan of visit page that answers people's questions," said Jono. "If someone fills out the form, actually have a plan for following up."

Creating Consistent, Valuable Content

Local SEO Considerations

"From the standpoint of local SEO, you're trying to show up in Google Maps," said Jono. "Blog posts, I don't think, help you show up in Google Maps."

Jono is right. A blog post (probably) won't help with showing up in Google Maps.

You could create fun posts that help local searchers. Ask the staff or volunteers what they like to do or where they like to eat. Then turn that into a "Best place to {XYZ} in {City}" post. Not all content on a blog has to be scripture-based.

Your Content Creation Roadmap for Churches

If you want to upgrade your church's content, here's a roadmap.*

*The above roadmap can be shortened when you work with me.

What's Your Content Strategy?

You've read (or skimmed) a lot in this article. But I hope your understanding of content and SEO has improved.

It's easy to read but hard to implement and do consistently. That's why I started The Content Pastor. I help churches like yours create Kingdom-Advancing Content.

If you need help with your SEO and content creation, click the button below to book a free call with me.

If you're interested in what Jono and his team at are doing, visit the Faithworks website .

2 Ways to Improve Your Church Email Marketing

luke@thecontentpastor.com (Luke Schumacher) — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 15:30:00 GMT

How do you feel when you get a piece of mail that

is addressed to you
clearly handwritten
isn't from a company
isn't your birthday or holiday

I don't know about you, but when I get a card or letter that isn't like that, I get excited. Heck, part of the reason I love my birthday is getting mail in the mail. Sure, the birthday emails from corporations are nice because who doesn't love a free Chick-fil-A sandwich?

But getting something customized for me by someone I care about means more than that.

What if I told you you could recreate that feeling in others through your church's email?

What if you could excite people to open their inbox in the morning? What if instead of checking work email or news, people opened your email first to be spiritually nourished and spend time with God.

Email marketing is (in my opinion) the most underutilized content distribution platform for churches. And by the time you're done reading, you'll want to start using it.

Why Email Marketing is Crucial for Your Church

"I think churches are thinking way too narrowly about how to use email and how to communicate what matters," said Hilary Sutton , founder of Faithful.ly . "There's such an incredible opportunity to use email to deepen relationships and understanding."

While you might invest in social media because "that is where the people are," you are having to compete against the noise. People can move from your content to the next in the blink of an eye.

But with email, it's your email against bills, spam, and businesses promoting themselves. You can be a light in someone's inbox instead of something they scroll past.

As Hilary said, email marketing is crucial for your church because it can deepen relationships—not just with your congregation but also with totally strangers.

2 Things to Make Your Church Emails Stand Out

Your email is more than a "newsletter" that acts as a digital bulletin, and you should treat it as such. There are two big things you can start today that will make people want to read your church emails: segment the list and automate emails.

Segment Your List

Mailchimp defines email segmentation as "the process of dividing and separating email subscribers into groups or segments based on criteria."

For your church, this looks like a number of traits. You could segment emails based on:

Age and Gender
Children and their ages
Ministries they are active in
Whether they serve or not
Events they've attended or not

Segmenting is essential because it gives people a good experience and impression of your church on more than just Sunday. It shows you care and are diligent.

For example, around Thanksgiving in 2024, I got an email promoting a Young Adults "Friendsgiving." However, it was not from the church I attended. It came from a church I attended 3 years earlier and hadn't returned since.

The email came out of the blue. I hadn't received any other communication from them via email since I joined a different church. If I hadn't been in marketing and understood the plight of managing emails, I probably would've been (more) annoyed.

Automate Emails

The second thing you can start to implement is email automation. You experience this daily with email promotions. Businesses will set up automated emails if you buy certain products. Suppose you sign up for a newsletter or to gain access to a digital product. In that case, you will likely be put in an automated email sequence.

Those aren't always bad. They can be annoying, but only if you aren't interested in the subject of the emails.

For your church, automated emails could look like:

A series of 3-5 welcome emails that get sent when you add a first-time guest's email to your ChMS
An educational course on who Jesus is, salvation, etc.
A couple emails for families who visited for an Easter Egg hunt event or other outreach event

Your days are already too busy to send more emails. You already have to plan meetings and coordinate times to pastor others. Automated emails free up your time to do what you love most: helping others grow in their faith.

What Email Segmentation and Automation Look Like for Churches

How can you practically start with email segmentation and automation for your church? During my interview with Hilary, we laid out some practical steps and strategies you could use to get started. (She's also having a workshop about it on January 22nd).

Let's pretend that you want more people to attend your Sunday service after interacting with your church at an outreach event.

"With email in particular, think about the experience of even getting on the list to start with," she said. "For example, segment from people who've come to an outreach event… what is that first touch point that people have when they're giving you their email address?"

Think about what the email says, looks, and feels like. The initial email is crucial, especially when you create an automated series behind it.

"I'd love to see in the first email a form or clickable links for the recipient to say, 'I want to learn more about women's ministry or missions or local outreach or whatever,' Hilary said." If you optimize that experience with your welcome team, then you should have a digital version of that that continues the experience."

You invest your time and effort in having cheerful, welcoming people greet guests on Sunday. So, let your email do the same. Just like you think through the experience of a first-time guest, think about the digital experience you want them to have. Give a good first impression in person and in their inbox.

Other Church Email Marketing Ideas

Email should be used for more than guest follow-up. Your church can implement many different uses for email this year.

Testimonies

"There should also be impact stories at least once a month, if not weekly," Hilary said. "There can be a lot of incredible things that God is doing through ministries in your church that you never know about unless they speak on stage on Sunday."

People can debate theology, but that can debate how God moves in your life. People's Jesus story inspires and encourages others to move closer to him.

Devotionals and E-Books

Repurpose your sermons to be daily email devotionals. Tools like Pulpit AI and Church.Tech makes it easy for you to have sermon-inspired email devotionals.

Additionally, you can use these tools to repurpose the sermons into e-books. Each sermon could be a chapter, or each point in a sermon a chapter.

"Repurpose some sermons and turn them into a digital download," Hilary shared. This could be an e-book. It could be a daily devotional. It could be a devotional calendar tailored to someone in a particular segment of your email list.

Educational Email Courses

(This is my favorite idea)

What if you could teach your congregation or strangers some of the core tenets of the faith?

Who is Jesus?
What/who is the Trinity?
How to Start Reading My Bible?

An educational email course is an automated sequence of emails over 3-5 days designed to teach one key topic. I've seen people use it in business to get more customers and sell more products. You can use it to disciple more people and teach more robust sermons.

Where You Should Start in Your Email Marketing Strategy

I know I've thrown a lot at you with this blog post, especially if you've never considered email marketing. Before you start creating email content, consider Hilary's advice.

"Ask yourself, 'Why are we doing what we're doing, and is it working?'" she said. "Before you add anything to the mix or double down on something, look at how it's performing."

Another way to look at it is if you were to completely clear everything and start from square one, what would you strategically put back on the table?

You should start leveraging your email (and texting, for that matter). There are too many ways you can use it to bring people closer to Jesus.

"I hope churches will embrace technology to drive discipleship and help people get plugged in," Hilary said.

3 Essential Tips on How Your Church Can Evangelize in the Digital Age

luke@thecontentpastor.com (Luke Schumacher) — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 21:31:48 GMT

Your church might be live streaming, but are you truly reaching people?

Every weekend, thousands of potential believers scroll past your digital content—disconnected, unengaged, and spiritually untouched. Despite investing in cameras, platforms, and social media, you are treating your online presence like a one-way broadcast instead of a dynamic discipleship relationship.

The harsh reality? Your digital strategy is likely creating more digital noise than spiritual transformation.

But what if your online campus could be just as powerful—if not more—than your physical campus? After a deep conversation with Jay Kranda , Online Campus Pastor at Saddleback Church , I uncovered three game-changing strategies that transform digital platforms from passive communication channels into active evangelism engines.

How Your Mindset Towards Digital Discipleship Must Change

The biggest shift you should make when you think of a digital church campus is to think of it like a physical campus. You may not have a building "online," but the goals are still the same, right? To make Disciples and share the Gospel (I hope)?

What does it look like when you think of your digital church as an "online campus?" It's not all digital marketing. Jay explained the differences between being an online pastor and being in digital marketing/communication (Mar-com) during our conversation.

"Mar-com is always hustling for the weekend, and they're creating a lot of assets and doing stuff around promotion. It's less pastoral," said Kranda. "I'm doing a lot more pastoring people and interacting with people. I would say 85% of my job is pastoring my community and leading my team, but 15% of it, I do work directly with Mar-com on things."

Having an online presence is more than having a live stream or posting on social media. It's an opportunity to shepherd people around the world who are in your community but unable to attend in person.

"The strength of online is you can connect with people anywhere, everywhere, all the time," he said.

Online church is not the same as digital marketing.

In my world of Digital Discipleship, it's about creating content that helps people. For example, creating a blog post from a sermon is helpful. Another example is producing some of those assets and content that a pastor or small group leader could use.

Just like you would create a bulletin (maybe) for the in-person experience, you have to adapt to the online experience.

Just like creating a membership process in person, you must create one online.

The medium should not affect the message. It should change how it's delivered.

Having a dedicated person to your church's online campus is a must, just like you should have a dedicated marketing/communications person. Jay phrased it like this:

"You need to have [an Online Pastor as] an independent role," he said. "It's like having a diversity role at a company where the whole job is just to champion diversity. You need that because [online church campus] hasn't been championed."

How to Use the Internet to Evangelize and Make Disciples

When your mindset changes, you can implement a place to leverage digital platforms. In his book, Kranda discusses "The 4 S's" of digital. Those S's are:

Streaming (think large gatherings, Weekend services, holidays, etc.)
Strengthening (small gatherings, niche events, one-on-one discipleship, blogs/content)
Social (community spaces)
Systems ("internal and external systems that empower personalized experiences")

To do digital well in any of those areas, you have to have these three things in place:

Meaningful, measurable objectives
A plan or path for people
Be invested in the long-term

Meaningful, Measurable Engagement

You (I hope) count how many people attend your weekend services, Sunday school, and mid-week activities. You track guest cards, prayer requests, and first-time visitor gifts. So, when you start taking digital seriously, you must have measurable objectives.

But think of something other than views, likes, comments, or monthly organic traffic. Those are vanity metrics. Instead, think of meaningful, measurable metrics for engagement.

"We don't report views or anything like that regularly," Kranda said. "What we do measure is how many people watch 30 minutes from a Saturday to Friday."

This is an excellent metric for streaming. For websites, particularly blog posts, the number of impressions or views means nothing. But the time spent on the page vs. how long it takes to read is crucial.

If the average page view time is 1-5 seconds, that's not good. But 30+ seconds? Great! If it's a long piece of content and people are skimming it (or hopefully actually reading it) and spending more than 30 seconds on it, that shows Google that your page is quality and makes you more likely to rank higher.

So, when you treat your online presence as a digital campus, you can take similar metrics as you would for in-person.

"There are other numbers like how many people take our membership classes every month, how many groups we have, completing discipleship pathway, getting plugged-in, baptized… those are more discipleship-related."

Whether for engagement, awareness, or membership, as long as you have meaningful, measurable metrics, you are on the right track to success.

Have a Plan for People

Having measurable data is helpful, but behind every number is someone who needs Jesus or wants to improve their relationship with him. Do not do digital without a plan to shepherd those people from accepting Jesus to becoming a member to serving.

"We've recently moved to more of an engagement pathway," said Kranda. "We want people to show up to a service, or services, and are super focused on taking the next steps."

He explained how the process works for online guests to become members and get plugged in. They have newcomer connections where they ask recent guests basic questions like "How did you know about us? What questions do you have?" That takes place about 2 weeks before membership classes start.

Then, the online membership classes are interesting.

Have you ever been in a Zoom room and zoned out because the host kept going on and on? Have you ever felt that way in a service?

That's the opposite of how the class is.

"We do a lot more groups," said Kranda. "Teach for 20 minutes, go into groups, teach for 20 minutes, go into groups. We're trying to add more dialogue and discussion time."

This is how I became a member of a megachurch I attended after graduating college—except it was in person. Through it, I ended up finding my future small group and accountability guys.

Too often, especially with digital, churches don't have thorough plans for people.

They just post on social
They send reminder emails
They just share a link for a live stream

Everything you do should be part of a bigger plan to guide that person closer to Jesus. Whether you have to make an introduction or challenge and grow them, have a digital strategy.

Invest in the Long-term

In October 2024, I attended Tithely's first-ever Modern Church Leader conference. I also attended a workshop by another online pastor (Steve Fogg of Crossway), and he shared something interesting.

Part of treating your online presence as an online campus is having the funds to sustain it. He also said that their online campus is nearly self-sustaining.

Just because people are online doesn't mean they won't commit to giving. You have to invest long-term in digital. Just cause the Internet loads fast doesn't mean community and fellowship also grows fast.

"Financial independence comes from years of allowing it to grow and mature," said Kranda. "I've been the pastor of this campus for over 13 years. It should be healthy. There's been consistency."

Another way to invest in the long term is to get people involved in serving online. If people are watching in another time zone, they could also serve.

"We try to create a lot of similar roles to those in person," Kranda said about the Online Campus volunteer teams. He shared that the two most significant places they have people serving are on the follow-up and prayer teams.

"Our follow-up team responds to all of our response cards every week. We have a team of, you know, seven to eight that do that every week. Our prayer team is very big, and they pray over every prayer request that comes in."

It didn't happen overnight. It's 13+ years in the making. If you don't invest in the growth, if you don't give the metrics time to matter or the planned time to show fruits, then you'll see a poor investment.

"We are an online community," said Kranda. "If you have community happening, people stick."

What Are You Doing to Evangelize Digitally?

Digital ministry isn't about technology—it's about people. Every click, every stream, every online interaction represents a person seeking connection, understanding, and transformation.

Jay Kranda wisely shared that the key is "deep engagement" over shallow metrics. Your digital campus isn't competing with your physical campus—it's extending your church's reach beyond walls, time zones, and traditional boundaries.

The digital age doesn't diminish spiritual connection—it amplifies it. Are you ready to shepherd your community, not just broadcast to them?

Church SEO: Terms, Implementation, and Growing Your Online Presence

luke@thecontentpastor.com (Luke Schumacher) — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 19:08:10 GMT

You're tasked with handling your church's digital marketing, but you don't have the knowledge to know where to start.

You know you need an excellent social media presence. You know you have to have a good website. And what about advertising?

When it comes to digital marketing, my favorite place to tell church marketers is to begin with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You've probably heard of the term and know a little about it. But do you know enough to make a meaningful impact on your church?

Read below to get equipped with the knowledge you need to reach page 1 of Google.

What is SEO for Churches?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is understanding how Google ranks a website. When it comes to churches, SEO is crucial for improving your online presence. You want to show up when someone searches "Church Near Me" or "Church in {City}."

Having excellent SEO on your website means you are expanding your digital net. You're making it easier for people to see Jesus. You're making it easier to find and make disciples.

Think of SEO like the parable of the seed sower. Some actions you take may not turn into anything. Some may become temporarily helpful but eventually die. Some might just transform your church and make it grow entirely.

If you want to improve your understanding of SEO, you'll need to know some basic SEO terminology.

9 Church SEO Terms

There are many technical terms within church SEO. If you are ready to take SEO seriously, commit to learning these. It'll make reading other SEO content easier to understand.

Local SEO for Churches

The first place your church should focus on when it comes to SEO is local search. This is exactly like I've mentioned above – searches like "Church near me" or "church in {city}."

Local SEO is also having your Google Business Profile (GBP) set up. That is the little blurb on the right-hand side when you google your church's name. Or it's what appears on Google Maps after someone clicks on a result.

Setting up your GBP is easy and only takes a couple minutes. Keeping it updated also helps.

Ways to Rank Well in Local SEO (in order of importance)

Set up and claim your Google Business Profile
Set up Analytics in Google Search Console (GSC) and then Google Analytics. (Just GSC is fine, too.)
Go into your website editor and change the Home page Meta Title to something like "{Church Name} Church in {City}." Best practice is to keep this under 65 characters.
Add that exact phrase to the Meta Description section of the Home page. So it could be something like, "{Church Name} is a local church in {city} that exists to make disciples. Join us Sundays at {service time(s)}." Best practice is to keep this under 150 characters.
You could put that phrase somewhere on the web page itself. It should help rank higher. However, I advise against this personally because it makes your website sound like you only are making it for Google and not for actual people.
Submit a sitemap in GSC. Leave the changes and review after one month.

National SEO

National SEO (for the sake of this article) is ranking for broader phrases. You do this is by creating blog posts. It could be repurposed sermon content. It could be original pieces the staff or volunteers write. It could be that your church has many campuses across the country.

Regardless, this is a way to help people online. You could write an article that could be the difference in someone's eternity. There are millions of self-help-related searches every day. No better organization can help than your church.

Ways to Rank Well in National SEO

The best way to do this is by creating blog content. Here's a quick outline of how this looks, assuming you've done everything for local SEO.

Create a content strategy and system for creating AND distributing
TIP: Start with sermon repurposing before going into entirely original pieces
Spend 30 minutes looking up keywords related to the sermon you're repurposing.
See what results appear on the SERP
Create an outline based on the above points
Take quotes from the sermon and include them in the blog post
Create a small library of 3-5 articles before you start posting so you can get posts regularly

How to Leverage SEO to Grow Your Church

You've had a lot of information thrown at you. The best part about SEO (and digital marketing in general) is this: the "ink" is never dry. You can make a change, monitor the data, and then change it later. So, don't stress too much when starting with SEO.

You can leverage SEO to grow your church by optimizing for local search. That alone is enough to see more first-time guests (hopefully repeat ones). It's enough to build your credibility and authority.

Then, if you have the staff or volunteers to do it, start creating content. Repurpose sermons. Creating a blog version of someone's testimony. Or have original thought pieces. Creating content will expand your church's influence and ability to share the Gospel and make disciples.

Church Marketing Strategies to Try in 2024

luke@thecontentpastor.com (Luke Schumacher) — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 20:56:10 GMT

Picture this: it’s Sunday morning and by the end of second service you’ve run out of coffee and tea. Maybe even the donuts and snacks are gone, too.

No. It’s not because the Youth did something crazy.

No, it’s not Easter.

It’s just a typical, Sunday morning.

How did you run out of coffee?

Simple. Your church doubled down on it’s content strategy. You started engaging with your congregation on more than Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. You created a sustainable church marketing strategy. And you did so without stressing out your staff.

If you’re struggling to bring new members into your church effective church marketing strategies can make all the difference. By reaching out to your community and creating a strong brand identity, you can attract new members and build a thriving congregation.

Below, you’ll learn about many avenues for reaching your community and engaging your congregation.

Strategy #1 : Developing a Strong Church Brand Identity

Your church has a brand. Whether you’ve created it intentionally or it’s was assigned by others, your church has a brand. Understanding your church’s brand is the baseline for all your marketing efforts.

In his book Be Known for Something, Mark MacDonald walks through how to develop your church’s thread (brand).

Crafting a Memorable Logo and Tagline

Your church's logo should be clean, simple, and easy to read. It should represent your church's values and mission statement.

Your tagline should be catchy and memorable, and it should communicate what makes your church unique. It should not be your mission statement. A tagline should be between 3 to 6 words. Short and punchy.

When designing your logo and tagline, it's important to consider your target audience. What will resonate with them? What will make them feel connected to your church?

It's also important to ensure that your logo and tagline are consistent across all platforms. This includes your website, social media accounts, and any printed materials.

Consistency in Messaging and Visuals

Consistency is key when it comes to branding. Your messaging, visuals, and even your website should all have a cohesive look and feel. This will help your church appear more professional and personable. It will improve your ability to connect with your community.

When developing your messaging, it's important to consider your church's values and mission. What message do you want to communicate to your community? What sets your church apart from others?

In addition to messaging, your visuals should also be consistent. This includes your color scheme, font choice, and imagery. When selecting your color scheme and font, consider the emotions and feelings they evoke. For example, blue is often associated with trust and stability, while red is associated with passion and energy.

By developing a strong brand identity, your church can attract new members and connect with your community on a deeper level. It takes time and effort, but the end result is well worth it.

Strategy 2: Build a User-Friendly Church Website

Your church's website is the first impression that people have of your organization. Designing a responsive and informative website that resonates with your target audience can be difficult if you don’t know your church’s brand.

Designing a Responsive and Informative Church Website

Your website should be easy to navigate and visually responsive. It should include important information about your church, like:

service times
upcoming events
your mission statement
ministries
resources

When designing your website, it's important to consider the user experience.

User experience is one of the most important aspects of designing your website. To make the experience better, your church website should include:

an easy-to-use navigation bar
clear, concise language (get rid of “Christianese” fluff)
matching brand colors and visuals
mobile-responsive layout (it’s 2023. I shouldn’t have to say this, but you’d be surprised)

Be Found Online with These Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Techniques

You might have the best designed church website in your area. But it won’t matter if you’re not found by others or Google.

Search Engine Optimization techniques help your website appear higher in search engine rankings, making it more visible to people who are searching for churches in your area.

User experience is one of Google’s most important SEO factors. Other basic SEO techniques include:

Keywords . You have to know what people are searching for in your area when it comes to churches, Christianity, and faith. The most important place to put keywords is in your headings, Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions. Blogging is a great way to be found for multiple keywords.

Load Time . Your website should load fast. This is part of user experience, because what will make you quickly leave a website more than a slow loading page. Each page of your website ranks differently, so make sure each page is optimized.

Mobile Friendly . Like I said, your church website should be mobile friendly. It goes for more than design. Load speeds vary for desktop and mobile devices. Most website platforms give you the ability to edit your site for each platform to best optimize it.

Remember, at the end of the day your website is more for people than it is for Google. People decide to visit your church, not Google. Don’t neglect SEO best practices, but don’t make your website sound like a robot.

Strategy #3 - Utilizing Your Church’s Social Media

Your church probably has a Facebook, Instagram, maybe YouTube or Vimeo. If you’re really into social media you might have a Twitter.

That’s all fine… if you’re using it right.

Social media is social . You must engage on the primary platforms your target audience is. You have to create content that your audience wants. You should engage with them in the comments.

You should NOT use social media as only a billboard for events. You’ll be tuned out by your community and congregation. So how do you make your social media worth following?

Creating Social Media Content for Your Audience

Your social media content should be engaging. Your social media content should be worth reading. Your social can include inspirational quotes/scripture, sermon video bites, and blog snippets.

Another way to create memorable content is to share stories from members of your congregation. This can include testimonials about how your church has impacted their lives, or stories about how they have overcome challenges with the support of your community. Sharing these stories helps people feel more connected to your church and inspire them to get involved.

Quality content is half the battle. Creating content consistently is the hard part. But when you do it correctly, you can build a loyal following and attract new members to your church. By creating content consistently, you improve your digital outreach.

Leveraging Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for Outreach

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all powerful tools for connecting with people in your community. You can also use these platforms to share information about your church's upcoming events and programs.

One effective way to use social media for outreach is to create a Facebook event for your church's events. This can help people find your church and learn more about what you’re doing. You can also use Instagram to share photos of the event and promotional videos.

Strategy #4 - Leveraging Blogs, Newsletters, and Other Church Content Marketing Channels

Social media is a great place to create a distribute content. But that content needs to come from somewhere. And you have plenty of options outside of Sunday sermons. There are 3 channels your church can utilize to improve outreach and invite more people to your church.

Helpful Blogs

Your church is basically a small business. And you need to treat it as such. One of the ways you can improve your church marketing strategy is by blogging.

Blogging isn’t what it was back in 2008, when people just wrote about their days and other useless text.

Blogging today is about connecting with your audience, building your brand, and helping people. Data supports this.

Large software company Hubspot posted an article that companies with blogs have “far better marketing results.” Active blogging can lead up to 55% more website visitors.

What drives this uptick in traffic? Search Engine Optimization.

Other than the right keywords, good SEO involves:

building authority with search engines
having more, quality pages to be found on
a user friendly website with fast loading speed

Your blog posts must be centered around the needs of your ideal audience. Don’t create Christian fluff for everyone. Meet the needs of your community. Rank higher more frequently on Google.

Engaging Emails

You ask people every week to fill out a guest card with their name, phone, and email. But what should you be doing with that email other than having it in your database?

Email marketing! But how can your church utilize email marketing?

Remind people of upcoming services, events, and volunteer opportunities
Provide another channel to collect tithes and offerings
Engage with guests and members with custom content
Set up automated campaigns for different segments of your church.

With email you can keep engaging with your church outside of Sundays and Wednesdays. But you have to do it right. You must provide content that is useful and that they want. Or at least guide them to that.

Successful email marketing can play a role in driving traffic to your website or increasing weekly attendance. It should be an integral part for your church marketing strategy. A great way to use email marketing is with a newsletter.

Convenient Newsletters

The Gospel isn’t limited to just Sundays and Wednesdays. With a newsletter, you can keep people engaged with content anytime during the week. Newsletters are a great way to stay top of mind.

But to do a newsletter right, people should have choices. They should choose to sign up for it, there preferences for the types of content, etc.

Newsletter might sound archaic . But if you want your church marketing to succeed, then starting a weekly, biweekly, or even monthly newsletter should be part of your strategy.

Strategy #5 - Hosting Community Events and Outreach Programs

Hosting community events and outreach programs is a great way to connect with people in your community and attract new guests to your church.

Community events and outreach programs are not only beneficial for your church, but they also serve as a way to give back to the community. By hosting events, you can create a sense of community and unity within your neighborhood.

Organizing Events to Attract New Members

Your events should be engaging and should appeal to people who might not have considered attending your church before. This can include community service projects and family-friendly activities.

Community service projects are another great way to connect with people in your community. Consider organizing a food drive or a clothing donation event. This can not only help those in need, but it can also bring your church members together to work towards a common goal.

Family-friendly activities are a great way to attract families with children to your church. Consider hosting a family movie night or a game night. This can create a fun and welcoming environment for families to spend time together.

Partnering with Local Organizations for Community Impact

Partnering with local organizations can improve your church's visibility and make a positive impact in your community. Consider partnering with schools, non-profits, and other religious organizations to make a difference in your community.

Schools partnerships can be a great way to connect with families in your community. Consider offering tutoring services or hosting a back-to-school event. This can help families prepare for the upcoming school year and create a positive relationship between your church and the local schools.

Partnering with non-profits can also make a positive impact in your community. Consider hosting a charity event or volunteering at a local food bank. This can help those in need and create a positive image for your church in the community.

Overcoming Misconceptions About Church Marketing

Some people believe that marketing is inappropriate for churches, but this is a misconception. Effective church marketing is about communicating your values and your message to your community in a way that is engaging, respectful, and authentic.

It's important to remember that marketing is not about selling a product or service. Rather, it's about building relationships and creating connections with people who share your values and beliefs.

By using marketing to share your message and connect with your community, you can help your church grow and thrive for years to come.

If you need help with marketing your church, especially with websites or anything digital, The Content Pastor is here to help!

The Ultimate Guide on How to Build a Church Website in 2025

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 17:01:43 GMT

Your church needs a professional, well-designed website. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

A great church website can have many benefits. It can:

unite your congregation
attract new members
advertise events and services
Educate nonbelievers on Jesus

Doing all this doesn’t just happen. There are many components to this. You shouldn’t be in the dark about how to make a successful website. So here’s how you do it.

What Makes a Successful Church Website?

A successful church website does more than provide basic information.

It should cater to the diverse wants and needs of your members and community. It should be attractive, user-friendly, and accessible across various devices.

Some key elements that contribute to a successful church website:

Clearly defined purpose : Please, do NOT start building the website until you’ve done this. If you want it to be the best it can be, you have a crystal clear purpose. Whether informing visitors about service times or engaging members through virtual sermons and events listings, this clarity helps drive both the layout and content decisions throughout the process.
High-quality content : Invest in creating well-written copy for each page. Focus on conveying relevant information concisely and consistently. Speak directly to the end user. Use words like “you” and “your” and less “we” and “us.”
Attractive design : Don’t get lost in the aesthetics. There is a fine balance between visual appeal and functionality. Incorporate high-resolution photos showcasing your church’s vibe and use consistent branding with colors and typography. If possible, these photos should be original and not stock.
Responsive web design : Are you reading this on your phone? Statistically, most people will visit your church website on their phone. A responsive web design ensures that all visitors can access your site—no matter what device they use.

These are some broad factors to consider. When you think about these attributes you can ensure your website becomes a valuable resource for your congregation, prospective visitors, and the wider community.

Those are some high-level attributes. You should know more about some critical factors for church websites.

What Are the Most Important Factors for Church Websites?

User experience, search engine optimization, and other traits make your website great.

A great website should address the needs of its visitors and bring value to your ministries.

There are three crucial factors your church website should focus on:

user experience
speed and safety
search engine optimization (SEO)

Focusing on these helps create an engaging online presence that best represents your organization.

User Experience (UX)

The user experience refers to how visitors can navigate through your website and find the information they're looking for. A positive user experience builds trust and encourages the end user to stay on longer.

When designing a church website, make sure you focus on:

Clear navigation : Your menu should be easy to locate and feature intuitive labeling.
Consistency in design : Maintain uniformity in fonts, colors, imagery, and layout throughout your site.
Readability : Use appropriate font sizes and ensure there's enough contrast between text color and background color.

Keeping these principles in mind will allow you to create an accessible platform that facilitates engagement with current members while attracting potential new ones.

Luckily, most website platforms allow you to copy a page and plug in new content. All you have to do is make one great page and copy it. Keep it consistent. Keep it simple.

Speed and Safety

A slow-loading website is frustrating for users. Think about when you last tried to get on a website and it was slow. To optimize your church website’s speed:

Optimize images and videos by compressing or resizing them.
Utilize caching mechanisms where applicable.
Minimize the use of heavy plugins, codes, or scripts.

Security is also important. Your website should have an SSL (the "s" in https://). If you have online giving or member databases accessible through your website, this is especially important.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of enhancing your website to achieve better visibility on search engines.

SEO plays a vital role in attracting new visitors or members interested in local churches. When building a church website, focus on:

Keyword research : Identify relevant keywords related to your various ministries and include them throughout your content.
Metadata optimization : Ensure every page has appropriate title tags and meta descriptions to make it easier for search engines to understand the context of each webpage.
High-quality content : Craft informative and engaging content that offers real value to the audience.
Proper site structure : Align resources into an easily understood hierarchy with clear internal linking.

Incorporating these factors when designing your church website can give you the results you're looking for.

Content Guidelines For Your Website

When it comes to understanding how to build a church website, determining the target audience and the appropriate amount of content are essential components.

Creating relevant, engaging content that speaks directly to your intended audience will improve user experience and boost visitor satisfaction.

Design and back-end functionality is important. But people don't act until they've read the content. The information on your website should:

target 1 ideal audience
be digestible

Who is This Website For?

The biggest mistake you make is not identifying the website's audience.

There are two primary groups you'll want to reach:

Existing members: Provide updates on events, sermons, and ministry opportunities tailored towards current parishioners.
Potential visitors: Focus on showcasing church culture, and core beliefs, and informing newcomers about what they can expect when attending services or participating in events.

Keep these distinct audiences in mind while developing content for your website. Each page may have a different audience. You have to maintain a balance between serving current members and attracting potential new visitors.

How Much Content Should You Add to Your Church Website?

It's not necessarily the amount of content. It's more of how you format and design it. Like I said, make it digestible.

Be sure to consider the following guidelines when publishing content for your site:

Avoid information overload: Presenting too much information at once may overwhelm visitors. Keep page lengths concise.
Use visuals: Use high-quality images, videos, and infographics. Any visual element that helps illustrate points throughout the text.
Stay up-to-date: Update posted material so returning users always have access to fresh information.

To strike an ideal balance in delivering optimal amounts of content on your church website:

Focus on providing answers to frequently asked questions – streamline navigation through easily-accessible "FAQ" pages.
Ensure that all essential information – service times, locations, contact details – is clearly visible and easy to find.
Use subpages for specific ministries or groups within your church. Don't put all your ministry info onto one page.

By following these guidelines, you will create a user- and SEO-friendly website that caters to both existing members and potential new visitors.

How Many Pages Should a Church Website Have?

The ideal number of pages for your website depends on what information you want to put on there.

When considering how to build a church website, it's important to prioritize quality over quantity.

The appropriate number of pages on your church website depends on several factors, including:

Size and activities of the church: Larger churches with numerous ministries and events may need more pages than smaller congregations.
Target audience: Consider who you want your website to reach. Tailor your content based on their needs and interests
Basic church info: Make it easy to find information on worship services, location info, staff bios, event listings, sermons archive, and ministry resources.

Key attributes like accessibility, clarity, and relevance must be meticulously balanced to achieve optimal user satisfaction. Ensure that every page you create serves a distinct purpose while keeping the overall design cohesive.

Remember, designing a church website should engage members and welcome newcomers.

What Pages are Essential for a Church Website?

There is no right or wrong number of pages. There are certainly pages that you should have.

After building over 900 websites for small businesses, I think your church should have between 5-10 core pages.

Website Pages

Home: The homepage sets the tone for the entire user experience on your church website. It should be attractive and engaging. Everything someone could need should be available at a glance.
About Us: The About Us page is an opportunity to give visitors a more in-depth look into your church's background and mission. This information can include:
statements of faith
details on leadership teams with photos and bios for each member
testimonials from congregants emphasizing the impact of your ministry within their lives
accomplishments such as outreach efforts
Ministries: Showcase various ministries/programs available. This can include youth groups, Bible studies/events, music ministries, and volunteer opportunities.
Events Calendar: Personally, I think this info is best on the home page. But if your church hosts many events during the week, an events page makes them easier to find.
Sermons/Media Library: This could be a navigation tab that links to your YouTube or Vimeo. Or it could be a blog-style layout of sermons and speakers.
Blog: A blog can be an invaluable resource for your church as a local thought leader. It's one of the best ways to increase SEO, build trust, and help others.
Tithing & Donations: Your church needs money to operate. Make it simple for congregants to give tithes/offerings online. Bonus points if you share testimonies of your church’s impact on missions or efforts on this page.
Contact: Make it easy for people to contact leaders/administrative staff members. At the least include the church's address, a map, a form, a phone number, and office hours during the week.

Practical Tips On How To Design A Website For Church

You have an idea on pages. You know who the website is for. So how do you make them look good?

Here are some tips from a guy who built over 900 websites:

Focus on Content

The most important aspect of any website, including those for churches, is the content. It's worth repeating, people stay on your website because it's user-friendly. They make a choice based on the content. Make content digestible when you use these two elements well: Titles and Subtitles.

Title: Make sure your titles are clear, concise, and descriptive. Titles should inform the visitors what the corresponding section or page is all about.
Subtitles: Subtitles break down content into smaller sections and make it easier for visitors to skim the information they need.

Color

Color plays a significant role in setting the mood of your church website design. Choose colors that align with your church's branding guidelines and convey an inviting atmosphere.

Layout

A well-planned layout contributes towards enhancing the user experience on websites for churches.

Prioritize simplicity: There's a sales saying "simple sells." If you overwhelm your end-user then you risk driving them away.
White space: Use white space wisely as it improves readability.
Responsive design: Ensure your website layout adapts to various devices.

How Much Does it Cost to Build a Church Website?

The cost of building a church website is more than the price. The price can vary, depending on factors such as the type of platform and the complexity of your project.

The cost of your website is your price + impact. A poor church website reduces your local and global impact on the Kingdom.

Let's break down the various expenses associated with creating your own professional church website.

DIY (Do It Yourself) vs. Hiring a Professional Designer

If you choose to pursue the DIY route, there are many free church website builder options available online.

Common platforms like Wix (no), WordPress (confusing), and Squarespace (a decent platform) offer plans to build your site from scratch. Some have freemium options. But you'll want to pay for a plan to take advantage of better features.

On the other hand, hiring a professional web designer or a reliable church website design company comes at a higher investment. But you are sure to get a result you love.

Church Website Hosting and Domain Registration

Once you've decided which path suits your needs, consider setting aside funds for ongoing hosting expenses. Most website companies handle this for you. Plans often start at around $10 per month.

In addition to selecting a site host, you have to register a domain name. The best name would be Y ourChurchName.com .

Avoid using numbers or punctuation in your domain before the ".com".

Many providers offer combined hosting and registration.

Hosting and registration companies include Go Daddy, Bluehost, Register.com , and more

Which is the Best Church Website Design Company?

Selecting the best church website design company can be a daunting task. You have to consider experience, results, and values.

Investing in a reputable company specializing in church websites is essential (but not necessary). Some common church website companies include:

There are plenty of other church marketing companies - and other smaller agencies. Regardless, your provider should understand your vision and offer excellent customer service.

What to Expect from a Church Website Company

Here are some key elements you should expect from an outstanding church website company:

They are Christian: It seems like this should be a no brainer. But if you go with a website company that doesn't share your same values, it could negatively impact your website.
Customization Options: Your church is unique. Starting with a template is helpful, but you should have the custom work needed to streamline your processes. Templates + customization = great website.
User-Friendly Content Management System (CMS): Managing the content on your site should be easy. You should get coaching on how to use the CMS so you can update your website.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Services: The company that designs your website needs to make it with SEO in mind. Ranking high on search engines is imperative to reach new visitors. A reputable provider optimizes your site by incorporating appropriate keywords and SEO strategies.
Ongoing Support: Building your congregation's online presence doesn't end after launching the site. Regular maintenance, security updates, and troubleshooting will ensure continued success. Partner with a company that provides ongoing support services.
Pricing and Packages: Depending on the complexity of your project, the cost of a website can vary. Compare different service providers and assess their pricing models to determine which one offers the best value for your investment.

Choosing the best church website design company depends on its range of services. Some do just websites. Others do everything, from SEO to listings to social media.

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What to do if you feel overwhelmed about making a church website

There’s lots of information here. You might be a pastor trying to plant a church or a growing church that needs a new website. No matter the stage of your church, you deserve the best help.

You can schedule a free 30-minute call with me to see which of my website options are best for you..

I want your church to make the best impact that it can. Let’s start making your church website have the Kingdom-impact that it can.