FrontDoor Blog

Practical writing for church communicators, pastors and volunteer teams: how to reach new visitors, how to follow up well, and how to build systems that keep the mission moving forward.

Recent articles

• FrontDoor for Churches: What It Is and How to Get Started Free — FrontDoor is a completely free platform giving churches done-for-you connection resources, landing pages, and automated follow-up. Here's how to start.
• How to Start Reaching Your Neighbors This Week: A 7-Day Plan — A simple 7-day church outreach plan. One small task a day takes you from "we should reach our community" to a live resource collecting real emails.
• The Google Ad Grant for Churches: $10K/Month in Free Ads — Eligible churches can get $10,000/month in free Google search ads. Here's how to qualify, set it up, and make the traffic actually convert.
• Church Outreach & Digital Ministry Glossary: 30 Terms Explained — Plain-English definitions of 30 church marketing and digital ministry terms, from felt need and connection resource to SEO and nurture sequence.
• From Curious to Connected: Building a Digital Next-Steps Path — Build a digital next-steps path that moves neighbors from first curiosity to real connection, without leaking people at every stage.
• The First Impressions Team's Guide to Following Up Online — Your church first impressions team can make people feel seen online, before and after a visit. Here's a digital role that actually fits.
• Email vs. Social Media: Where Should Your Church Focus? — Church email vs. social media: social is rented land, email is owned. Here's the honest comparison and where a small church should invest first.
• Landing Pages for Churches: The Complete How-To — A church landing page has one job: get one action. Here's the section-by-section anatomy of one that converts, plus a build checklist you can use today.
• How to Reach Young Families and Gen Z in Your Community — Young families and Gen Z are online and largely unchurched. Reach them by helping with what they already search, not by advertising services. Here's how.
• Lead Magnet vs. Connection Resource: Why the Words You Use Matter — "Lead magnet" and "connection resource" describe the same tool with a different posture. Here's why the word your church chooses actually changes behavior.
• Conversations Over Attendance: A Better Way to Measure Outreach — Attendance is a narrow, lagging scoreboard. Learn to measure church outreach by the conversations that actually precede growth, with a simple dashboard.
• How to Build a Church Email List From Scratch — Build a church email list from zero the ethical way, no bought lists, starting with a resource people actually want. A step-by-step plan.
• "Plan a Visit" Isn't Enough: What Your Church Website Is Missing — Why a "Plan a Visit" button only reaches ready visitors, and the lower first step your church website needs to reach everyone else.
• The Sermon Begins Before Sunday: Meeting People Where They Are — By the time someone hears your sermon, your church has already spoken to them a dozen times. Here's how to reach people before they visit church.
• How to Create a Church Lead Magnet in an Afternoon — Build a church lead magnet (connection resource) in an afternoon: pick a felt need, make a short guide, add a form, and follow up. Step-by-step.
• Your Digital First Impression: The New Church Lobby Is a Search Bar — A neighbor judges your church online before you ever meet. Learn how to make your digital first impression warm, not cold, in the first five seconds.
• First-Time Guest Follow-Up: A Step-by-Step System — A simple, repeatable first-time guest follow-up system, with a sample 7-day timeline you can copy for your church this week.
• 7 Church Website Mistakes That Turn Visitors Away — The 7 most common church website mistakes that quietly repel newcomers, plus a simple fix for each. Audit yours in an afternoon.
• The Engel Scale & the FrontDoor Scale: Mapping the Journey to Faith — The Engel Scale maps the journey to faith. See how the 16-stage FrontDoor Scale reveals the 8 early stages most churches ignore.
• 25 Connection Resource Ideas Your Church Can Give Away This Month — 25 connection resource ideas your church can give away this month, grouped by the 5 areas of flourishing. Steal any of them.
• How to Write a Welcome Email Sequence for New Church Contacts — A church welcome email sequence in 5 short emails, Days 1/3/5/7/14, with sample subject lines and copy you can adapt today.
• Church SEO: A Beginner's Guide to Getting Found on Google — Church SEO made simple. A no-jargon beginner's checklist to help neighbors find you on Google for "church near me" and beyond.
• What Are Felt Needs? The Key to Connecting With Your Community — A felt need is a problem someone already knows they have and is looking to solve. Here's how meeting felt needs opens doors for your church.
• What Is a Lead Magnet? A Plain-English Guide for Churches — A lead magnet is a free, useful resource you give away in exchange for an email. Here's what that means for churches, in plain English.
• Unchurched, Dechurched, and "Nones": Who They Are and How to Reach Each — Unchurched, dechurched, and nones aren't the same people, and each needs a different tone. Definitions, current stats, and a first move for each group.
• The New Front Door: Rethinking Church First Impressions for a Digital Age — Your church's first impression moved online. Learn the new model for digital first impressions and how to greet people before they ever visit.
• Why People Can't Find Your Church Online (and How to Fix It) — Your church is invisible on Google for 5 fixable reasons. Here's the diagnosis and the plan to help neighbors actually find you.
• The Church Guide to Email Follow-Up That Builds Real Relationships — Church email follow-up is where most churches drop the ball. Here's a warm, automated sequence that turns a download into a real relationship.
• Connection Resources: The Complete Guide to Church Lead Magnets — A connection resource is a free, genuinely useful giveaway your church offers in exchange for an email. Here's how to build a whole system around them.
• How to Reach Spiritually Curious People in Your Community — Most neighbors aren't ready to visit church, but they're quietly curious. Here's the full model for reaching spiritually curious people online first.
• 7 Creative Ways to Repurpose Sermons — Spent hours preparing a great sermon? Get the most out of it with these 7 quick, easy, and effective ways to repurpose sermons!
• The Right Words for More Signups: 3 Copywriting Tips — As a pastor, the words you use matter. Use these tips for effective copywriting for churches to get your message out and make a real difference.
• Growing Discipleship Through Emails — Want your church to make a bigger impact? Focus on growing discipleship through emails with these effective email strategies for churches.
• More Visitors with Facebook Ads — Stop wasting time and money on mailers and ad strategies that simply don’t work. Here’s how to run effective Facebook Ads for churches.
• Volunteer Job Descriptions for Church Communications — Want skilled church communication volunteers who are dependable and ready to work hard? Let them know with a job description.
• The Basics of Church Communications — Start, build, and run an effective church communications department to support, grow, and minister to your church.
• Promoting Your Campaign’s Landing Page — After you publish your FrontDoor campaign, people will not find it unless you promote it and encourage others to share it. Here are some best practices to consider. 1. First, Copy Your Campaign URL From your FrontDoor dashboard, click on the campaign you want to promote. Once you are on the campaign page, just click […]