Swift and expert coding!
Swift and expert coding by Kerit to apply a personalised display adjustment on the Reign Theme for a media plugin that was not fully supported at the moment.
For churches / faith communities
Reign for churches / faith communities. Church community + sermon archive.
Churches use Planning Center + a WordPress site + Facebook Group + Realm for member directory - no unified login.
Reign + BuddyNext + Learnomy for a unified church community: sermon archive, small group directory, Bible study courses and member care. Both plugins install free.
Small groups, study courses and service calendars, free to install. You buy the Reign theme; BuddyNext, Learnomy and Eventonomy are ours and install free.
- BuddyNext community engine
- Learnomy courses
- Eventonomy events
Three highlights for churches / faith communities.
- 01
Sermon archive with searchable transcripts.
- 02
Small group directory: members join groups by topic + meeting day.
- 03
Bible study courses in Learnomy, free to install.
What the site looks like on day one.
You launch with a sermon or teaching archive, an events calendar, small group spaces and a member directory. Teaching is archived with audio or video and notes, groups have their own private spaces, and events carry services and gatherings. The archive is what serves people who cannot attend, which is a large part of most congregations.
What a member actually does.
A member finds a past teaching, joins a small group, and starts using the calendar. Small groups are where engagement actually lives; the main community space tends to be quieter, which is normal rather than a failure. Over time the archive serves people who moved away or cannot attend in person, and that reach is often unexpected.
How this usually makes money.
Giving is the main flow, handled by a donation plugin with recurring options, and it is usually the clearest reason to control your own platform. Events and courses may carry fees. Most congregations are not trying to generate revenue from the site; they are trying to reduce the cost and fragmentation of the tools they already pay for.
The mistake to avoid.
Building the main community space and neglecting small groups. Congregational-scale discussion is usually quiet, which is normal, while small groups are where people actually connect. Make joining a group the obvious next step after signing up.
Church / faith community-specific questions.
Planning Center sync?
No native - Zapier bridge for events + giving. Or use Reign standalone if Planning Center is overkill.
Can we take giving online?
Yes, through a donation plugin with recurring giving and member accounts. Recurring is worth emphasising because it makes budgeting possible in a way that collection-plate income does not, and members generally prefer setting it once.
How do small groups work?
A private group each, with leaders moderating and members joining by request or invitation. This is where most real community happens, so make joining a group the obvious next step after someone signs up rather than something they have to go looking for.
Should sermons be public?
Generally yes. The archive reaches people who cannot attend, those who moved away, and anyone searching for the topic. Keep pastoral or member-only material private, but a public teaching archive is usually the most valuable page set a congregation has.
Can we keep some content members-only?
Yes, with gated pages and private groups for pastoral material, while the teaching archive stays public. Most congregations end up with a public archive and a private members area, which is a sensible split.
How do we reach people without internet access?
The site supplements rather than replaces what you already do. Keep printed notices and phone trees for those who need them; a site that becomes the only channel excludes exactly the people most likely to need the community.
Buy the theme. Add the plugins free.
BuddyNext, Learnomy and Eventonomy cost nothing to install, and each has its own Pro plan for later. Running the third-party stack instead? The BuddyPress Community Bundle kit is the packaged route. Or have the Wbcom team install either one for $699 flat.