How Will They Hear? Marketing Tips For Church Planters
Are you planting a church that plans to launch public worship gatherings this fall? If you are, you’re likely knee-deep in training your team, searching for a facility, purchasing equipment, and building a website. But there’s one essential question you can’t afford to leave unanswered: How will your community know you exist and that you are for them?
A compelling vision, a solid team, and a Spirit-led mission are all critical, but without intentional efforts to get the word out, your church may remain the best-kept secret in town. Marketing isn’t just a business buzzword—it’s part of your mission. It’s about extending an invitation to people who are searching for hope, connection, and purpose. It’s not self-promotion; it’s invitation.
Strategic marketing and outreach efforts can build momentum that carries into your Grand Opening and beyond. This includes everything from yard signs and mailers to social media strategy, community events, and personal invites. The goal? Saturate your community with awareness and anticipation.
This month, we’re highlighting tools and insights to help you effectively engage your community. These resources are designed to help you steward your message well, maximize your visibility, and make sure no one in your target area heads into fall without knowing your church is launching, too.
As Mark Batterson puts it, “The greatest message deserves the greatest marketing.” Enjoy this month’s newsletter!
-Patrick Bradley, Director of Operations
July 2025 – Content
- Marketing Strategy Template
- Outreach Strategy Template
- Marketing Ideas
- Marketing Message
- Church Planter Residency – New $5,000 Grant!
Marketing Strategy Template
If you didn’t graduate with a marketing degree, creating a promotional plan for your new church can feel overwhelming. But effective outreach doesn’t have to be complicated. That’s why we created the Church Marketing Strategy Template—a free, step-by-step resource designed specifically for church planters.
This downloadable template helps you:
- Clarify your message so it resonates with your local community
- Choose the best outreach methods, from digital ads to community events
- Schedule your campaigns for maximum visibility and engagement
Whether you’re exploring grassroots tactics like yard signs and door hangers or digital strategies like social media and email marketing, this guide equips you to plan your church launch communication with clarity and purpose.
You can even plug the template into your favorite AI content tools to accelerate your message development. Need a sample prompt to get started? Just email us, and we’ll send you one.
Don’t let your new church be the best-kept secret in town. Share your story. Create anticipation. Connect with people who are searching for hope, purpose, and community. Your message might be the very thing God uses to change someone’s life forever.
Download your free Church Marketing Strategy Template now and start spreading the word about your church plant with confidence.
Outreach Strategy Template
Thinking about investing in a church marketing campaign—whether through digital ads, direct mail, signage, or social media? Before spending your budget, make sure you’ve done the foundational work of building brand recognition through local outreach.
Effective church marketing doesn’t start with a postcard—it starts with serving your community.
People are far more likely to respond to your marketing materials if they’ve already had a positive interaction with your church. Imagine this: someone receives a flyer in the mail and recognizes your logo. They say, “Oh, that’s the church that hosted the free diaper-changing station at the community festival.” That familiarity creates trust—and trust increases engagement.
Now imagine the opposite. If your church’s first impression is a cold, impersonal mailer with no context or prior connection, it will likely quickly end up in the trash.
That’s why we strongly encourage church planters to pair their Church Marketing Strategy with a Church Outreach Strategy. These strategies work hand-in-hand: outreach builds relational equity, and marketing amplifies your visibility.
To help you get started, we’ve created a free Outreach Strategy Template—a practical tool that guides you through planning community service events, partnerships, and touchpoints that create goodwill and build awareness.
Download your free Church Outreach Strategy Template today and lay the groundwork for effective church marketing.
When people recognize your church as one that genuinely loves and serves the community, they’re far more likely to listen to your invitation—and maybe even show up.
Marketing Ideas
Struggling to come up with church marketing ideas to help get the word out about your new church? You’re not alone—and we’re here to help. We’ve compiled a list of creative church marketing methods designed specifically for church planters looking to reach their communities with clarity and purpose.
From postcards and door hangers to social media ads and YouTube campaigns, this curated list will inspire your outreach strategy and help you discover the tools that best fit your context and budget.
Whether you’re preparing for a church launch, planning a seasonal campaign, or simply want to increase engagement in your neighborhood, these ideas will help you:
- Spark interest in your church
- Maximize your local reach
- Choose marketing tools that align with your goals
Once you’ve brainstormed your list, take the next step by reading Effective Church Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Church Today by Devon Leeds. This practical article offers key insights for church planters who want to build a smart, sustainable church marketing strategy that increases visibility and drives engagement—especially during high-impact seasons like summer and fall.
Download the Church Marketing Ideas now
Then, read Devon Leeds’ article to take your strategy from ideas to implementation.
When it comes to church growth, awareness is the first step. Let’s make sure your community knows your church exists—and that it’s here for them.
Marketing Message
If you want your church marketing strategy to make an impact, enthusiasm isn’t enough—you need clarity and consistency. One of the most effective tools in your communication toolkit is a short, memorable, and repeated marketing message. Why? Because repetition builds recognition—and recognition opens the door to relationship.
When your launch team, volunteers, printed materials, and online platforms all communicate the same message, your community begins to remember who you are and what you’re about. A consistent message builds trust and makes your church more approachable to first-time guests and spiritually curious neighbors.
Even more, a clear one-sentence message creates internal alignment. It equips your staff and volunteers to confidently communicate your church’s vision in everyday conversations. Whether it’s:
- “No Perfect People Allowed”
- “A Church for the Rest of Us”
- “Done with church, but not with God?”
…a compelling, repeatable message helps your vision stick—and spread.
In a noisy culture full of competing messages, your church must offer a simple, hopeful, and authentic invitation that cuts through the clutter. Consistency doesn’t just enhance your brand—it invites people to take a next step toward connection and community.
Want to learn how to craft a marketing message that resonates?
Read A Message That Sticks by Sean Cronin to discover how a one-sentence message can become the foundation of your entire church communication strategy.
Church Planting Residency – New $5,000 Grant!
As a church, you want to equip the next generation of church planters with the tools, structure, and support they need to thrive. You know the value of strong training—both for the planter and the churches they’ll plant.
We know planting a church is hard enough. The thought of starting a residency program from scratch can feel overwhelming.
- Where do you start?
- Who will lead the program?
- How do you create the curriculum?
- Who will coordinate the logistics and manage the timeline?
- How can you afford it without taking away from other ministry priorities?
At Passion for Planting, we’ve already done the hard work of creating a comprehensive residency program. We offer a turnkey Distance Church Planter Residency that helps you train future planters without the hassle of building your own program from scratch. And they don’t even have to move across the country!
- No Need to Reinvent the Wheel – Skip the time and cost of designing a residency program
- Ownership Without the Overhead – Offer a residency that’s “Powered by Passion for Planting” but feels like your own
- Focus on What Matters Most – We’ll handle the logistics and training, so you can stay focused on local ministry and disciple-making
Whether you’re an established church or a church plant in progress that wants to ‘plant pregnant’, we can help you offer a residency to your planters. We’re now accepting applications for our 2025-2026 distance residency cohort, which starts in September. All US planters who complete the residency will be eligible for a $5,000 cash grant for their church plant. Contact us today about setting up a church planting residency at your church!