My Top Recommended Tools for Church Communications
Trusted resources after a decade in the trenches—with a focus on churches under 500
If you’re a church under 500 people, you’ve likely felt the tension of needing to communicate well—without the staff, time, or budget of a large church. After nearly a decade working in church communications, I’ve tested tools big and small, affordable and out-of-reach, overcomplicated and surprisingly simple.
Below are the tools I recommend most often to churches who want to improve their digital presence and communications without feeling overwhelmed. These are the platforms I’ve seen work again and again in real church contexts—and I’m excited to share them with you.
1. Text In Church
Best for: Group messaging, guest follow-up, reminders, small church teams
Text In Church is an incredibly easy way to keep your congregation in the loop. Whether you're sending out a reminder about a potluck or following up with new visitors, this tool helps you build relationships through automated, thoughtful communication.
It now integrates with Planning Center, which means fewer systems to manage and more streamlined workflows. It's one of the most helpful tools for churches just starting to get serious about digital communication.
2. Planning Center
Best for: Church database, registration, calendar, groups, events, and mobile app
Planning Center is hands down my favorite all-in-one church management platform. It’s modular—so you only pay for what you need—and scalable, allowing you to downgrade or upgrade your features based on your budget and season.
Whether you're organizing small groups, registering kids for VBS, or updating your church calendar, Planning Center helps you manage your people and programs all in one place.
3. Church Fuel
Best for: Training, mentoring, church communications strategy
This isn’t just a library of templates or courses—it’s a community of real ministry leaders helping each other grow. Church Fuel offers high-value teaching on topics from social media to SEO to first impressions.
I’ve found them to be encouraging, down-to-earth, and super responsive. If your church is trying to figure out how to reach people online, Church Fuel is a great place to get started and stay sharp.
4. Church Media Squad
Best for: Unlimited graphic design, video editing, and visual branding
If your church doesn’t have a designer on staff—or just wants to save time—Church Media Squad is a game-changer. They offer unlimited graphics, videos, and even sermon templates, all customized to your church.
While it’s a higher price point than some tools, it’s absolutely worth it if you want to look professional without hiring an in-house team.
5. Squarespace
Best for: Easy, beautiful websites you can actually update yourself
I exclusively build client websites on Squarespace because it’s simple, powerful, and scalable. For churches without a dedicated tech team, it’s one of the best platforms to manage on your own.
With built-in SEO, Google integrations, email marketing add-ons, and sleek design templates, Squarespace is a fantastic foundation for your online presence. It also includes native domain hosting, meaning you won’t have to juggle multiple platforms just to keep your website online.
👉 Read more about why I use Squarespace for all my client websites here.
6. SEOSpace
Best for: Simple SEO improvements and first-page visibility
SEOSpace is one of my favorite companion tools for Squarespace. It offers clear, actionable insights to improve your site's visibility and helps you climb toward that coveted first page of Google.
For churches trying to reach their local community, showing up in search results matters. SEOSpace makes it easier to get there—without needing to be an SEO expert.
7. Google Tools (Business Profile, Search Console, Analytics)
Best for: Visibility and data tracking
Google is more than a search engine—it’s a core piece of your digital strategy. Every church should:
Claim and optimize their Google Business Profile
Set up Google Search Console to track what people are searching for
Use Google Analytics to understand how users find and interact with their website
These free tools help you measure progress, identify what's working, and improve your online reach.
Bonus: Google also offers a nonprofit grant that provides up to $10,000/month in free advertising through Google Ads for qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations. If your church qualifies, this grant can drastically increase your digital visibility at no cost.
8. Facebook & Instagram
Best for: Social media engagement and event promotion
Meta platforms (Facebook and Instagram) are still the most important social channels for small to mid-size churches. They're accessible, widely used, and easy to manage.
You can do a lot with just a few posts a week and a basic content plan. And when you’re ready, both platforms offer budget-friendly ad options to reach new people in your community.
9. SmugMug
Best for: Long-term photo storage and archiving church history
If your church takes photos at events, baptisms, retreats, or youth activities (and you should!), SmugMug is a powerful platform to organize, store, and share your visual history. It’s more reliable and user-friendly than cloud drives and offers beautiful gallery displays you can keep private or share with your community.
Over time, it becomes a living archive of your ministry—preserving the story of your people and the work God is doing. Whether you’re handing photos off to a graphic designer, sharing with families, or just keeping organized year-to-year, SmugMug helps you build a library you’ll actually want to use.
10. ClickUp
Best for: Project management, task tracking, volunteer coordination, content planning
ClickUp is a surprisingly powerful tool for organizing all the moving pieces of church communication. From sermon prep timelines to social media scheduling to coordinating volunteers, it gives you one place to keep track of it all.
The free version includes more than enough features for most small churches, and it’s highly customizable to fit your workflow. There is a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, ClickUp can bring serious clarity and momentum to your week.
Final Thoughts: Start Simple, Grow Strategically
You don’t need to use all of these tools at once—but starting with one or two can make a big impact. Whether it’s finally getting your Google Business Profile claimed, launching a Squarespace site that reflects your mission clearly, or using SEOSpace to track your rankings, small steps lead to big results over time.
Ready to Strengthen Your Church Communications?
Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your church’s digital presence to the next level, these tools can make a big difference. But tools work best with the right strategy.
✨ Need help setting things up?
✨ Want a custom plan tailored to your church’s size and goals?
I’d love to help. With nearly a decade of church communications experience and a heart for ministry, I specialize in making digital tools approachable and effective for churches like yours.
👉 Book a free consultation
👉 Or try my free SEO audit to see how your current site is performing.
Let’s make sure your message is seen, heard, and shared—by the people who need it most.