Church growth
Who came back, who joined, who gives, and what none of those numbers prove.
Posts on this shelf
Church website checklist, from 203 real sites, worst item first
203 church websites crawled 30 July 2026. 195 print a service time and 30 publish hours a machine can read. The checklist, ordered by how often each item fails.
Read it
Average attendance hides whether your church is growing or shrinking
Why the mean lies, how to count the same way every week, and a rolling eight week method that reports real attenders and the frequency ratio instead of a flattering number.
Social media
A church social media strategy that survives the volunteer
What the account is for, a three post week, who owns the login, the consent rule for a child's photo, what to do when a member dies, and scheduler prices checked 29 July 2026.
Social media
Training a church social media volunteer: the first four weeks
A four week onboarding for someone who has never run an account: what they learn each week, the access they get and when, the eight shot capture card, the approval rule, and the handover document.
A guest follow-up system one volunteer can run
How to capture guest information without a clipboard ambush, what to send on day 1, day 3, and day 10, the CAN-SPAM and texting consent rules, and the two numbers that tell you whether it works.
What church direct mail costs: $0.26 at retail, $0.136 with the nonprofit permit
EDDM and nonprofit bulk rates read off USPS Notice 123 on 29 July 2026, the two $390 fees, the 3,145-piece break-even, the size rule that disqualifies a 6 by 9 postcard, and when to mail nothing.
Reaching a neighborhood without growth-industry tactics
Map the half mile around your building, find the four things a congregation can actually do there, and measure it without pretending a block party is a strategy.
Church promotion ideas, costed: what actually brings people through the door
What a postcard drop, a paid social campaign, a door walk, and the funerals you already host cost per first-time visitor. Sourced prices, stated assumptions, and the ideas that waste a Saturday.
What actually fills a church calendar
An audit method for church events, how to cost each one in volunteer hours, and the four questions that decide what stays on next year's calendar.
Social media
Communicating a building project without losing the room
The announcement sequence, the numbers a congregation is owed, a monthly update rhythm, the six parking-lot questions, and the IRS receipting rules a capital campaign walks straight into.
Social media
Social media for a church with no media team
A 45 minute weekly workflow for one volunteer with a phone: an eight shot capture list, batch captions, verified free-tier tools, and why the child photo rule is your policy rather than federal law.
The newsletter
One list for the whole site. A post goes out by email the day it publishes, and nothing is held back for subscribers.
Reply with the word unsubscribe and it ends.
Other shelves in the library
- Sermons Series ideas, single-text prompts, and the five study steps that come before an outline.
- Worship Two complete orders of service, four weeks of Advent readings, and the dates of the Christian year.
- Bulletins A seven-part page order, three formats, an inside-spread checklist, and a cut list for tight weeks.
- Communications Sixteen announcement examples, newsletter structure, texting consent rules, and social posts written out.
- Calendars A weekly rhythm, a sixty-minute monthly planning session, and the seasons those plans sit inside.
- Groups Reading plans for John, Ephesians, the Psalms, and Genesis 1-11, with a six-step way to lead any of them.
- Youth Games with rules, supplies, and running time, plus the guardrails that protect students.
- Kids Five-day VBS themes with one doctrine per day, safety rules, and follow-up for visiting families.
- Software Church management systems, giving platforms, and website tools, reviewed with the flaws named.