How to Prep Your Church for Christmas (Without Panicking in December)

🚨 Don’t wait until December to plan your church’s Christmas outreach! In this episode, Zack walks through a November checklist to help churches reach more people online using Google Ads, SEO, social media, and AI — before the Christmas rush hits.

Summary:
Learn how to create a winning Christmas landing page, optimize it for search, leverage the Google Ad Grant, and run effective Facebook and Instagram campaigns that actually connect with seekers. Zack shares real examples, keyword data, tools, and timelines to help pastors and communication teams make the most of this powerful season of outreach.

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome & Christmas stories that inspire outreach
05:45 Why people are most open to invitations during Christmas
09:30 Step 1 – Building your Christmas landing page
18:00 Step 2 – SEO optimization + keyword strategy
26:15 Step 3 – Google Ad Grant tips for churches
37:10 Step 4 – Facebook & Instagram Ad best practices
50:00 Step 5 – Using AI and FAQ sections for discoverability
57:00 Final checklist & key deadlines (creative due Nov 18)

Resources & Links:
📘 Google Doc template for page content → https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DKEFSngdmtW5rb28P0yOdkq8yQMeqMqw2KGLrxgUhvc/copy
📅 Church Growth Calendar → https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RL9Cp6oe6EOOTEuLy0owRwx2rnmK3ERoYV5oxYkv8Hs/edit
🎯 Watch our previous videos → Watch our previous episodes
🌐 Explore Tent Apps resources → https://tentapps.com/resources/

Connect With Us:
👉 Subscribe for more church communication strategies: Smarter Church Communications
👉 Website: tentapps.com
👉 Instagram: @tentapps
👉 Facebook: Tent Apps
👉 Spotify Podcast: Smarter Church Podcast

Hashtags:
#ChurchMarketing #ChristmasOutreach #SmarterChurchCommunications🚨 Don’t wait until December to plan your church’s Christmas outreach! In this episode, Zack walks through a November checklist to help churches reach more people online using Google Ads, SEO, social media, and AI — before the Christmas rush hits.

Summary:
Learn how to create a winning Christmas landing page, optimize it for search, leverage the Google Ad Grant, and run effective Facebook and Instagram campaigns that actually connect with seekers. Zack shares real examples, keyword data, tools, and timelines to help pastors and communication teams make the most of this powerful season of outreach.

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome & Christmas stories that inspire outreach
05:45 Why people are most open to invitations during Christmas
09:30 Step 1 – Building your Christmas landing page
18:00 Step 2 – SEO optimization + keyword strategy
26:15 Step 3 – Google Ad Grant tips for churches
37:10 Step 4 – Facebook & Instagram Ad best practices
50:00 Step 5 – Using AI and FAQ sections for discoverability
57:00 Final checklist & key deadlines (creative due Nov 18)

Resources & Links:
📘 Google Doc template for page content → https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DKEFSngdmtW5rb28P0yOdkq8yQMeqMqw2KGLrxgUhvc/copy
📅 Church Growth Calendar → https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RL9Cp6oe6EOOTEuLy0owRwx2rnmK3ERoYV5oxYkv8Hs/edit
🎯 Watch our previous videos → https://www.youtube.com/@SmarterChurchCommunications
🌐 Explore Tent Apps resources → https://tentapps.com/resources/

Connect With Us:
👉 Subscribe for more church communication strategies: Smarter Church Communications
👉 Website: tentapps.com
👉 Instagram: @tentapps
👉 Facebook: Tent Apps
👉 Spotify Podcast: Smarter Church Communications Podcast

#ChurchMarketing #ChristmasOutreach #SmarterChurchCommunications

Stop relying on stock photos. Use this church photography shot list to show visitors exactly what to expect—and grow trust fast.
In this episode, Zack Esgar breaks down an easy, volunteer-ready church photo checklist for your website, worship, kids ministry, and social media.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome + why imagery makes or breaks church websites
01:02 Stock vs. authentic photos: trust and first impressions
02:20 What visitors want your photos to answer (fit, culture, attire, worship)
04:45 Practical tips: gear, staging smiles, landscape vs. vertical
08:10 Planning the shoot + downloadable shot list
09:30 First impressions: exterior, entrances, greeters, families arriving
11:10 Interior & unique features to highlight
12:30 Ministry shots: Kids, Youth, Adults, special events
14:15 Worship photography: run-throughs, congregation angles, pastor teaching
17:20 People/culture shots that communicate “welcome”
19:00 Staff photos + Canva background tips
20:10 Final encouragement + resources

Subscribe for more: https://www.youtube.com/@SmarterChurchCommunications
Watch previous episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@SmarterChurchCommunications/videos
Resources for churches: https://tentapps.com/resources/
Website: https://www.tentapps.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tentapps/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tentapps
Spotify Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/smarter-church
Keywords to include naturally:
church photography, church shot list, church website images, church communications, worship photos, kids ministry photography, volunteer photographer tips, church social media, church branding

#ChurchPhotography #ChurchCommunications #SmarterChurch