Churches and worship centers are often open 6 or 7 days a week. While the office staff and church leaders may have set hours, they are often somewhat flexible—and many churches have a variety of other programs and scheduled services. For knowing how to advertise a church, this makes posting an inclusive church hours sign challenging. Not to worry, as digital technology empowers you to easily communicate your church and program hours. It even optimizes your project management and individual and group calendars.
Posted Primary Services
The generic church hours sign at the entrance should only post the times of your primary services and maybe the hours your receptionist is available. For example, what time your two Sunday services are, but not necessarily youth group, bible study, or other weekday services. This sign should be in a strategic location, such as by the front doors. Ensure your sign includes the URL to your website so that anyone who wants to learn more knows where to go.
Private Church Calendars
The larger your church, the more calendars you will need to manage. While you can utilize common tools such as Google and Outlook, a project management tool is easier to manage and share. In addition, a project management software can streamline your internal operations by keeping everyone on the same page and ensuring accountability. This includes calendars for each employee, both solo and shared, and team calendars for group projects. Monday.com is a top option for churches as it is both a project management tool and a CRM software. It also integrates with Outlook and Gmail.
Digital Worship And Events Calendar
To keep congregations connected and engaged during the pandemic, almost every church began live streaming their weekly services and small group sessions. As things begin to open back up, many churches will continue to live stream. This offers congregation members a flexible way to worship and fellowship, particularly those in high-risk groups who may not yet feel comfortable attending live services.
In addition, many people have had to relocate short or long-term during the pandemic, so digital options allow congregation members to remain connected with their current church community. In fact, during the pandemic a large number of congregation members virtually “returned” to former churches that they loved and missed because they had moved to another area—so consider the impact of live streaming beyond your local area. If it’s helpful, create a secondary digital service and events calendar.
Public Church Calendars
Your public church calendar can be printed and posted on your lobby bulletin board and on your website and is another strategy for those figuring out how to advertise a church. This should include all weekly services, programs, and events for your congregation and new members. If your church is large and the events won’t all fit on one calendar, create a series of calendars. One with primary weekly services and one for each program or club.
Each should be easy to access digitally, integrated with your scheduling software, and have an automated updating function (often from an integrated website plugin) so that you don’t have to manually update your calendar on the website. It should also be printable so that it can be shared electronically or in-person. Don’t forget to text or email schedule changes and updates to staff and congregation members.
Community Outreach And Events
You may also require a separate calendar for your community outreach and special events. For example, a calendar for all weddings, conferences, and other groups that rent out your church. This includes a calendar that you utilize in-house to manage availability, but you will also need an automated scheduling tool so that you can send out email or SMS reminders to your renters. Many project management tools have this feature built-in, but you can also use scheduling software if it is easier.
Special Events Calendar
Your church is likely to have a few annual and as-needed special events such as a bake sale, holiday craft sale, seasonal concert, play, food drive, and more. You will require at least one project management plan for each of these special events, private and group calendars for all team members, and signage to alert your congregation and community. Printed signage remains highly effective for special events, such as postcards that you can mail out and posters that you can place throughout your community. If your church has an exterior LED sign, be sure to build excitement there too.
Printed Calendars
Yes, there’s still a need for printed calendars in the digital age! These can be simple sheets of paper to share the schedule for the day, week, or month. Post these printed calendars by the exterior church hours sign, on the church bulletin board, or in each room or department. For a greener and less manual approach, use a digital screen to automate updates.
In addition to scheduling, many churches continue to print out calendars or planners for each new year. These are excellent free gifts for your congregation and community, or you can sell them for fundraising. If it’s a standard calendar, be sure to work with a photographer or graphic designer who will create visually engaging images. Include all holidays and any set-in-stone annual church or community events.
Digital Signage
We touched on this a bit above, but digital signage plays an increasing role in many church’s marketing and communication strategies. Scrolling and text-only signs are ideal for sharing daily quotes, scripture, and schedule reminders. They can also double as a church hours sign. Whether text-only or with HD image and video abilities, your sign will be visible from many blocks away.
Digital signs are faster and easier to update than changeable letter boards as they can be updated remotely. You can also alternate a variety of text and images and preschedule your weekly messages. For maximum versatility, consider a monument sign placed at your entrance or along your primary roadway.
Ready To Upgrade To An LED Sign?
LED signs provide you with the freedom and flexibility to update your communication in real-time. They can double as a church hours sign for those who drive or walk by, sharing when your next service is, when your next event is, and how to connect with your church online. Reach out to Mega LED Technology today to learn more about how to advertise a church!
