Start with positioning
When someone looks at your website, they decide if your church is a fit for them in 3 seconds. If you had just 3 seconds to tell someone about your church- what would you say? The best way to describe everything your church stands for is with a positioning statement. A positioning statement describes what you are and who you’re for. A quick way to make a positioning statement is to fill in the blanks below:
_adjective_ _subject_ for _adjective_ _subject_
If you’re a church in Dallas TX, here’s a positioning statement that might describe your ministry:
A neighborhood church for our neighbors in Dallas
Aside from a positioning statement, you can use a Hero Line to convey what your ministry is about. Here are some examples of Hero Lines used by Playlister Partners:
Socially distant, spiritually close
We’re here for you
This is for everyone
Show fellowship
A picture says a thousand words, so why don’t you show people how welcome they are rather than just saying it? One you’ve picked a positioning statement, you can put it over a “Welcome Loop” video. The Welcome Loop consists of footage filmed at your church to show a new guest what they will experience. It is important that the welcome loop starts from the outside, and follows a guest’s experience into your church. Here are key pieces of footage for the welcome loop:
- An outside view of your church (you could take this video driving around the parking lot or by flying a drone by your building)
- Greeters welcoming families and single guests
- People socializing at the coffee roasters / lobby
- Worship, views of the audience and the stage
- Kids having fun in Kids Ministry
- The pastor mid-sermon
- More socialization / fellowship
Click here to see an example of Northview Church’s welcome loop.
You can also embed a social media wall on your website or display social media posts to show how involved people from your church are.
Show your team and mission
Make your “About” page short and fun
Nobody wants to read long and boring info about how the first pastor managed to buy a building back in the day and how leadership and your principles have changed over time. Make sure the info you're sharing about your origins and vision is short, fun, and inspiring.
Diversity represents the whole Kingdom
When I’m thinking of going to church somewhere, I always look at the staff page. If I don’t see people who look like me, I’m probably not going to church somewhere.
If you want to minister to everyone everywhere, your team needs to consist of people with diverse cultural makeup. Seeing a leadership team of old white dudes may be off putting to members of other races and genders who are looking for a church where they want to feel comfortable. Have a diverse team that represents the entire Kingdom- and show your team to the world.
Have a “Call to Action”
Now that you’ve put this effort into improving your site, don’t just hope it convinces someone new to visit your church. Make their next steps easy by Prominently displaying a “Call To Action” (CTA) on your site to encourage them to visit or watch online.
Here are some CTAs for them to plan an in-person visit:
We have a seat for you
Join us this weekend
Here are some CTAs for online ministry:
Watch now
See Pastor Ed’s latest message
Watch last weekend’s service
Use Ministry software and social media to stay engaged
You can use Playlister to make online experiences for guests that can’t make it to church in person. These lessons will keep everyone connected to your ministry if they can’t gather in person. Apps like Parent Cue give parents tools to do ministry at home with their kids and the Orange Curriculum. By friending church members and new guests on social media and getting them to follow your social channels, they’ll be reminded of your church when they scroll through their feed.