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For churches / faith communities

Reign for churches / faith communities. Church community and sermon archive.

Build around the archive and the small groups: teachings with audio or video embeds and notes, BuddyNext private spaces for each small group, Eventonomy for services and gatherings and Learnomy for study courses. Make joining a group the obvious next step after signing up. Reign gives the site a welcoming look that works for all ages.

Churches use scheduling software, a WordPress site, a Facebook group and a member database, so there is 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
Start with the free plugins Or the BuddyPress Community Bundle kit See the build recipe Have us set it up

Key takeaways for churches / faith communities

  • Small groups are where people actually connect. The main community space is usually quiet, which is normal.
  • A public teaching archive reaches people who cannot attend and is often the most valuable page set a congregation has.
  • Keep pastoral material in private spaces and the teaching archive public.
  • BuddyNext, Learnomy and Eventonomy install free. See pricing for the flat Reign licence.

What it looks like on Reign

Screens from the live demos, with sample content. Open any of them and click around.

  • Reign BuddyPress demo home with login, activity feed, members and groups
    The home screen: sign-in, the activity feed and who is active, on one page. Open the demo
  • Reign members directory with member cards, search and sort
    The member directory: search, sort by activity, and a card for every member. Open the demo
  • Reign groups directory with public and private groups
    Groups: public and private spaces members can join or create. Open the demo

Three highlights for churches / faith communities.

  • 01

    A sermon archive with notes and transcripts that site search can find.

  • 02

    Small groups that members can find by topic and 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.

Which Reign setup fits a faith community

Reign is the WordPress theme for building a complete community site: social network, courses, member directory, marketplace and job board on one install. A congregation uses the social network, the events and the courses.

BuddyNext provides member profiles, a feed and private spaces for small groups. Eventonomy, free, lists services, classes and gatherings with recurring dates and RSVPs. Learnomy hosts study courses with quizzes and certificates, and sells access if you charge. The teaching archive can be posts with embedded audio or video from a host.

The BuddyPress Community Bundle kit is the packaged route and the private community build guide covers private groups. Giving runs through a separate donation plugin. The plugins page shows the split, and Reign is a flat theme licence.

Launch steps for a congregation site

Start with the archive and the calendar. Add groups once people are using the site.

  1. 01

    Install WordPress with Reign, BuddyNext and Eventonomy. The start page lists the order.

  2. 02

    Publish the teaching archive first, with notes and a transcript where you can. Host the audio or video with a media host and embed it.

  3. 03

    Set up the calendar for services and regular gatherings as recurring events.

  4. 04

    Create small group spaces led by volunteers, private by default, with a one-paragraph description of each group's time and focus.

  5. 05

    Choose a donation plugin and test recurring giving if you offer it online. Make it a convenience for members, not a requirement.

  6. 06

    Keep notices on paper and by phone as well, and tell members that the site adds to those channels.

What members do week to week

A member finds last Sunday's teaching on Monday, reads the notes and shares a link with a friend. Midweek they check the calendar for a small group, post a prayer or discussion request in their group space and respond to others.

On the weekend they look at the service times, RSVP to an event and perhaps register for a study course. People who moved away or cannot attend in person use the archive to stay connected, and that reach is often unexpected.

Leaders use the site to post notices, prepare group discussions and welcome newcomers. Small group leaders moderate their own spaces and follow up quietly with anyone who has stopped taking part.

How a faith community site grows

Growth comes from the people who are already involved. Small groups that meet regularly and use the site bring in friends and family, and the archive brings in those searching for a topic.

The best next step after a first visit is a group. Make joining one the first thing a new member sees, and have a leader respond within a day. A group that is visible and warm converts visitors into participants.

Giving is the main flow of money and works best with recurring options. Events and courses may carry fees. Most congregations aim to reduce the cost and fragmentation of the tools they already use.

Who runs the site and how to care for the people on it

A congregation site is a pastoral tool as much as a technical one. People share prayer requests, health news and family worries, and they trust that the space is looked after. Decide early who looks after it and how, because goodwill alone will not carry a busy season.

Name an owner and a deputy. The owner is usually a staff member or a trusted volunteer who understands the community, and the deputy covers holidays and illness. Write down what each is responsible for: posting notices, approving new members, watching the groups and handling a concern. A short written list prevents confusion.

Give small group leaders a clear role. They moderate their own space, welcome newcomers and tell the owner when something needs attention. A short guide for leaders, with what to do if a member is upset, if a post is unkind or if someone shares something that should not be public, makes them more confident.

Decide what is shared where. Prayer requests and pastoral matters belong in private groups, with leaders and members agreed on confidentiality. Teachings and public events belong on public pages. Review the settings every few months, because people change roles and spaces drift.

Be gentle with the less technical. Offer a short walkthrough after a service, print a one-page guide and keep a phone number for questions. A member who feels helped will use the site, and a member who feels lost will not.

Mistakes specific to faith community sites

Building the main community space and neglecting small groups is the main one. Congregational-scale discussion is usually quiet.

Making everything public or everything private is the second. Most congregations end up with a public archive and a private members area, which is a sensible split.

Third, do not make the site the only channel. A site that becomes the only way to hear notices excludes exactly the people most likely to need the community.

When a different setup fits better

If you are a charity with volunteers and donors, see the nonprofits page. If you are a school community, the school teachers page shows the role-based setup.

If you only need service times and a contact page, a simple site is enough.

Church / faith community-specific questions.

Planning Center sync?

There is no built-in sync. Many churches keep Planning Center for check-in and records and use the Reign site for the archive, groups and calendar. Link between the two rather than duplicating data.

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 set either one up for you.

See the free plugins See the BuddyPress Community Bundle kit Have us set it up

One theme, the whole site

See what you can build with Reign, then try it.

Reign is the WordPress theme for building a complete community site: social network, courses, member directory, marketplace and job board on one install. Start with one, add the others when you need them, and keep one login for every member. Open a live demo, or launch a sandbox and get a fresh WordPress site to click through in about a minute.

Add more when you need it

Not sure which setup fits your site?

Tell us what you want members to do on your site. We will tell you which Reign setup, plugins and kit fit, before you buy anything.

Ask us before you buy Email support@wbcomdesigns.com

What customers say on Trustpilot

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.

RussellGB