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How to write a press release for your church

How to write a press release for your church

And how they can help you reach more people

By: Janna Sensenig | Communications & Marketing

The power of the press release

A press release is a powerful piece of writing because it can spark a news story. If a media outlet decides to pick up the story—write a piece about it in a local paper, come out with a crew to record a segment for the evening news, etc.—the release could result in hundreds or thousands more people knowing all the details about an organization and their mission. 


The cool thing is, a press release is just a short, straightforward piece of writing that includes details on an event, offering, or other piece of information from a brand or organization. These releases are written by organizations and issued to the press—usually media outlets looking for stories to feature.

Can churches write press releases?

Churches can absolutely write press releases, and we would argue they should!

The good news is that a press release is powerful and can be written by anyone about anything—including churches. Now, we wouldn’t recommend writing a new press release every week for your regular service times, but we would recommend writing and sending out releases for outreach events, giveaways, festivals, and anything else that your church is hosting or doing that impacts your community.

While press releases can be written and sent by anyone, there are standard practices that make it much more likely for a news outlet to take your press release seriously and consider picking it up. That’s why we’ve created this guide to prepping, writing, and sending out press releases as a church.

How to write a press release for your church
Writing a press release?

Writing a press release?

Download our free church press release template

Press releases are simple to write once you understand the format, but using the right template is crucial for your release to get picked up by the media. 

Download a free copy of our Church Press Release Template for details on how to write and format your copy for the best chance of a call from the press. 

Why should churches write press releases?

As a church, your ultimate goal is to lead more people to Jesus. But you can pursue that goal in various ways, including opportunities for your community to attend a fall festival, join a group for single parents, or volunteer around their neighborhood.

When you write and send a press release about something your church is doing for or in the community, you’re sending a formal invitation and inviting the local press to send it out for you. It doesn’t mean you can’t also send out your own invitations (on your website, social channels, and through paid ads), but by leveraging your local media, your invite goes further faster.

3 reasons to write a press release

  1. Build brand awareness
    Even if your local news outlet doesn’t pick up the story, it gets your church and your brand in front of them for the next time. And if they do pick it up, it gets your church and brand in front of hundreds to thousands more people in your area!

  2. Get community buy-in
    Exposure to your event or opportunity means more people attending or attending the next event you host. The more successful your event, the more likely the media is to pick up your next press release, and the more people are likely to check out your church and want to learn more.

  3. Take advantage of a high return on investment
    Once you know how to plan for, write, and send out a press release, you can do it again and again with ease. Press releases are meant to be short, concise, and direct—no design experience necessary. So once you have the form down, make it part of your process for any event to leverage your impact.

What to do before you write a press release for your church

How you prepare for writing and sending a press release is just as important as the release itself. We recommend using this checklist before you begin writing:

  1. Collect all the information about the event or opportunity
    The formal name of the event, date(s), and time
    What to expect (will there be food, activities, entertainment?)
    Any cost or donation associated with the event
  2. Confirm your contact for the press release

    This is the person the press will contact if they want to follow up with questions or pick up the story, so make sure this person knows all about the release’s subject and can talk to the press.

  3. Ensure the call-to-action for the event or opportunity is finalized

    Will people register online, or can they just show up? Do they need a ticket or to bring a donation? Have this information set up ahead of time so that if the story is picked up, you can tell people how to learn more or confirm they’ll attend.

How to write a press release for your church

How to write a press release as a church

Writing a press release involves two important aspects: the format and the writing style. Both are crucial to creating a release that’s professional and easy to understand.

The format

Format matters for press releases. A news outlet wants to know as much as possible about the release’s subject as quickly as possible to decide whether to pursue it further.

There’s a specific format to follow when writing a press release (see our template above!), and the following pieces are non-negotiables to include:

  • “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” with the date at the top of the release to tell the news outlets they can pursue the story
  • Direct contact information
  • Boilerplate information about your church
  • Ending with “###” to signify the end of the full release

The writing style

By now you know that a press release should be direct and straightforward. Here are a few other writing tips for press releases:

  • Use a professional, objective tone without insider language (spell out acronyms and explain ministries if their names aren’t clear)—remember you’re talking to people who may know nothing about you or your church
  • Write a direct, compelling headline that clearly shows the value of your release’s subject for the news outlet
  • Use the inverted pyramid writing style, starting with the big idea, elaborating on important points, and then mentioning the less important (but still essential) details in the paragraphs that follow
  • Use compelling quotes that add value (1–2 is a good rule of thumb); since you’re writing for your church, you can quote anyone on your staff, like a Pastor, Experience Director, or Ministry Leader
  • Write the release as if the media outlet will use it—media personnel are always on a time crunch and looking for stories, so make it easy for them to tell the story of your next event

3 steps to send out your church press release to the media 

Once you’ve written your press release (and run it by a few people—it’s always best to get feedback!), you’re ready to officially send it out.

Step 1: Research news outlets and create your media list

You can send your release to multiple outlets (and you should!), but there may be some that feel more appropriate than others. When researching, find out how each outlet receives press releases—some have online forms, some use email, etc. Then save this list to use for future press releases.

Step 2: Send out your press release

Send it to all of your outlets at the same time. If you’re sending via email, add a personal note to the email to indicate that you’re a real person from your church looking to get the word out about an event or opportunity.

Step 3: Follow up

Plan to follow up with a call later in the day to make sure the outlet received the release. They may even begin to ask questions right on the call with you, so be ready with information if they want it.

How to write a press release for your church

Ready to write a press release for your church?

Press releases are a simple way to get your church’s name out into the community and give people a reason to engage with you and your mission. More exposure means more people on your website, on your social channels, and walking through your doors—people who you can introduce to Jesus. 


If you’re looking for strategic ways to reach more people with your life-changing message, our team at ArtSpeak Creative would love to help! We’re a brand strategy agency that helps life-changers reach people through consulting, branding, web, and ongoing creative and marketing support. Schedule a 30-minute call with one of our consultants to see how we can help.