Many who are not Christian wonder, “Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?”

It does seem strange that anyone would describe the day the leader of their movement was unjustly and horrifically killed as “good.”

Back on that first Good Friday, Jesus’s followers didn’t consider it to be very good either.  In fact, on that day, they probably considered it the worst day ever.

Isn’t it amazing what a little perspective brings?

Here’s an excellent video to help put Good Friday in perspective…

If you like this video/post, please share it on social media.

For me, the video not only puts Good Friday in the proper perspective (with Easter Sunday coming), but it also serves as a reminder that even on our darkest day, the story is not over.

We have the hope that comes from knowing God’s goodness and power could change our entire story at any time.

And we have the assurance that the battle has already been won, in the end victory is certain, through Christ Jesus who has defeated death, despair and every other evil.

What does this video mean to you?  What does Good Friday mean to you?

Post a comment to share your insight and perspective with others.

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post Video: It’s Friday… But Sunday’s a Coming appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

You are putting in lots of extra hours… getting info out about Easter events, providing resources so the people of your church can invite others, and helping people to reflect on the events of Holy Week.

It may be tempting to think, “The end is near! Easter is almost hear! I can see the finish line!”

But Easter has never been about endings, has it?

The first Easter was a new beginning. Every Easter since has been a celebration of the new life we have in Christ.

So, while it’s understandable that maybe a part of us can’t wait until Easter is over, at the same time, we don’t want to be unprepared for what happens after Easter…

• There will be new life in people who commit their lives to Christ for the first time on Easter.
• There will be new life in people who have wandered and come home to God on Easter.
• There will be people who come to an Easter service and wonder, “Can I really find new life in Christ? I want to know more.”

We get the opportunity to help cultivate that new life!

So, here are…

4 things to help cultivate the new life God creates this Easter

1) Create a follow-up plan.

How are you going to follow up with people who visit your church for the first time? Those who make a first-time commitment to Christ? Those who recommit their life to Christ?

2) Create a communications card.

Hopefully you already have something people can fill out to request more information, request prayer or let you know when they have taken a major step of faith. I list the communication card second because it should be designed after you’ve created your follow-up plan, to ask for the info you need to follow-up effectively.

Ideally, it’s good to have both a paper communications card for those who are old school and a digital communications card for those who would rather use their phones.

For the digital communications card, this can be a form on your website. Then you can put the URL of the form and a QR code in your bulletin/program (if you still have a print bulletin) and/or on the screen during announcements.

3) Create a plan for pics and stories.

Sharing the gospel is primarily about telling God’s story, not just the story of what He did 2,000 years ago but what he is doing in your church and in the lives of the people who make up your church today. Take pictures of your Holy Week events. Take video. Ask people to text or email what God does in their lives this week. With permission, share these pics, videos and stories on your church website and social media to give God the glory.

4) Create “Next Steps.”

As God stirs people’s hearts, they will want to know, “Where do I go from here?”  Communicate with people what their next step is if they are a first time visitor, a new believer or recommitting their life to Christ.  Include this next steps on your website, in your follow-up plan, in your weekly email newsletter.

Easter is all about new life. What’s your church’s plan to cultivate the new life God creates this Easter?

Would you like a hand from our team?

We love to partner with Christian churches, schools, ministries and businesses like yours!  For help with church website design or church SEO, schedule a call by completing the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop).  Or click to build a new website yourself.

Comment and Discuss

• What are your post-Easter plans and ideas?

For more tips & insight on pre- and post-Easter communications, see our Easter Communications blog series.

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post Will There Be Life After Easter? appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

It can be fun to make our websites better, move towards the top of search rankings and grow our engagement in social media.

But as we observe Holy Week over the next week and a half,  it’s a good time to…

reflect on why we do what we do.

Our Heavenly Father sent his one and only son, Jesus, to sacrifice himself as punishment for our sins.  Jesus loves us so much that he willingly suffered brutal torture and gave his life for us on the cross.  Three days later, on that first Easter he was raised from the dead, demonstrating God has defeated death.

How amazing is that?!?

The only response that makes any sense is to bring honor, glory and praise to our awesome, loving God!

So, in the days leading up to Easter, may we do that through our online communication – our websites, our blogs, our email, our social media.

May everyone we communicate with this week and next experience the hope we have in Christ who won victory over death that first Easter, and whose power continues to be at work in our hearts and lives!

Want some help with your website or search marketing?

If you’d like a hand with your DYI website builder, website design, or SEO, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Complete the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop) to schedule a call.

Comment and discuss…

• What affect do you want Jesus’s death and resurrection to have on your online communications this week?

Read more articles on Easter communications.

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post May Your Easter Communications Do This appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Most of us live busy lives, and it’s easy to get caught up in that busyness and think, “I just don’t have time to set goals.”

Part of the reason people don’t set goals is because goal-setting can seem like a big, overwhelming project.

To be candid, setting goals is a big project, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

As with every big project, if you have a process that breaks it down into smaller steps which you can do over several weeks, it can make the whole process much easier, even fun. (Yes, fun! )

Take a walk with me…

Imagine you and I go on a hike together. Along the way, we come face to face with a 100 foot cliff.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I am not a rock climber, so there is no way I can go straight up the cliff to get to the top.

But suppose I’ve done this hike many times before and I know right around the corner is a series of switchbacks with a relatively gradual incline. We can take those switchbacks and walk to the top of the cliff .  What seemed at first like an overwhelming and even impossible task, turns out to be relatively easy when we know the easy path.

If you are wondering about…

• How to set goals for my church, ministry or business, or
• How to create a strategic plan

… you have come to the right place!

In this article I’m going to share with you, the step-by-step strategic planning process we use here at OurChurch.Com each year to set the 4 types of goals we discussed earlier.

Here’s an inside look…

7-Step Strategic Planning Process

1) Remember who we are, where we’re going

We always start our strategic planning process with prayer.  We follow that with reviewing our vision, mission and values.  We read them out loud.

This reminds of where we a going (vision), what we will accomplish along the way (mission), and our approach to getting there (values).

2) Determine where we are now

For any journey to be successful, you have to know both your starting point and your destination.  To evaluate where we are now, we do three things:

• A. Celebrate last year’s successes. We keep a “Wins, Losses, and Stories” Google doc, which we add to throughout the year.  Before the meeting, I review it and note our biggest wins. Then together our leadership team reviews and celebrates the big wins.
• B. Evaluate last year’s goals. The leader of each department does some prep to evaluate how well their department did with all 4 types of goals the previous year – objectives, projects, processes and numerical goals. Then  they present and discuss their evaluations with the leadership team.
• C. SWOT Analysis. We list and discuss the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for each department and our organization as a whole.  This is helpful because it shows us the strengths we can build on, the weaknesses we can work on, the opportunities to consider pursuing, and the threats we may want to protect against.

3) Determine objectives

The first type of goals we set are objectives.  These are general goals like “increase the number of SEO clients we serve” or “improve hosting support.”  A church’s objectives might be to “reach out to more people in the community” or “improve discipleship and spiritual growth.”

We take 3 “sub-steps” when setting objectives.

• A. List possible objectives. This is an idea-sharing, brainstorming session. There are no wrong answers, just get everything out there and onto a whiteboard.
• B. Pray and discuss. This is where we start to try to discern which objectives God is leading us towards and which are maybe not a good fit for this year, which are really important and which are less important. Usually, we end our first day of strategic planning at this point and give our leadership team a week or two think and pray on this.
• C. Decide and prioritize. This last step is the most difficult. It will vary depending on an organizations leadership and decision making structure.

We use a quazi-democratic process. We have each person on the leadership team privately list their top 10 objectives. Then we each give 10 points to our #1 objective, 9 points to our #2 objective, down the line to 1 point for our #10 objective.  We combine everyone’s scores together and see what we have.

Where there is broad agreement, we feel affirmed. Where there is a significant disparity in rankings, we invite people to explain and even to lobby to increase or decrease the priority of an objective.  Ultimately, we seek unanimous agreement on the prioritized list of objectives for the year.

4) Determine projects and processes

Objectives are the “what” of goal setting. Once we know what we’re going to do, the next step is to determine how we are going to do it.  This is where we figure out our project and process goals.

We use a very similar process for projects and processes as we do with objectives with one extra step.

• A. List possible projects and processes. We go one by one through the objectives and ask, “What projects could we do or processes could we add/change to help us reach this objective?” This is an idea-sharing, brainstorming session. There are no right or wrong answers; we just get everything out there onto a whiteboard.
• B. Research possible projects and processes. One of the problems we ran into years ago when we first started doing strategic planning is we would try to prioritize projects but had questions about the cost or time they would require. We couldn’t make an informed decision. As Jesus said in Luke 14:28, “”Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”  Now we have some discussion about the possible projects and processes, determine which need to be researched, who will research them, end that day’s meeting and give everyone a week or two to do their research and create project plans.
• C. Pray and discuss possible projects and processes. In this step, we discuss the projects, project plans and research.  We try to share the project plans and research ahead of this next meeting so we’re not going in cold.  That puts us in a better position to be able to decide on and prioritize projects in the same meeting they’re discussed.
• Decide and prioritize. As with the objectives, this is the most difficult step and will vary depending on your organizational structure.  We use the same process for prioritizing projects and processes as we do for objectives – vote, discuss, and make adjustments to gain consensus.

5) Schedule projects

Now that we’ve determined the priorities of all the projects and processes, we put those projects and processes into a schedule.  Usually I do this, putting together a proposed schedule for the rest of the leadership team to review and provide feedback before its finalized.  The schedule is going to depend on who is doing the work, how many hours it’s going to take, and how many hours a week they have to put towards strategic planning projects.  This helps us set deadlines.

We also have to factor communications into our schedule.  If we’re launching a new or improved service, how are we going to communicate that and over what period of time?  If we are trying to help our clients accomplish something, like increase the number of clients who receive the Best Church Websites Award, are we going to raise awareness by doing a blog series or theme month on that?

Churches have to consider similar things when scheduling.  There’s the availability of staff and volunteers, as well as factoring in seasons when people are more receptive to visiting a new church, starting a bible study, or volunteering to help those in need.

6) Set numerical goals

As I’ve said before, setting numerical goals is a controversial subject within churches, because ultimately we believe the outcome is up to the Lord.  Here at OurChurch.Com, we believe our outcomes are dependent on God as well. However, we also set numerical goals to help us measure how well we are accomplishing our objectives.

Often, the first step towards setting a numerical goal is tracking. For example, most church leaders we talk to have no idea how many people found their church through an online search before visiting a Sunday gathering.

If you’re in this situation, before you can set a numerical goal, you would need to start asking visitors how how they heard about your church (verbally at an information table or in writing through physical or electronic connection cards), and log that data each week in a spreadsheet.

7) Stay on track, make course corrections

One thing I can guarantee – if you set goals at the beginning of the year, put them in a folder, and don’t take them out until the end of the year, you will NOT accomplish many of those goals.

We review our project schedule every week during staff meetings to make sure everyone knows the projects and processes they should be working on and when they are due.  We also do a quarterly review of our strategic plan to see if we need to make any adjustment to the schedule.

So, there you have it! This is how we scale that 100 foot cliff of goal-setting.  Not by trying to go straight up the rock face in one shot, but rather step-by-step, usually over 6 to 8 weeks.

Get Started!

If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, “It’s mid-January (or later) and we haven’t even started talking about goals.  Maybe we can try this next year,”  don’t get put off by the calendar.  It’s better to put together goals and a plan that will guide you through the last 10 months of the year, than to do the rest of this year without goals and a plan.

Bottom line…

It is more important to know where you are going than to get there quickly. Do not mistake activity for achievement. -Mabel Newcomber

We can help you reach your outreach and communication goals

Do your objectives this year include reaching more people or communicating more effectively? Are you considering projects or processes to help you accomplish those objectives? Then its time to gather more information by talking with a member of our team about a new website, a DIY website builder or better search rankings.

Complete the consultation request form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop) to schedule a call.

Post a comment and discuss…

• What’s your biggest take-away from this article?

Continue reading… How to set and reach your goals in 2025!

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post Our 7-Step Goal-Setting Strategic Planning Process appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

I remember one year in particular in which the staff and elders were feeling especially inspired. We thought God was leading us to set a goal of growing our Sunday attendance by a dramatic amount, something like 30% in one year.

We did a lot of good things that year… but the goal of increasing Sunday attendance 30%…

It didn’t happen.

That caused me to reflect a lot on church goals. Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them.”  If that’s the case, no matter what a church does, we can’t bring a single person to Jesus through our own efforts.

It seems presumptuous – perhaps even blasphemous – for a church to set goals related to conversions, baptisms, or spiritual growth.

On the other hand, I have also been a part of churches that had no goals.

Don’t get me wrong, there were hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Occasionally, there were plans created for specific events or sermon series.  But the underlying philosophy was, “We want to be led by the Holy Spirit, and we will trust the Holy Spirit for the results.”

For these churches, there tended to be little change or movement from one year to the next.

Fast forward 20 years… Over that time I have served as an elder at 2 different churches for more than a decade, led OurChurch.Com for more than two decades, and read dozens of books by Christian leaders. One thing I’ve come to realize is there are…

Different Types of Goals

In fact, as I wrote previously, there are 4 types of goals.

Understanding and setting each type of goal is really important.

Of these 4 types, the only type of goal that is controversial is setting metrics or numerical goals.  And even then, I would encourage you not to dismiss numerical goals entirely for your church. I would recommend against setting a goal for the number of commitments to Christ this year, but…

Is there anything wrong with setting a goal of 1,000 invitations to a Sunday service to the people in your community?  Or a goal of having each elder disciple 2 other leaders this year?

Regardless of your perspective on metrics, the other 3 types of goals – objectives, projects and processes – are all a matter of discerning, “What is God calling us to do?”

If we don’t pray about these things, ask God for guidance and write down where we sense him leading us, we have a tendency to get distracted, lose our way, or forget exactly what God has called us to do.

Pursuing Your Outreach Goals

If your church has goals to serve more people in your community and share the good news with them, consider setting project goals like:

• Build a new DIY church website
• Have a custom church website built for you
• Optimize your website with church SEO, so more people searching online find your church

Fill out the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop) to schedule a complimentary strategy session with one of our experienced church website experts.

Comment and Discuss:

• Has your church set goals for this year? Why or why not?

Continue reading… How to set and reach your goals in 2025!

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post Should Churches Set Goals? appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

This is because without goals, our day-to-day activities tend to get hijacked by whatever seems most urgent, pressure from other people, or what we feel like doing in the moment.  Or as legendary baseball player (and amateur philosopher) Yogi Berra once said…

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else. -Yogi Berra

Our team here at OurChurch.Com recently finalized our 2025 strategic plan. It’s the 20th consecutive year we’ve developed a strategic plan.

We have learned a lot about goals over these last two decades.  Perhaps the most important is that there are 4 different types of goals.  These 4 types of goals are universal. They can be applied to any kind of organization. I also use them in my personal goal-setting each year.

4 Types of Goals

1) Objectives

Objectives are broad goals.  They are what you would like to see happen in the next year.  Some objectives that organizations or people might have include…

• Church: Connect with people in our community
• Ministry: Serve the poor
• Business: Increase sales
• Personal: Become a better parent

Objectives define WHAT you want to accomplish but not HOW.

2) Projects

Projects goals are the “how;” they’re specific things you are going to do to accomplish your objectives.

For example, if one of your objectives is “connect with people in our community,” your project goals might be:

• 3 outreach events
• 2 community serving events
• build a new website
• hire an experienced Christian web developer to build a new website for us, or
• optimize our website for search engines

3) Processes

Process goals are also how you’re going to achieve your objectives. But while projects goals are achieved when the project is complete, process goals are regularly recurring tasks. Some examples of process goals are:

• send follow-up cards to new church visitors every Monday
• update the website every Tuesday
• write a weekly blog post
• post new content to Facebook four times a week

4) Metrics

Metrics are the specific data you are going to track and the specific numerical goals you want to reach to indicate success. Numerical goals are things like:

• increase sales by 10%
• reach 1,000 website visitors a month by the end of the year
• start 10 new life groups

When people hear the word “goals,” many people’s thoughts immediately go to these types of metrics goals, but I would caution against that.

In my opinion, our culture tends to over-emphasize results, which we have much less control over rather. We would be better served by focusing on project and process goals, which we have more control over.  What do you think?

Consider this post part one.  We’ll talk more about how to develop each type of goal next week.

As Steve Keating says…

We seldom fulfill our dreams until we turn them into a goal and develop a plan to achieve them. -Steve Keating

If we don’t pray about these things, ask God for guidance and write down where we sense him leading us, we have a tendency to get distracted, lose our way, or forget exactly what God has called us to do.

Goals Month

Our focus this month at OurChurch.Com is on helping you set and achieve the right kinds of goals for your church, ministry or business. We encourage you to share your perspective in this month’s Listening Post. Keep an eye out for more posts about goals and specific goals to consider for your website and SEO.

1. Kick Off 2025 with a Free Website Review and $50
2. Should Churches Set Goals?
3. Our 7-Step Goal-Setting Strategic Planning Process
4. Your REAL Online Goals
5. The Best Small Church Websites: 3 Tips
6. 5 Church SEO Goals to Prayerfully Consider
7. Setting goals? Start here
8. The No. 1 Resolution for Your Website This Year Should Be…
9. Church Website Ideas for 2025

Bonus: Church Outreach Articles

• 22 Church Super Bowl Party Ideas
• 22 Church Valentine Ideas for Events & Social Media

Discuss

• Have you set goals for your organization for 2025? Why or why not?
• Which type of goals are you and your organization setting this year?

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post 4 Types of Goals You Should Set This Year appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

That was the question I was asked most over the previous couple of weeks.

The question reveals our culture’s perspectives of the Christmas season – that everything in this season builds up to a climax which is reached Christmas morning.

For many people, that’s the end of the story. After Christmas morning, they’re ready to pass out from exhaustion, sleep for a week, and move on to the next thing.

A New Chapter

For Christians, Christmas morning isn’t the end of the story. It’s the start of a new chapter.

It’s the day the Light of the world entered our darkness.

It’s the day the Liberator began to free all those enslaved by sin.

It’s the day the King returned to reclaim his kingdom.

And so, on the (days and) night(s) AFTER Christmas…

When your Christmas celebration is over…

When you are ready to continue the work that Jesus began in a humble stable in Bethlehem – bringing light to a dark world, proclaiming forgiveness through our savior, and advancing the kingdom of God…

We will be here to help you live out your mission online in 2024 and beyond.

That it shall not be just a day, But last a lifetime through, The miracle of Christmastime That brings God close to you. -Ann Schultz

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at OurChurch.Com!

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post T’was the Night AFTER Christmas? appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

The possibilities are endless… Some churches host a multi-night Christmas production, others a traditional Christmas Eve service, others experiment with other kids of Christmas outreach event…

See 12 Christmas Outreach Event Ideas for Churches for more ideas.

While personal invitations will probably always be the best way to invite someone to a Christmas service, social media is also a very effective way for churches and their members to spread the word about Christmas events.

Our team here at OurChurch.Com started kicking around ideas, and before we knew it we had…

25 Ways Your Church Can Use Social Media to Promote its Christmas Services

Things you can do right away

1) Use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc to recruit a virtual street team, people in your church who are engaged in social media and will help lead efforts to promote the Christmas

2) Create a social media promotional schedule in Google Docs. Share it with your street team, get their input, add to it & improve it based on their input.

3) Create a Facebook event for your Christmas service(s).

4) Post the event to your church’s Facebook page.

5) You & your virtual street team share the event on your personal Facebook profiles & encourage others to do the same.

6) Post the event to any other social media profiles your church may use (Twitter, Instagram, etc)

7) You & your virtual street team share your church’s post promoting the event on your personal profiles (Twitter, Instagram, etc)

8 ) Run Facebook ads to promote your Christmas events

Create a promotional video for your Christmas service, and…

9) Put the promotional video on YouTube

10) Share the YouTube video on your church’s Facebook page.

11) You & your virtual street team share the YouTube video on your personal Facebook profiles and encourage others to do the same.

12) Share the video to any other social media profiles your church may have (Twitter, Instagram, etc)

13) You & your virtual street team share your church’s video promoting the event on your personal accounts on those same social platforms (Twitter, Instagram, etc)

Reach out to other local organizations

14) Find local online guides that have event calendar. Submit your event, embed or link to the YouTube video.

15) Find the Facebook pages for your city, chamber of commerce, & other local community organizations. “Like” their page. Then post the Facebook event to their wall if you can do that in a non-spammy way.

16) Find on other social platforms (Twitter, Instagram, etc) profiles for your city, chamber of commerce, & other local community organizations. Send them a DM & ask if they would share your post about your Christmas production.

If your Christmas services / events span more than one night…

17) Post pics from the first night to your church’s Facebook page. Be sure to tag as many people as you can. Tagging will cause those pics to show up on those people’s profiles for them and their friends to see.

18) You and your street team share those pics on your Facebook profiles.

19) Post some of the pics to your church’s other social profiles (Twitter, Instagram, etc)

20) You and the street team, share those pics.

21) Create a video that includes footage from the opening performance & short comments from people afterwards saying good things about it. Post the video to YouTube.

22) Share the opening night video on your church’s Facebook page

23) You & your virtual street team share the opening night video on your personal Facebook profiles & encourage others to do the same.

24) Share the opening night video using your church’s other social accounts (Twitter, Instagram, etc).

25) You & your virtual street team share your church’s posts of the opening night video on other social accounts (Twitter, Instagram, etc).

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Partner with our team

If you need any help with your church website or church SEO in this busy season, OurChurch.com is here to help. We can save you time and make sure your website and SEO are helping you reach the people you want to connect with. Click the links or request a free phone consultation by completing the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop).

Comment and Discuss

• Which of these social media tactics is your church using this year?
• What other ways can churches spread the word about services through social media.

Continue reading Your Christmas Communications Playbook

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post 25 Ways to Promote your Church’s Christmas Services in Social Media appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Before you can say Kris Kringle, we’ll be turning the calendar to 2025 – a new year with all kinds of new possibilities and new opportunities for church outreach events ideas to meet new peopled, start new relationships, and introduce new people to the good news of Jesus.

It’s important to figure out your church New Years events now, so that on Christmas Eve, you can invite first time guests to take a “Next Step.” 

When it comes to church outreach event ideas for New Years, there are two categories of ideas: those intended to connect with people on New Year’s Eve, and those intended to connect with people in early January when people are looking to start. We’ve got a bunch of each.

5 Church New Year’s Eve Event Ideas

New Year’s Eve is known for its late night parties that often involve alcohol. While we here at OurChurch.Com don’t have anything against consuming alcohol in moderation, we also know that many people are looking for an alternative to the usual New Year’s Eve party.

1. New Year’s Eve church worship service

Plan a night of extended worship and praise music to set a positive, Christ-centered tone for the new year.

2. New Year’s Eve prayer service

Instead of loud singing and praise, maybe take the volume down a few notches with a contemplative prayer service. Pray for the new year – for the people in your congregation, your community, the nation.

Or maybe gather for a combination of loud praise and worship and quite prayer and reflection.

3. New Year’s Eve church potluck dinner

One thing that’s as sure as Christ’s return is that restaurants will be packed on New Year’s Eve! So, why not organize a potluck dinner and invite not only your church members but also people in the community who don’t want to wait an hour to get a table at a restaurant but also don’t want to spend the evening by themselves at home.

A potluck dinner could precede a New Year’s Eve worship and/or prayer gathering.

4. New Year’s Eve church game night

Board games are great way to have fun and build relationships. Invite your church members to invite their friends. Everyone can bring their favorite board games and a snack, appetizer or dessert to share.

Game night is a good option to do after a potluck dinner, prayer gathering or worship service.

5. Small Group New Year’s Eve parties

Many people who are not followers of Jesus are not interested in church events. But those same people would be open going to their neighbors, friends or co-workers New Year’s Eve party. “Church outreach” doesn’t always have to happen in the church building or be organized by church leaders.

Encourage your members to host New Year’s Eve parties with their life group, bible study group, or ministry team. And encourage them to invite their friends.

7 Church Outreach Ideas for the New Year

Beyond New Year’s Eve itself, the new year (January) is a great opportunity to connect with new people in the community.  So many people want to turn the page on the last year,  and get the new year off to a great start. With God’s help, you can help them do that!

6. New Years Bible Study

Launch a special Bible study series for the first few weeks of the new year, focusing on themes of renewal, new beginnings, and hope.  Emphasize the importance of not just learning the bible, but but doing what it and the Holy Spirit say to do.

7. New Years fitness group

Every year the top new years resolutions include eating better, exercising, and losing weight. Your church can help people in your church and your community to meet those goals. The possibilities are endless – running groups, biking groups, cross-country skiing groups, Zumba classes, and more.

8. Healthy eating classes or groups 

Again, lots of people set resolutions and goals to eat better in the new year.  Some possibilities include:

1. Weekly healthy cooking classes to introduce people to healthy recopies and cooking techniques.
2. Weekly meal-making groups. Often people turn to fast food during the week because they are too busy to make healthy meals. Coming together to prepare healthy meals that can be easily heated up in the oven, microwave, or crockpot could be a game-changer.
3. Healthy eating encouragement groups. Sometimes the key to eating healthier is the camaraderie, encouragement, and accountability of other people who also want to eat healthier.

9. Bible reading plans

Another common New Years goal people set is to read the bible more consistently. Creating a bible reading plan can help. Providing a way for people to receive an email or text reminder each day can help.

Providing a way for people to ask questions and discuss each day’s bible passage can be helpful too. This could be done in a Facebook group, a blog, or a group text.

10. Financial planning seminars and classes

Another big goal people set for the new year is to manage their money better. But many people don’t have a financial advisor they trust. And many financial advisors don’t teach biblical principles for putting God first in ones finances. Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and Crown Financial Ministries are a couple of options available.

11. Start new missional groups

Because people are so open to change and growth, the New Year is a great time to start just about anything. It could be related to a sport like pickleball or a hobby like painting. Or it could be a new ministry like helping refugees, foster families, Celebrate Recovery,  Grief Care… Whatever people God is calling the people of your church to reach out to, love, and serve.

12. New Year’s neighborhood prayer walks

Our hope is that the people of your church have a new passion for reaching the people in your community this New Year. Doing neighborhood prayer walks together is a great way to stoke this passion!

God is at working in the people in your community. Pray that he would cause you to encounter people along your prayer walks that want prayer and are seeking Him. Expect God to do great things during your prayer walks!

Christmas is forever—not just for one day. For loving, sharing, and giving are not to put away. –Norman Wesley Brooks

No matter which New Years ideas your church uses for its outreach events, you’ll also want to promote those events online. Rather than share the same strategies at the bottom of every church outreach ideas article we write for every season and holiday, we’ll just point you to…

7 Ways to Promote Your Church Outreach Event Online

And if you’d like some help with a church website builder, church web design or church SEO so you can have your best New Years outreach ever, fill out the form below (mobile) or to the right (desktop) to schedule a call.

Comment and Discuss

• What New Years outreach events is your church planning?

Continue reading Your Christmas Communications Playbook

Want more church outreach ideas?  Church Outreach Ideas & Events for Every Holiday and Season

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post 12 Church Outreach Ideas for New Year’s Eve & the New Year appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.

Advent has begun and we are heading down the home stretch towards Christmas and the start of the new year. I want to share with you…

Two observations about this Christmas season:

1) People are busier and more distracted than ever.

Work is busy. School is busy… Everyone is throwing Christmas parties and doing gift exchanges… Every organization is asking for end of year donations…

Every device we own is filled with ads telling us we won’t be happy (or the people we’re supposed to buy gifts for won’t be happy) unless we buy their product or service…

Anxiety and stress are at all time highs. As a result…

2) People are looking for peace and meaning more than ever.

Deep down, everyone knows the path to happiness this Christmas is not more decorations, more gifts, or more parties.

People are open to alternatives to the usual, stressful, American Christmas.

So, I want to encourage you, Christian brothers and sisters, church leaders… instead of trying to compete with the busyness of the world, instead of trying to get people to add more church things to people’s schedule… pray and ask God to show you ways to help people slow down…

• Find simple ways to serve others and take things off people’s plates.
• Challenge people to say “no” to things they may feel “obligated” to do because of tradition or expectations.
• Encourage people to stop watching videos for a bit and to read and reflect on the Christmas story in the bible or Christmas devotionals.
• Facilitate ways for people to connect and have longer, deeper conversations

For more specific ideas, see 12 Christmas Outreach Event Ideas for Churches

Because of all the busyness and distractions, no matter what you choose to do this year, remember:

Clearly and repeatedly communicating information about Christmas events and opportunities is more important than ever!

We’ve got to be really clear on the details.  And we’ve got to communicate them in environments in which people are distracted and using lots of different communications platforms.

OurChurch.Com is here to help you communicate your Christmas plans.

1. If you need a new website, and need it fast and affordable, check out our WP-EZ Website Builder. Order by December 31 and you’ll get half off your entire order!
2. Make sure info about all your Christmas events are on your website. If you need some help, make use of our video tutorials,  our AI-powered chatbot, or contact our friendly, knowledgeable support team.
3. Join our private Facebook Group where you can ask questions, get ideas, and discuss Christmas plans.
4. Share your ideas and perspective in the December Listening Post survey.
5. Stay tuned for more ideas, tips, and strategy for your communications, web design and SEO throughout the entire month.

Throughout this month we’ll be sharing additional articles to give you…

More help with your Christmas plans

• • How to Get Your Church Website to Rank for “Christmas Eve Services near me”
  • 25 Funny and Inspirational Christmas Quotes
  • 3 Things Every Church Website Needs for Christmas
  • 12 Church Outreach Ideas for New Year’s Eve & the New Year
  • 25 Ways to Promote your Church’s Christmas Services in Social Media
  • 3 Great Ways Your Church Website Can Connect Those Away for Christmas
  • Get This Unusual Christmas Gift that Will Actually Matter
  • Merry Christmas from OurChurch.Com!

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love! -Hamilton Wright Mabie

Comment and Discuss…

• What are you doing (or not doing) different this Christmas?
• What are you still trying to figure out?

Paul Steinbrueck

Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com

Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.

An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.

Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication. 

steinbrueck.org

The post Your Christmas Communications Playbook appeared first on Christian Web Trends Blog: Church Websites, Design, SEO.