Participant digital workbook
Study all nine Ms, reflect on what they mean for your church, complete each exercise, assess current practice and prepare your contribution to the church's shared work.
Digital workbook OR-NM-1.0 (prototype) · Nine M curriculum version 1.0
Your progress through the workbook
9 assigned modules, four lessons each, with a rated self-assessment and a 90-day plan per module.
0 of 36 exercises written · 0 of 45 areas rated (0%)
Every activity in the printed workbook can be completed here online. Your answers stay saved under your name, and the downloads give you the same complete workbook on paper.
M4 — Marketing (module 4 of 9)
Align the church's public identity, message, digital presence, communications, and community awareness with its mission.
What this module produces
Church Marketing and Communications Plan
- Documented audience profiles describing the church's priority groups (first-time guests, returning attenders, members, community neighbors) and what each group needs to hear
- A one-page Message Framework stating the church's core message in plain, non-insider language, with supporting messages for each audience
- An insider-language audit of current public copy (website, bulletin, social captions, signage) flagging jargon and unclear phrases
- A First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit covering website, search presence, social channels and visual identity on both mobile and desktop, with a barrier log
- A documented channel strategy naming which channels serve which audiences and why
- A four-week Content Calendar with audience, purpose, channel, owner, call to action and success measure for each planned piece of content
- A Campaign Measurement Plan with visitor-source attribution categories and defined conversion stages from awareness to engagement to belonging
- A named gaps list identifying where current marketing practice falls short of the plan, with severity and likely cause
- A 90-day action plan with owners, due dates, resources required, success measures, status and review dates
Objectives
- Understand marketing as truthful mission communication
- Evaluate the digital front door
- Match content, channels and calls to action
- Connect communication to visits and outcomes
4 weeks · about 6 hours of leadership time
Lesson 1: Marketing as Mission Communication
What you will learn: Reframe marketing as truthful, service-oriented communication rather than promotion, and produce a Message Framework free of insider language.
60 minutes · Senior leadership, communications volunteer or staff lead, one or two recent first-time guests if available
Scripture lens — 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
King James Version (KJV) · Public domain
Paul describes becoming 'all things to all people' in how he communicated the gospel, adapting his language to his listener without changing the message itself.
Materials and evidence you will use
- Current website homepage copy
- A recent Sunday bulletin or program
- Three recent social media captions
- Any existing mission or vision statement
- At least six flagged phrases with plain-language alternatives
- A tested core message and three audience-specific supporting messages
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
- Leadership can state the church's core message in one sentence a newcomer would understand
- Existing public copy has been audited and insider phrases have been flagged with plain-language alternatives
- A written Message Framework exists with a core message and supporting messages for at least three audiences
- Staff and volunteers agree the framework reflects the church's actual mission, not aspirational branding
Study reading
Understand the concept
Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Reframe marketing as truthful, service-oriented communication rather than promotion, and produce a Message Framework free of insider language.
Clarity is an act of hospitality: a church that speaks plainly is a church that has already begun welcoming the stranger.
Why it matters for your church
Ministries may need to rename programs that currently communicate nothing to outsiders.
Sermon series titles and bulletin copy may require a plain-language review step before publishing.
Staff and volunteers need a shared reference so they describe the church consistently in casual conversation, not just in official materials.
Examine the evidence
Use Current website homepage copy, A recent Sunday bulletin or program, Three recent social media captions, and Any existing mission or vision statement to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.
Your completed work should be supported by At least six flagged phrases with plain-language alternatives, and A tested core message and three audience-specific supporting messages. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.
Prepare for the shared exercise
Produce a plain-language Message Framework and identify specific insider phrases in current public copy that need revision. The Message Framework and Insider-Language Audit produces the Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.
Before working with your team, consider this reflection: Where in our current communication have we prioritized sounding polished over being understood?
Key terms
- Message Framework: A one-page document stating the church's core message in plain language plus supporting messages tailored to specific audiences.
- Insider language: Phrases, ministry names or theological shorthand that only make sense to people already familiar with the church or with Christian culture.
- Core message: The single sentence that most accurately and honestly describes what the church is and what it offers, stated so a newcomer understands it immediately.
Failure patterns to avoid
- Writing a Message Framework once and never checking new content against it
- Letting the most theologically fluent person on staff write all public copy without a plain-language check
- Confusing a clever tagline for genuine clarity about what the church actually offers
Ministry case — The Bulletin No One Outside Could Read
A mid-sized church prided itself on a beautifully designed weekly bulletin. When leadership finally asked a first-time guest to read it aloud and explain each line, the guest could not explain what three of the five ministry names meant, and assumed one ongoing Bible study was actually a closed group for existing members only.
The church had not changed its programs; it had only ever written about them for people already inside the building. After building a Message Framework and rewriting the bulletin in plain language, attendance at the previously misunderstood Bible study more than doubled within two months, driven entirely by people who had simply never understood it was open to them.
Lesson takeaway: Clarity is an act of hospitality: a church that speaks plainly is a church that has already begun welcoming the stranger.
Exercise — Message Framework and Insider-Language Audit (produces: Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit)
Produce a plain-language Message Framework and identify specific insider phrases in current public copy that need revision.
- Read each source material aloud and mark any phrase a first-time guest might not understand
- For each flagged phrase, write why it is unclear and a plain-language alternative
- Draft one core message sentence describing the church in specific, honest terms
- Write a supporting message for first-time guests, one for returning attenders, and one for the surrounding community
- Test the core message by reading it to someone unfamiliar with the church, if available, and note their reaction
- Finalize the Message Framework document and assign an owner to check future public copy against it
Worksheet columns: Source material · Flagged phrase · Why it is unclear · Plain-language alternative · Audience it affects
Saves as you typeMessage Framework and Insider-Language Audit Worksheet
Complete the Message Framework document with accompanying insider-language audit here. Your answers are kept under your name and are waiting for you when you return.
Message Framework and Insider-Language Audit Worksheet # Source material Flagged phrase Why it is unclear Plain-language alternative Audience it affects 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Saving keeps it private to you; submitting shares it with your coach and church panel.Worked sample — Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data) (illustrative, scored 18/20)
Northgate's leadership team reviewed their homepage, a recent bulletin and three social posts, then drafted a Message Framework in a single working session.
Message Framework — Northgate Community Church Core message: Northgate is a church where you can ask real questions, be known by name, and find practical help when life is hard. For first-time guests: You can come as you are; nothing is required of you on your first visit. For returning attenders: There is a next step for you this month in a weekly group. For the surrounding community: If you need help with a bill, food or a hard week, you can ask us directly, no strings attached.
- Adopted the core message: 'Northgate is a church where you can ask real questions, be known by name, and find practical help when life is hard'
- Assigned the communications volunteer to check all new bulletin and social copy against the Message Framework before publishing
- Agreed to rename 'Connect Groups' to 'Weekly Groups' in all public materials going forward
The audit named specific phrases with concrete plain-language alternatives, the core message was tested against a real outsider, and ownership for future review was assigned, though the community-facing message could be even more specific about how to make contact.
Discussion prompts
- What is one phrase we use regularly that a newcomer would not understand?
- Whose voice is missing when we write our public communications?
- If a visitor read only our website, what would they assume about us that isn't true?
- What would it cost us, relationally or spiritually, to simplify our language?
Reflection: Where in our current communication have we prioritized sounding polished over being understood?
Use these prompts to prepare your own response before the group discussion. Honest differences help the church identify where further work is needed.
Lesson 2: Brand and Digital Front Door
What you will learn: Evaluate the church's website, search presence, social channels and visual identity for clarity and trust, and produce a First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit with a barrier log.
75 minutes · Senior leadership, communications volunteer or staff lead, someone comfortable navigating phones and browsers for the live walkthrough
Scripture lens — Luke 14:28-30
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
King James Version (KJV) · Public domain
Jesus tells the parable of the builder who counts the cost before building a tower, so the work is not left half-finished for others to see and judge.
Materials and evidence you will use
- The church's live website on mobile and desktop
- The church's search engine listing (search the church name and see what appears)
- The church's active social media profiles
- Any printed or digital brand guide, if one exists
- At least eight barriers logged across search, website and social channels
- Severity ratings and proposed fixes for each barrier
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
- Leadership has personally navigated the website and search listings as a first-time visitor would, on both mobile and desktop
- A barrier log names specific points of confusion or friction with severity ratings
- Visual identity inconsistencies across channels have been documented
- Priority fixes are ranked and ready to feed the module's 90-day action plan
Study reading
Understand the concept
Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Evaluate the church's website, search presence, social channels and visual identity for clarity and trust, and produce a First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit with a barrier log.
The digital front door forms a first impression long before the physical one does; auditing it honestly is an act of hospitality toward people we haven't met yet.
Why it matters for your church
Someone needs a standing responsibility to check the website and search listing accuracy on a schedule.
Volunteers producing social content may need a simple style reference to keep visuals consistent.
Fixing basic barriers like outdated service times often costs nothing but has been quietly turning visitors away.
Examine the evidence
Use The church's live website on mobile and desktop, The church's search engine listing (search the church name and see what appears), The church's active social media profiles, and Any printed or digital brand guide, if one exists to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.
Your completed work should be supported by At least eight barriers logged across search, website and social channels, and Severity ratings and proposed fixes for each barrier. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.
Prepare for the shared exercise
Document specific barriers a first-time visitor would encounter across the church's website, search listing, social channels and visual identity. The First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit produces the First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit with barrier log, covering mobile and desktop, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.
Before working with your team, consider this reflection: What would a stranger conclude about our church after sixty seconds on our website, and is that conclusion accurate?
Key terms
- Digital front door: The website, search listing and social media profiles a first-time visitor encounters before ever physically arriving at the church.
- Barrier log: A documented list of specific points of confusion or friction a visitor could encounter, each rated by severity.
- Brand consistency: The degree to which visual identity (logo, colors, photography) and verbal tone match across every channel a visitor might encounter.
Failure patterns to avoid
- Auditing only the desktop website and never checking the mobile experience
- Assuming the website is fine because staff, who already know the information, can find what they need
- Fixing visual design without checking whether basic practical information is accurate
Ministry case — The Service Time That Was Wrong for a Year
A growing church changed its Sunday service time but never updated its search engine listing. For nearly a year, anyone searching the church's name saw the old time. Leadership only discovered this when a first-time guest arrived forty minutes late and mentioned it awkwardly to a greeter.
During their digital audit, the team found the same outdated information in three other places: an old flyer still indexed online, a community calendar listing, and a directory site none of them remembered creating an account with. Correcting all four took less than an hour, but the team estimated they had likely lost multiple visitors over the previous year to that single, invisible error.
Lesson takeaway: The digital front door forms a first impression long before the physical one does; auditing it honestly is an act of hospitality toward people we haven't met yet.
Exercise — First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit (produces: First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit with barrier log, covering mobile and desktop)
Document specific barriers a first-time visitor would encounter across the church's website, search listing, social channels and visual identity.
- Search the church's name as a stranger would and record the first three results that appear
- Navigate the website on a phone, noting load time, ease of finding service times and address, and any confusing menus
- Repeat the same navigation on a desktop or laptop and note any differences
- Review social media profiles for posting frequency, accuracy of information and visual consistency with the website
- Compare colors, logo usage and photography style across all channels and note inconsistencies
- Log each barrier found with a description, the device or channel it occurred on, and a severity rating
- Rank the barrier log from highest to lowest severity and identify the top three priority fixes
Worksheet columns: Channel or device · Barrier observed · Likely visitor impact · Severity (High/Medium/Low) · Proposed fix
Saves as you typeFirst-Time-Visitor Digital Audit and Barrier Log
Complete the First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit with barrier log, covering mobile and desktop here. Your answers are kept under your name and are waiting for you when you return.
First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit and Barrier Log # Channel or device Barrier observed Likely visitor impact Severity (High/Medium/Low) Proposed fix 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Saving keeps it private to you; submitting shares it with your coach and church panel.Worked sample — Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data) (illustrative, scored 18/20)
Northgate's team conducted a live walkthrough using one phone and one laptop, searching the church name and navigating the website and social profiles as a stranger would.
First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit — Northgate Community Church Top priority: Outdated address in search listing (High severity) — corrected within one week, owner: communications volunteer. Second priority: Service times buried in mobile navigation (High severity) — moved to homepage header. Third priority: Inactive social media presence (Medium severity) — weekly posting assigned to volunteer team. Fourth priority: Inconsistent brand colors across channels (Medium severity) — standardized logo file created and distributed.
- Assigned the communications volunteer to correct the search listing and directory address within the week
- Moved service times to the homepage header on both mobile and desktop
- Created a shared logo and color file for anyone producing social content going forward
The audit covered both mobile and desktop, search and social, with severity ratings and named owners for each fix, though the social media fix could specify a more concrete posting schedule.
Discussion prompts
- What barrier did we find that has likely been costing us visitors without our knowledge?
- Where does our online presence look inconsistent or out of date compared to who we actually are today?
- If a visitor gave up trying to find our service time, would we ever know?
- Who should own keeping our digital front door accurate going forward?
Reflection: What would a stranger conclude about our church after sixty seconds on our website, and is that conclusion accurate?
Use these prompts to prepare your own response before the group discussion. Honest differences help the church identify where further work is needed.
Lesson 3: Content, Channels, and Calls to Action
What you will learn: Match messages and next steps to specific audiences and channels, and produce a four-week Content Calendar with clear ownership and calls to action.
75 minutes · Communications lead, ministry leaders whose programs need promotion, senior leadership
Scripture lens — 1 Corinthians 3:6-9
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
King James Version (KJV) · Public domain
Paul describes planting and watering as distinct, coordinated acts of labor toward the same growth, with each worker doing a specific part.
Materials and evidence you will use
- Message Framework document from lesson one
- Upcoming four-week ministry and events calendar
- List of current communication channels available to the church
- At least eight calendar items across four weeks with all columns completed
- Distinct audiences represented across the calendar, not a single blended audience
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
- Each planned piece of content names a specific audience rather than 'everyone'
- Every content item includes a concrete call to action rather than general awareness
- Channels are chosen based on where each audience actually spends attention, not habit
- Every calendar item has a named owner and a defined success measure
Study reading
Understand the concept
Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Match messages and next steps to specific audiences and channels, and produce a four-week Content Calendar with clear ownership and calls to action.
A content calendar is not a scheduling convenience, it is the discipline of making sure every message reaches the right person with a real invitation to respond.
Why it matters for your church
Ministry leaders will need to submit event or program information further in advance to allow for planned content.
Volunteers producing content need clarity on which channel is theirs to manage and how success will be measured.
Some current channels may need to be paused or paired with stronger ones until they are rebuilt.
Examine the evidence
Use Message Framework document from lesson one, Upcoming four-week ministry and events calendar, and List of current communication channels available to the church to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.
Your completed work should be supported by At least eight calendar items across four weeks with all columns completed, and Distinct audiences represented across the calendar, not a single blended audience. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.
Prepare for the shared exercise
Plan the next four weeks of church communication with intentional audience matching, channel selection and measurable calls to action. The Four-Week Content Calendar produces the Four-week Content Calendar with audience, purpose, channel, owner, call to action and success measure, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.
Before working with your team, consider this reflection: Which upcoming communication have we been planning without a clear picture of who it's actually for?
Key terms
- Call to action: The specific, concrete next step a piece of content asks its audience to take.
- Channel strategy: A deliberate plan matching each communication channel to the audience most likely to encounter it there.
- Content calendar: A scheduled plan of upcoming communications naming audience, purpose, channel, owner, call to action and success measure for each item.
Failure patterns to avoid
- Writing content for a generic audience instead of a specific one
- Posting on a channel out of habit even after the digital audit showed it was inactive or underused
- Ending content with vague encouragement instead of a specific, doable next step
Ministry case — One Message, Three Audiences, Three Posts
A church planning a fall outreach event initially drafted a single social post meant to reach guests, members and volunteers all at once. The result was a long, generic post that buried the volunteer signup, confused first-time readers about whether the event was public, and generated almost no response.
After applying the audience-matching principle, the team split the message into three: a simple, warm invitation post for the community with a specific address and time, a member-facing post asking people to invite a neighbor with a shareable graphic, and a direct text to existing volunteers with a signup link. Each version had a specific call to action matched to its audience, and volunteer signups and new guest attendance both increased noticeably over the previous year's single-post approach.
Lesson takeaway: A content calendar is not a scheduling convenience, it is the discipline of making sure every message reaches the right person with a real invitation to respond.
Exercise — Four-Week Content Calendar (produces: Four-week Content Calendar with audience, purpose, channel, owner, call to action and success measure)
Plan the next four weeks of church communication with intentional audience matching, channel selection and measurable calls to action.
- List every planned event, sermon series or ministry push for the next four weeks
- For each item, name the single primary audience it is intended for
- Choose the channel best suited to reach that audience, referencing the digital audit findings
- Write a specific, low-friction call to action for each item
- Assign a named owner responsible for producing and publishing each piece of content
- Define a success measure for each item that could actually be observed or counted
- Arrange all items into a four-week calendar view by publish date
Worksheet columns: Week · Audience · Purpose · Channel · Owner · Call to action · Success measure
Saves as you typeFour-Week Content Calendar
Complete the Four-week Content Calendar with audience, purpose, channel, owner, call to action and success measure here. Your answers are kept under your name and are waiting for you when you return.
Four-Week Content Calendar # Week Audience Purpose Channel Owner Call to action Success measure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Saving keeps it private to you; submitting shares it with your coach and church panel.Worked sample — Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data) (illustrative, scored 17/20)
Northgate planned its next four weeks around a new sermon series, a fall food drive, and its ongoing weekly groups launch, using the Message Framework and digital audit findings.
Four-Week Content Calendar — Northgate Community Church Week 1: First-time guests — new sermon series invitation via website and search listing, call to action 'Visit this Sunday at 9:30 or 11:00', measured by first-time guest cards. Week 2: Community members — food drive invitation via flyer and Facebook group, call to action 'Text 555-0142', measured by items collected and new contacts. Week 3: Returning attenders — weekly groups invitation via bulletin and pulpit, call to action 'Sign up at the info table', measured by new signups. Week 4: Members — volunteer recruitment via text and social, call to action 'Reply YES to confirm your shift', measured by confirmed shifts.
- Assigned the outreach ministry leader ownership of both food drive items since they touch the same event from two audiences
- Used the neighborhood Facebook group specifically for the community-facing item, based on where the digital audit showed the church still had reasonable reach
- Set a follow-up review date after week four to compare success measures across all four items
Every item names a clear audience, channel and measurable call to action with an owner, though week 1's success measure could be tied more directly to the specific sermon series content rather than general guest cards.
Discussion prompts
- Which upcoming event has the least clear audience right now, and how should that change our plan?
- Which of our channels is strong enough to carry an important message this month?
- What is one call to action we've used that was too vague to actually work?
- Who on our team is best positioned to own each channel going forward?
Reflection: Which upcoming communication have we been planning without a clear picture of who it's actually for?
Use these prompts to prepare your own response before the group discussion. Honest differences help the church identify where further work is needed.
Lesson 4: Measuring Awareness and Response
What you will learn: Connect communication activity to visits, engagement and mission outcomes, and produce a Campaign Measurement Plan with visitor-source attribution and conversion stages.
60 minutes · Senior leadership, communications lead, guest services or connections team lead
Scripture lens — Luke 15:8-10
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
King James Version (KJV) · Public domain
The woman who loses a coin lights a lamp, sweeps the house and searches carefully until she finds it, then calls her friends together to celebrate.
Materials and evidence you will use
- Recent visitor or guest cards, if collected
- The four-week Content Calendar from lesson three
- Any existing attendance or engagement records
- Defined visitor-source categories and conversion stages
- Named owners and a scheduled review rhythm
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to
- Leadership can name how a recent visitor most likely first heard about the church
- A Campaign Measurement Plan defines clear visitor-source attribution categories
- Conversion stages are defined from first awareness through to ongoing engagement
- A review rhythm is established for comparing communication activity against actual outcomes
Study reading
Understand the concept
Your work in this lesson focuses on this outcome: Connect communication activity to visits, engagement and mission outcomes, and produce a Campaign Measurement Plan with visitor-source attribution and conversion stages.
Marketing without measurement is a guess dressed up as a strategy; a simple, consistent habit of asking and recording turns that guess into wisdom the church can act on.
Why it matters for your church
Guest services or connections volunteers need a simple, consistent way to ask and record how guests heard about the church.
Leadership needs a standing time on the calendar to review measurement data after each major communication push.
Some communication efforts may need to be scaled back or redirected once the data shows where people actually get stuck.
Examine the evidence
Use Recent visitor or guest cards, if collected, The four-week Content Calendar from lesson three, and Any existing attendance or engagement records to compare your church's present practice with its stated intentions. Look for documented patterns, missing information, and differences between what people assume and what the evidence supports.
Your completed work should be supported by Defined visitor-source categories and conversion stages, and Named owners and a scheduled review rhythm. Record uncertainty honestly so your team knows what still needs to be verified.
Prepare for the shared exercise
Define how the church will track visitor sources and conversion stages, and establish a review rhythm connecting communication activity to actual outcomes. The Campaign Measurement Plan produces the Campaign Measurement Plan with visitor-source attribution categories and conversion stages, which contributes to the module's principal deliverable.
Before working with your team, consider this reflection: If we tracked this data faithfully for the next quarter, what do we genuinely expect it would reveal about our church's invitation?
Key terms
- Visitor-source attribution: The practice of recording how a first-time guest first heard about or decided to visit the church.
- Conversion stages: The defined sequence of steps a person moves through from first awareness of the church to ongoing, engaged participation.
- Campaign Measurement Plan: A document defining visitor-source categories, conversion stages and a review rhythm for evaluating communication activity against actual outcomes.
Failure patterns to avoid
- Collecting visitor-source information inconsistently so the data cannot be trusted or compared over time
- Measuring only initial visits and never tracking whether people return or take a next step
- Gathering data but never actually reviewing it as a team before planning the next communication push
Ministry case — The Campaign That Looked Successful and Wasn't
A church ran a well-produced community outreach campaign and celebrated a strong turnout on the day of the event. Because no one had asked attendees how they heard about it, leadership assumed the social media campaign had driven the turnout and planned to repeat the same approach the following quarter.
After adopting simple visitor-source questions the following season, the team discovered that nearly all new attendees had actually come through personal invitations from members, not the social campaign at all. The following quarter, they redirected their energy toward equipping members to invite people directly, and attendance from genuinely new community members increased, while the social media budget was redirected toward supporting that member-invitation effort instead.
Lesson takeaway: Marketing without measurement is a guess dressed up as a strategy; a simple, consistent habit of asking and recording turns that guess into wisdom the church can act on.
Exercise — Campaign Measurement Plan (produces: Campaign Measurement Plan with visitor-source attribution categories and conversion stages)
Define how the church will track visitor sources and conversion stages, and establish a review rhythm connecting communication activity to actual outcomes.
- Define four to six visitor-source attribution categories the church can realistically and consistently track
- Decide where and how the visitor-source question will be asked and by whom
- Define the conversion stages from first awareness through to ongoing engagement
- For each item on the Content Calendar, name the specific outcome that would indicate success
- Identify where the church suspects people are currently getting stuck between stages
- Set a review rhythm naming who reviews the data, how often, and what happens with what is learned
Worksheet columns: Conversion stage · Definition · Visitor-source categories tracked · Data collection method · Owner · Review frequency
Saves as you typeCampaign Measurement Plan Worksheet
Complete the Campaign Measurement Plan with visitor-source attribution categories and conversion stages here. Your answers are kept under your name and are waiting for you when you return.
Campaign Measurement Plan Worksheet # Conversion stage Definition Visitor-source categories tracked Data collection method Owner Review frequency 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Saving keeps it private to you; submitting shares it with your coach and church panel.Worked sample — Northgate Community Church (illustrative example — not actual church data) (illustrative, scored 17/20)
Northgate built its first Campaign Measurement Plan following the four-week Content Calendar from the food drive and weekly groups launch.
Campaign Measurement Plan — Northgate Community Church Stage 1, Aware: tracked informally through social engagement, reviewed monthly. Stage 2, Visited once: tracked via guest card question at first-time guest table, reviewed weekly. Stage 3, Returned within a month: tracked via connections volunteer follow-up, reviewed monthly. Stage 4, Engaged: tracked via weekly groups and volunteer signups, reviewed monthly. Visitor-source categories: invited by friend, found online, saw event flyer, walked in, returning after time away. Standing review: monthly quarter-hour leadership review comparing content calendar outcomes against attendance and engagement data.
- Adopted five visitor-source categories: invited by friend, found online, saw event flyer, walked in, returning after time away
- Assigned the guest services lead to ask the visitor-source question at every first-time guest interaction
- Scheduled a standing monthly quarter-hour review meeting to compare content calendar outcomes against actual attendance and engagement data
The plan defines clear stages, realistic categories and named owners with a consistent review rhythm, though the 'aware' stage measurement method remains the least precise of the four stages.
Discussion prompts
- How confident are we, honestly, in explaining why our last visitor came?
- Where in our current process would visitor-source questions fit most naturally?
- At which conversion stage do we suspect the most people are getting stuck?
- Who will own reviewing this data after each major communication push?
Reflection: If we tracked this data faithfully for the next quarter, what do we genuinely expect it would reveal about our church's invitation?
Use these prompts to prepare your own response before the group discussion. Honest differences help the church identify where further work is needed.
Rate this module
Rate each area from 0 to 4 as the church is today, not as you hope it will be.
- 0 — Not Established: Nothing is in place for this area today.
- 1 — Emerging: Something has been started but it is informal and inconsistent.
- 2 — Developing: It works in parts of the church but is not documented or dependable.
- 3 — Established: It is documented, consistently followed and reviewed.
- 4 — Exemplary: It is a strength others could learn from, with evidence to prove it.
1. Message Clarity
Weighted 20% of the Marketing score.
What this represents: A written Message Framework in plain language guides website, bulletin and social copy, and staff can restate the core message consistently.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- Public communications rely on insider church language and denominational shorthand; a newcomer cannot state in their own words what the church believes or offers.
- 2 — Developing:
- A draft message framework exists in one leader's notes but has not been tested against real public copy or shared across ministry teams.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- The Message Framework is actively used to edit new content before publication, is revisited quarterly, and visitors independently describe the church using language that matches it.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
2. Brand Consistency
Weighted 20% of the Marketing score.
What this represents: A documented brand standard covering visuals and tone is applied across the website, print and social media, and new materials are checked against it.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- Logos, colors, photography style and tone vary widely across bulletin, signage, website and social media with no shared visual or verbal standard.
- 2 — Developing:
- A basic style reference exists (a logo file, a color note) but it is not consistently applied across all touchpoints or checked before publishing.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- Brand consistency is monitored on a schedule, volunteers are trained on the standard, and the church's visual and verbal identity is recognizable across every touchpoint a visitor encounters.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
3. Digital Readiness
Weighted 20% of the Marketing score.
What this represents: A First-Time-Visitor Digital Audit covers website, search listings, social channels and visual identity on both mobile and desktop, with barriers logged and assigned.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- The church's website is outdated or missing basic information, search presence is inaccurate, and there is no plan to review digital properties.
- 2 — Developing:
- A partial digital audit has been done for the website only, without checking mobile experience, search accuracy or social channels together.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- Digital properties are audited on a recurring schedule, barriers are resolved quickly, and the digital front door is treated as a standing ministry responsibility with an owner.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
4. Audience and Channel Strategy
Weighted 20% of the Marketing score.
What this represents: A documented channel strategy and four-week content calendar assign audience, purpose, channel, owner and call to action for each communication.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- The church communicates the same content the same way to everyone, with no distinction between guests, members and the surrounding community.
- 2 — Developing:
- Some audience distinctions are made informally for special events, but there is no standing channel strategy or content calendar.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- The channel strategy is reviewed against actual audience response, refined each planning cycle, and ministry teams request calendar slots because the process is trusted.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
5. Measurement and Conversion
Weighted 20% of the Marketing score.
What this represents: A Campaign Measurement Plan defines visitor-source attribution categories and conversion stages, and results are reviewed after each campaign.
Reference points for your rating
- 0 — Not established:
- The church cannot describe how any visitor found out about the church or what happened after they first engaged with a communication.
- 2 — Developing:
- A visitor-source question is asked inconsistently at check-in, and no defined stages exist between first awareness and ongoing engagement.
- 4 — Exemplary:
- Measurement data actively shapes future channel and content decisions, is reviewed on a standing schedule, and is compared across campaigns to identify what is working.
Use the closest reference point, then select 1 or 3 when your church falls between two descriptions.
90-day plan for Marketing
Name the first three moves, who owns each one and when it is due.
Completion checklist
- • All four lessons marked complete
- • All four exercises submitted
- • Required evidence uploaded
- • Named principal deliverable generated and approved
- • 90-day action plan created with owners and dates
- • Coach review recorded
0 of 4 exercises written · 0 of 5 areas rated
Pastor Lee Jenkins
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Participant Workbook
Sample contents created by Allan Bell - CPA, CMA, MBA, for illustrative purposes.
What happens to these answers
Approval sits with people, not the software.
- Individual answers are held for the coach. Church reporting, board packs and the printed workbook show compiled scores and themes only.
- Nine M methodology, content, exercises and deliverables by Pastor Lee Jenkins.
- Prototype: responses live in this browser session only. No invitations, emails or text messages are sent, and nothing is written to a server.
A partnership between Pastor Lee Jenkins, the Stewardship Coach, and Allan Bell - CPA, CMA, MBA, Nsites founder and creator.