Leadership Journal

"Couldn't you use more faith right now?" the ad asked. There wasn't room for much more than that question and the church's name. Despite its size, that Facebook ad is getting big credit in the launch of a new church near Chicago.

Pastor Ryan Hall crafted a little ad for his church plant and scheduled a modest internet campaign in under 15 minutes.

"I stumbled on Facebook advertising by accident," Hall says, "and I'm impressed at how well it worked."

More than 350 people showed up for the first public worship service, and in its third month, the new Harvest Bible Chapel in Palos, Illinois averages nearly 250 each Sunday.

Leaders planned a traditional direct-mail campaign of postcards to their Zip code announcing the church's plans and website. After the mailing, Hall used Google Analytics to see if the postcards produced web visitors.

"Google gives you high-end reporting on the number of visitors and towns where they live," Hall explains. Then, when he discovered Facebook ads, Hall targeted the ads to Facebook users in the areas with more visitors, and the web traffic took off.

"We set a five-mile radius from our location and a $5-a-day spending limit," Hall says. That radius includes a college. One student told Hall, "Every time I logged on the college website, I saw your ad. I couldn't get away from it." Nor could the other 1,400 students at the college who use the site daily. Hall says 15 or 20 new students are visiting their services each week. And that first student is already becoming a worship leader and the church's best advertisement on campus—second only to Facebook.