Why this matters
To add one event to your church homepage without burying Sunday, put one short banner below your service times, link it to a single event page, and set a date to take it down. When you're done, a first-time guest still sees when and where you meet first, and the give button stays easy to find.
When you're excited about an event, the pull is to make it the loudest thing on the page. A big banner at the top pushes service times down, and a first-time guest who came to find out when you meet has to scroll past the event to get there. The fix is to give each piece its own spot, and one volunteer can do it in one sitting.
At a glance
- Time to finish: one sitting for one volunteer, plus a quick take-down after the event.
- One short banner, placed below service times, linking to one event page.
- A take-down date set before you publish, so the banner doesn't outlive the event.
- A phone check to confirm Sunday still reads first.
What you need before you start
- Login access to edit your church website.
- The event details: name, date, time, address, and a sign-up link if people register.
- One image if your site uses banner images (optional).
- Your phone, to check the page the way a guest will see it.
The step-by-step
Step 1: Decide what the event needs on the homepage
Write the one line a guest needs: event name, date, time, and whether to register. That's your banner. Everything else, the full schedule, parking, the sign-up form, lives on a separate event page you'll link to. If you want to add a second line, it probably belongs on the event page instead.
Step 2: Add the banner below the service-times block
Put the banner under your service times and plan-a-visit content, not above it. Small churches already do well at the part you're protecting: in our 2026 State of Small Church Websites study, an audit of 2,000 church websites, 83.9% of small church websites (n=1,734) make service times findable. Keep yours in that group by leaving them above the event. Say a family new to town checks your homepage on a phone the night before. They should see the service time before they see the event.
Here's the order to aim for:
| Spot on the homepage | What goes there | Why it goes there |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Service times and address | It's what a first-time guest came to find |
| Next | Plan-a-visit or what-to-expect note, if you have one | It answers "what will it be like?" before they decide |
| Below those | One-line event banner, linked to the event page | It gives a guest one more reason to come |
| Where it already lives | Give button | Regular attenders already know where to tap |
Step 3: Build one simple event page
Create a single page with the name, date, time, address, a sentence on what to expect, and a register button if you need one. Link the homepage banner to it. One page is enough for one event. If your site's page builder has a basic template, use it rather than building something custom you'll have to maintain.
Step 4: Set a take-down date now
Before you move on, put a reminder on your calendar for the day after the event to pull the banner. A banner for an event that's already over can make a first-time guest wonder whether the service times on the same page are still right. Put the reminder in now and the take-down is a quick job later.
Step 5: Check it on a phone before you publish
Open the homepage on your own phone. Service times should be visible without scrolling past the event. The give button should still be easy to find. Tap the banner and confirm it lands on the event page you built. If anything's buried or the link is wrong, fix it, then publish.
Quick audit checklist
- The banner is a single short line, not a paragraph.
- Service times appear before the event banner on both desktop and phone.
- The give button is still easy to find.
- The banner links to the one event page, and the link works.
- The event page lists name, date, time, and address.
- A take-down reminder is on the calendar for the day after the event.
- You viewed the finished page on an actual phone.
If someone else updates your site, here's a version you can forward to them:
Could you add one line for our event below the service times, not above them? Only the name, date, and time, linked to a single event page with the details. Please take it down the day after the event. Thank you.
When this is the wrong move
If your homepage doesn't already show service times and a plan-a-visit note clearly, start there instead. An event banner on a page that's missing the basics gives a first-time guest one more thing to read before they find what they came for. The event works as a reason to come once a guest can already tell when and where you meet. Get the basics in place, then feature the event.
Frequently asked questions
Should the event banner go above or below service times?
Below. A first-time guest comes to the homepage to find when you meet and where you are, so keep that above the event. The banner gives them one more reason to come once they've found the basics, so it sits underneath the service-times and plan-a-visit content.
Do I need a separate event page or can I put it all on the homepage?
Use one separate event page. Putting the full schedule, parking notes, and a sign-up form on the homepage pushes what a first-time guest came for down the screen. Keep the homepage to one short line and link to a single page that holds the detail.
How long should the banner stay up?
Take it down the day after the event, and set the reminder before you publish. A banner for an event that's already over can make a first-time guest wonder whether the service times on the same page are still current. Pulling it on time keeps the whole page believable.
Where this connects in our work
Whatever you add to a homepage, the same order holds: the basics a first-time guest needs (when you meet, where you are, what to expect, how to give) stay on top, and anything seasonal sits underneath. It's the same lens Church Digital uses in a free homepage review, which looks at service times, plan a visit, giving, and anything a first-time guest would find confusing.
- Service times missing above the fold, a short checkup for the top spot this post protects.
- A church website maintenance checklist you can actually keep up with, which turns the take-down date into a weekly habit.
Next step
This is a job you can do yourself, and you don't need us for it. If you'd like a second pair of eyes once the banner is up, ask for a free review of your homepage.