Creating a content calendar is a game changer for your church’s social media team!
It helps you stay organized, save time, and create a cohesive message that reinforces your mission and values. Use this template to plan and schedule your social media content effectively.
Step 1
How often will we post?
- Decide how often you want to post on each platform (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, YouTube Shorts).
- Consider your team's capacity and your audience's engagement levels.
- Example: Facebook (3 times/week), Instagram (daily), YouTube (1-2/week)
Step 2
What are our church’s key dates and major events?
- Identify important dates, events, and themes relevant to your church.
- Include holidays, special services, church-wide initiatives, and community events.
- Example: Easter (April), Vacation Bible School (July), Small Group Launch (September)
Step 3
What other content ideas do we have?
- Take the content ideas you've generated and assign them to specific dates on your calendar.
- Include a mix of content types (like devotionals, behind-the-scenes photos, event promotions).
- Leave room for flexibility and spontaneity to address current events or trending topics.
Example Calendar
You can post more than this example calendar shows, but remember, if it’s not enjoyable, it’s not sustainable.
Many churches need to hear this in consideration of managing their social accounts. If you’re trying to do too much or if it’s not enjoyable to create and write your posts, it most likely won’t last long.
Post on socials, but stay within your capacity!
Tips for Success:
- Collaborate with your team to generate content ideas and delegate tasks.
- Repurpose content across platforms to save time and maximize reach.
- Use a social media scheduling tool to automate posting and stay consistent.
- Review and adjust your calendar regularly based on performance and feedback.
Calendar Templates That Fit a Church Team
Most church social media gets made in the margins. A post goes up when someone finds a spare twenty minutes between everything else on their plate, and some weeks that twenty minutes never comes. A feed built that way doesn't say much about the church behind it.
A calendar template won't create more time, but it makes the margins count. The next spare twenty minutes goes toward a post with a reason to exist, and the feed starts to look like your church. Here are three ways to build one that doesn't fall apart by week two.
Content Buckets
The bucket method sorts your posts into a handful of recurring themes that map to what your church cares about most. When you plan from buckets, the feed stays varied without much effort. You stop posting the same kind of thing three weeks in a row, and every category ties back to a message your church already wants people to hear.
Name five to seven buckets that fit your ministry, then plan one to three pieces of content for each bucket every month and spread them across your posting days; that's plenty. These are the buckets we reach for first when a church doesn't have a system yet.
Sermon Moments
- Sermon snippets cut for reels
- A quote graphic from Sunday's message
- A carousel built around one main point from the sermon
- A carousel that goes deeper on a recurring theme in the series
Testimonies
- Short video stories of how someone came to faith
- Quote graphics about how the church has shaped a life
- Short videos on how a Bible story met someone where they were
Behind the Scenes
- Staff introductions and birthdays
- The team preparing for Sunday
- A sneak peek at an upcoming event
A Day of the Week Rhythm
This one gives each day of the week its own type of content, so Monday always looks like Monday and nobody's staring at a blank calendar. A weekly rhythm sets expectations for your audience and takes the guesswork out of planning. People start to know what's coming, and your team gets to spend its energy making the posts better instead of deciding what to post.
Decide what belongs on each day, write those themes into whatever scheduler you're already using, then fill in the specific ideas a week or two at a time. The days below are just a starting point; swap in themes that fit how your church actually talks.
- Monday: an inspiring quote or Scripture
- Tuesday: a short Bible study or sermon clip
- Wednesday: an introduction to a staff member or ministry
- Thursday: a volunteer highlight or praise report
- Friday: family-oriented content or a youth ministry spotlight
- Saturday: a nudge toward weekend services
- Sunday: service highlights or a key takeaway
Planning Around a Campaign
This approach organizes your content around whatever your church is focused on right now: a sermon series, a building push, a season like Advent. Your feed and your church calendar start telling the same story, so momentum builds ahead of a big weekend and the message people see online matches the one they hear in the room.
Start with the next series on your calendar. Write its title and launch date down, then work backward and forward from that date. Start building interest about two weeks out, post two or three times a week while the series runs, and close with one or two posts that keep the conversation going after it wraps. For a four-week series on Building Strong Families, that might look like this:
Week 1
- Monday: Series announcement graphic
- Wednesday: Pastor video introducing the series
- Friday: A family activity idea tied to the theme
Week 2
- Tuesday: A quote from Sunday's sermon
- Thursday: A poll asking about family challenges
- Saturday: A reminder about small group sign-ups for the series
Week 3
- Monday: A testimonial from a family the series has reached
- Wednesday: A book or podcast recommendation on family
- Friday: Behind-the-scenes of sermon prep
Week 4
- Tuesday: Series recap graphic
- Thursday: A call for family photo submissions
- Sunday: A thank you post and next steps for families
Give It a Month
Whichever method you pick, it won't work without consistency. Give it a full month before you decide whether it fits; you'll know by then, and you can adjust from there.
A calendar only helps if someone has time to fill it. If your volunteers are already stretched thin and social keeps slipping to the bottom of the list, that's usually the sign to bring in help. TheSquad's All-In plan gives your church a dedicated creative team that designs your graphics and keeps the calendar moving, so the people who serve you get to breathe again. Learn more about All-In and see what it'd look like for your team.
Pick the method that fits your team and start this week. For a lot of people, your social feed is their first visit to your church, and a plan makes sure it's ready for them.
A calendar only helps once you know what belongs on it, so it's worth reading what to post and why it works. When the plan is set and nobody has time to make the posts, our church social media team can take it from here.
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Published by Church Media Squad on August 22, 2024.