Most church websites need the same calendar: a weekly service, a few monthly groups, special services around the holidays, and the occasional potluck or retreat people sign up for. Here's how to set that up in WordPress so volunteers can keep it current, and what to check in whatever plugin you use.
Disclosure: I build Beacon Events, a WordPress events plugin. The setup below works in most calendar plugins; where it depends on one, I say so.
Enter the rhythm once
- Weekly service as one repeating event. Sunday 10am, every week, no end date. You should never have to copy it forward by hand.
- Monthly groups by position, not date. "Second Tuesday" for the women's group, "last Friday" for youth night. Check that your plugin can repeat by weekday position; some only repeat on the same date each month.
- Special services as single events. Christmas Eve, Good Friday and Easter each get their own event, so the weekly service doesn't have to bend around them.
Handle the week plans change
The service that moves to the park for a picnic, the Wednesday study cancelled for Thanksgiving: you want to change one date without breaking the series. Look for a way to cancel or move a single occurrence that shows visitors "cancelled" or the new time, rather than deleting the whole event.
Let members take it with them
- A subscribe link. Most calendar plugins publish an iCal feed. Put the link on the page so members can add the whole calendar to their phone, and changes show up there on their own.
- Colours per ministry. Worship, youth, outreach: a colour per category makes a month view readable at a glance.
- The address and a map link on every event, and a join link for anything you livestream.
If your office already lives in Google Calendar
Many church offices keep the master calendar in Google Calendar. Instead of embedding Google's iframe, which doesn't match the site and doesn't resize well on phones, sync the calendar's feed into your events plugin so each event becomes a real page on your site. I wrote up what to check for in that sync here.
Sign-ups
For potlucks, retreats and classes where you need a headcount, look for RSVPs with a capacity and a waitlist, so you're not collecting names in a spreadsheet.
If you want to try Beacon Events
Beacon Events is free on wordpress.org. It covers the rhythm above without paid add-ons:
- repeating events, including "second Tuesday" and "last Friday";
- cancelling or moving one date, which then shows as cancelled or rescheduled;
- a subscribe link, category colours, and addresses with a map link;
- online events with a join link;
- Google Calendar sync with a log of each run.
RSVPs with a capacity, a waitlist and reminder emails are in the paid add-on, which has a 14-day trial with no card.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/beacon-events/
If your church calendar has a pattern this doesn't cover, post it in the comments.
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